Discussion Questions on the Documentary, Food, Inc

Food, Inc.—Thinking about the Movie
(Discussion Questions)

I. Write a short paragraph or so about what you know about where your food comes from. I want you to think about where it comes from before it gets to the supermarket or the restaurant. If you feel you’re not really sure where it comes from, write about that. Why aren’t you sure?

Wow! That’s a huge question, since there are many types of food. I believe fresh fruits and vegetables are harvested in bulk from farms, orchards, vineyards, etc., and then go through facilities that handle the cleaning, sorting, packaging (for fresh), and canning. Milk originates at dairy farms and either gets bottled there, or shipped in bulk to facilities that process it into many forms, some of these forms winding up in other processed foods. I’m not sure if butter, cheese, yogurt and the like are done at or outside of the dairy. I know that beef and pork now usually comes from processing “farms” rather than real farms or ranches. It passes through facilities for either minimal processing to pass on fresh to markets and meat stores, or for full processing and packaging. Chicken and eggs come from facilities that are more like factories than farms. Bulk grains from farms goes through extensive processing at facilities, winding up in an endless variety of forms and products. I guess just about everything gets some type of processing through factories, plants, and other facilities before it is offered to the consumer.

1. In the beginning of the movie, Eric Schlosser, who narrates quite a lot of the film, talks about the idea that Americans are misled into believing that the origin of our food is still largely agrarian. What does agrarian mean, and do you agree with Schlosser’s assertion? Be sure to explain either your agreement or disagreement.

I think agrarian describes farms and fields. I think his statement is incorrect because the origin is still largely agrarian. If we’re being misled