The documentary that exposed the food industry as a group of giant corporations running factory farms at the expense of the animals and human health has been nominated for an Oscar. Up for best documentary, Food.Inc paints a dreary picture of what is really on our dinner plates and exposes the social costs and animal cruelty you won’t read about on the food package label.

The Big Agri industry has avoided this kind of exposure to the extent that they have lobbied the government to pass “food libel laws” effectively making it illegal, in the United States, to criticize the industry for their practices.

From Wikipedia:

Food libel laws, also known as food disparagement laws and informally as veggie libel laws, are laws passed in 13 U.S. states that make it easier for food producers to sue their critics for libel. These 13 states include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. [1] Many of the food-disparagement laws establish a lower standard for civil liability and allow for punitive damages and attorney’s fees for plaintiffs alone,[2] regardless of the case’s outcome. [3]

The most notorious case of “veggie libel laws” in action is when Oprah Winfrey dared to share her opinion about the beef industry and mad cow disease on her popular talk show. She went through a long period of litigation for daring to speak the truth as she saw it. The media covered this case extensively.

Food Inc. exposes the dangers of factory farming and the disparity between the marketing message we see in advertising and the reality of the industry. The advertising message we see is a traditional farm with the red barn and cows out to pasture. This type of farm, is being systematically put out of business and replaced by large scale mass production factories where the welfare of the animals and the nutritional value of the food is ignored in favour of low production costs and efficiency.

Food Inc. doesn’t complain about our food supply without offering a solution. They point out what consumers can do to make a change because in the end every dollar spent on food is a vote for the type of food we want them to produce for us.

I enjoyed this documentary as an informative and entertaining expose on the truth of what is going on behind the factory walls.

I am hoping Food Inc. wins the Oscar and gets more exposure as a result. Although, Food Inc. is up against another great documentary, “The Cove”, which exposes the dolphin massacre in Japan and the mercury contamination problem we are facing in our seafood.

Congratulations and good luck to producer and director, Robert Kenner and the cast and crew of Food.Inc!