Food, Inc. Coming to a Theater Near You

“The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000.”
Narrates Michael Pollan at the beginning of a new movie entitled Food, Inc., hitting select theaters this Friday.

Joining the ranks of food documentaries, there are so many recently, there should be a new genre of film, foodiementaries anyone? – Food, Inc. goes behind the scenes of our nation‚ supermarkets and behind the machines of agribusiness. Many of the issues they tackle are right up our alley, including the numerous problems that put consumer safety, the livelihood of the American farmers, and the health of our environment at risk.

Food, Inc. also mentions one of our key issues, rBGH aka recombinant bovine growth hormone. There‚ just one part in the script, however, that needs some clarification. The film states that Wal-Mart‚ decision to go rBGH-free “put the nail in the coffin of rBGH.” Too bad this is wishful thinking. While Wal-Mart did begin to sell rBGH-free milk for its generic brand, it does not label the product as such. Why? During the last past two years, state-by-state labeling battles popped up around the country that threatened to limit hormone-free milk labels. For example, Ohio’s labeling rule requires the prohibitive use of a misleading disclaimer that states “no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST-treated cows”, and bans accurate claims such as “rBGH-free” and “artificial growth hormone-free.” Wal-Mart decided not to label their milk pending the outcome of the state-by-state battles.

While we’re glad that big retailers like Wal-Mart are bowing to consumer pressure and turning away from artificial hormones, we know that Big Ag will continue to look for new markets for rBGH milk. That’s why we’re working to have Congress allow schools to purchase milk produced without artificial hormones. You can sign our School Milk Campaign petition and even see a nifty web application on the Food, Inc. website that mentions our campaign —Just click on the milk carton!
And, make sure you make your way to the theater this weekend to see Food, Inc. and snack on some rBGH-free candy.