Food, Inc. 2
Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo’s sequel to their Oscar-nominated documentary brings even more food for thought to the table.
For the most part this is highly professional filmmaking. As such this film lives up to the standard set by its predecessor Food, Inc. (2008). That acclaimed documentary was the work of Robert Kenner and featured two authors of books about the food industry in America, Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. All three are involved in this sequel but on this occasion Kenner shares the directorial credit with Melissa Robledo. What stands out here is the experienced eye behind the film. It features many contributors from a range of backgrounds (farmers, authors, professors, various CEOs) and proves to be particularly adroit in the balance between the scenes in which they appear on screen and those for which they become voice-overs. If talking heads sometimes result in documentaries better suited to being viewed on television, here the approach adopted and the colour photography of Jay Redmond render this a work best seen on a big screen. It is after all a movie that travels around America (Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Montana are just some of the places visited).
It is, of course, the case that warnings about the unhealthy foods we eat and about the promotion of them by ever more powerful corporations in quest of easy profits have been central to many books and quite a number of documentary films. Because that is so, some critics have pointed out that, whereas the original Food, Inc. had the impact of approaching issues that were then fresh and startling, this new film by and large only regurgitates ideas with which we are now all too familiar. But the fact remains that, however much Food, Inc.2 echoes its predecessor, there are plenty of people who have grown up since 2008 and who will not have seen the first film. Furthermore, considering the position that pertains today regarding monopoly power, the exploitation of workers in a world wherein food is treated as a commodity and the increased pressures imposed on family farms that are struggling to survive, there is good reason to say that it is appropriate to return to this subject. That is all the more so because the impact of the Covid pandemic has made the situation worse and developments in the promotion of fast food and in the marketing of ultra processed foods as well as the problem of obesity all call for attention.
Save for brief scenes in Brazil, Food, Inc.2 once again limits itself to America, but it is clear that many of the points made here are increasingly relevant to the situation in other countries too. Bringing things up-to-date also underlines the extent to which these matters interconnect with the issue of climate change. The film’s setting is one that brings to the fore the extent to which the food industry has the power to lobby when it comes to influencing legislation, but at least we meet two US senators, Corey Booker and Jon Tester, who are determined to take a stand on behalf of the individual.
Food, Inc.2 is accordingly a welcome film that will have the support of many. That is not to say, however, that it is a perfect piece of work. Like Food, Inc. it lacks something in the shaping of its material as it moves on from one particular focus to another, but it’s also the case that both documentaries contain a wide variety of material and that is refreshing in itself. However, at 94 minutes Food, Inc.2 is longer by ten minutes and, although it seeks to build towards a final section that is more optimistic and up-beat, it does end up devoting too much of its last quarter of an hour to a series of brief scenes revisiting contributors and repeating a message that is already clear. Indeed, it even extends ultimately to offering a written summary of the points that have been made earlier. That's a pity, but it doesn't reduce the value of the film and those ready to endorse its outlook will surely forgive this undue repetition.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Cory Booker, Jn Tester, Marion Nestle, Zack Smith, Gerardo Reyes-Chávez, Jon Esformes, Emily Mingrone, Larissa Zimberoff, Tony Thompson, Sarah Lloyd.
Dir Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo, Pro Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo, Ph Jay Redmond, Ed Leonard Feinstein and Ryan Loeffler, Music Mark Adler.
River Road Entertainment/Participant-Dogwoof Releasing.
94 mins. USA. 2023. US Rel: 9 April 2024. UK Rel: 31 May 2024. Cert. 12.
