Agricultural Issues in the “Food Inc.” Documentary Report

Agriculture problems

The film Food Inc points to several issues which I find very much surprising, if not alarming. They are as follows:

1. complete financial dependence of modern American farmers on large agricultural corporations which can reduce them to the state of severe poverty by refusing to use them as suppliers;
2. cruelty toward animals and poultry;
3. the very existence of food libel laws that enable manufactures to file a lawsuit against people who criticize their practices;
4. the unwillingness of the government to close factories which produce contaminated food;
5. the health risks to which people are exposed.

Agriculture work

This film shows that modern consumers do not have an opportunity to work directly with manufacturers of food. One of the reasons is that large corporations can launch a mass-scale production of food, and therefore, they can dictate pricing policies to the small farmers, who, in their turn, have to work with these companies. Secondly, the authors of this movie attract our attention to the aggressive promotion of unhealthy food, and many people believe that this is the best choice for them. Secondly, one has to mention that large corporations can open numerous sales outlets, while small farmers cannot do that.

Agriculture Participants

Food Inc identifies several market players, namely Monsanto Co, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Food. These organizations dominate modern agribusiness in the United States.

Farming

Organically grown food has its advantages and disadvantages for both farmers and buyers. The farmer does not have to incur great expenses since organic fertilizers are not as costly as chemical ones. Secondly, organically grown plants are much more resistant to various diseases. Apart from that, such a form of agriculture is not so vulnerable to droughts. However, one has to consider that organic farming requires much more effort than chemical one, and it is more time-consuming. This is the way organic farmers cannot compete with large companies in terms of productivity.

Organic food has its benefits for the consumer as well. This food is much safe, and it is rather unlikely to give rise to any health complications. Secondly, these products taste better than non-organic food. The key disadvantage is that they are more expensive, and many customers cannot afford it.

Purchase in agriculture

There are several alternatives to purchasing food from large agribusinesses. It is possible to identify three of them;

1. farm strands or place where people can purchase products from a single farm;
2. farmer’s market or a place where a group of manufacturers sells food to the customer;
3. food cooperatives or small retail stores where people can buy grocery items, provided by various farmers.

The key benefit of such distribution channels is that a customer can purchase high-quality organic food at a reasonable price. In this case, he/she does not have to deal with resellers who usually set higher prices. Yet, these direct marketing channels are often inaccessible to the buyers, because they are usually open during warm weather; as a rule, a person can buy products directly from the farmers once or twice a week, and it is quite probable that he/she may prefer to go to the chain store.

Agricultural management

Joel Salatin employs several methods and principles to run his farm Polyface, in particular:

1. pastured poultry and willingness to emulate the natural habitat of animals;
2. the use of animal’s manure as a fertilizer;
3. direct marketing to the consumers and avoidance of resellers;
4. grass-feeding;
5. diversifying the products: Joel Salatin sells eggs, turkeys, rabbits, meat, milk and so forth.

These strategies yield several benefits. First, Salatin does not spend money on chemical fertilizers because it is done by animals. Secondly, such an approach allows us to increase the soil life, in other words, this land will retain its fertility for a longer time. Finally, the products, provided by Joel Salatin are much safer for consumer’s health as they contain no pesticides. Finally, one should not overlook the ethical implications of these practices; they show that respect toward animals is an inherent part of farming, and agricultural companies have long forgotten about it.

Disadvantages and advantages of agriculture

A person, who has to choose between Whole Foods store and Farmer’s Market, should remember that both these choices have their drawbacks and benefits. Whole foods are ecologically safe products that have not been chemically processed; they contain no pesticides. To some extent, a buyer promotes environmentally-safe agriculture by purchasing such products. Nonetheless, one should bear in mind that these foods cannot be preserved for a very long time, and one takes the risk of food poisoning.

In turn, the use of a Farmer’s market is beneficial to the extent that a person buys only fresh food. Still, there is a possibility that this farmer uses pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Therefore, a consumer who buys such products can endanger his/her health in the long term. If I were in the position of the customer, I would choose the Whole Foods Store, mostly because such products strengthen the immune system, and they are environmentally safe.

Reference List

Kenner R & Pearlstein E. (Producers). Kenner R. (Director). (2008) Food Inc. Magnolia Pictures. DVD.

Local Harvest (2010). Direct Food Marketing Revenues. Web.