» I wasn't very interested in
Food, Inc when I saw the trailer. It looked., well, obvious and self-righteous. (Sort of the same reason I no longer see Michael Moore films, And you can imagine that attitude turned up to "11" in the middle of a San Francisco cinema. Not a critical thinker to be found in the entire crowd.) But after reading this
review/interview with filmmaker Robert Kenner, I'm planning to see it.
You told me earlier that some foodies and environmentalists are disappointed with the film, because they say it's stuff they already know. But you're aiming at a wider and more general audience here, aren't you?
I'm really trying to reach out and bring as many people into this movement, which is an incredibly expanding, fast-growing movement. You don't have to be a Democrat or a Republican to not want to eat meat with fecal matter on it. We all want to feed our children healthy food. So it's not about ideology at that point. There are some right-wing religious groups who are very active on the matters of food. It's an issue that can unite people. At the same time, we're up against very powerful corporations, and we've grown to love very cheap food. It's wonderful how little it costs, but we're starting to see the real damage it does. [...]
You know, I told my mother-in-law about this film, and that I really thought she should see it. She lives in the South and she's a Republican. She was like, "Is it just going to make me feel bad?" Which strikes me as a good question. I said, "Actually, no, I don't think it will."
[...]I hope this is a very empowering film. One of the messages is that we as consumers have a lot more power than we think we do. Ultimately these corporations are scared of us. And ultimately, if there's a movement, the government wants to follow us. So there are a number of empowering points that we try to make, even though it's a difficult subject.
