Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It

by Participant (Editor), Karl Weber (Editor)

Overview

Food, Inc. is guaranteed to shake up our perceptions of what we eat. This powerful documentary deconstructing the corporate food industry in America was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "more than a terrific movie — it's an important movie." Aided by expert commentators such as Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the film poses questions such as: Where has my food come from, and who has processed it? What are the giant agribusinesses and what stake do they have in maintaining the status quo of food production and consumption? How can I feed my family healthy foods affordably?

Expanding on the film's themes, the book Food, Inc. will answer those questions through a series of challenging essays by leading experts and thinkers. This book will encourage those inspired by the film to learn more about the issues, and act to change the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586486945
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	05/05/2009
Edition description:	First Edition, Media tie-in
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Karl Weber is a writer and editor based in New York. He collaborated with Muhammad Yunus on his bestseller Creating a World Without Poverty, edited The Best of I.F. Stone, and, with Andrew W. Savitz, coauthored The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success — And How You Can Too. He edited the previous bestselling Participant Media Guides, Food, Inc., and Waiting for "Superman."

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Part I Food, Inc.: The Film

1 Reforming Fast Food Nation: A Conversation Eric Schlosser 3

Another Take Food Safety Consequences of Factory Farms. Food & Water Watch 19

2 Exploring the Corporate Powers Behind the Way We Eat: The Making of Food, Inc. Robert Kenner 27

Another Take Food Sovereignty for U.S. Consumers. Food & Water Watch 41

Part II Inside the Food Wars

3 Organics-Healthy Food, and So Much More Gary Hirshberg 47

Another Take The Dirty Six: The Worst Animal Practices in Agribusiness. Humane Society of the United States 61

4 Food, Science, and the Challenge of World Hunger-Who Will Control the Future? Peter Pringle 65

Another Take Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops: Why We Need A Global Moratorium. Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association 79

5 The Ethanol Scam: Burning Food to Make Motor Fuel Robert Bryce 91

Another Take Exposure to Pesticides: A Fact Sheet. Organic Consumers Association 103

6 The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork Anna Lappe 105

Another Take Global Warming and Your Food. Cool Foods Campaign 119

7 Cheap Food: Workers Pay the Price Arturo Rodriguez Alexa Delwiche Sheheryar Kaoosji 123

Another Take Fields of Poison: California Farmworkers and Pesticides. Pesticide Action Network North America 143

8 The Financial Crisis and World Hunger Muhammad Yunus 149

Another Take The Scope of the World Food Crisis. FoodFirst Information and Action Network 161

Part III What You Can do About it

9 Why Bother? Michael Pollan 169

Another Take Ten Steps to Starting a Community Garden. American Community Gardening Association 179

10 Declare Your Independence Joel Salatin183

Another Take Questions for a Farmer Sustainable Table 197

11 Eating Made Simple Marion Nestle 209

Another Take World Hunger-Your Actions Matter. Sherri White Nelson Heifer International 219

12 Improving Kids' Nutrition: An Action Tool Kit for Parents and Citizens Center for Science in the Public Interest 227

Another Take Childhood Obesity: The Challenge. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 259

13 Produce to the People: A Prescription for Health Preston Maring 263

To Learn More-Books, Websites, and Organizations Offering Further Insight into America's Food System and Its Future 275

Notes 291

Index 309

Editorial Reviews

David Denby, New Yorker
“Those of us who avoid junk food, with many sighs of relief and self-approval, may still be eating junk a good deal of the time. This enraging fact, which will not surprise anyone who has read such muckraking books as Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation” (2001) and Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (2006), is one of the discomforting meanings of the powerful new documentary “Food, Inc.,” an angry blast of disgust aimed at the American food industry.”

The American Conservative
“If you care about what you’re eating, you should see the new documentary Food Inc.”

Takepart.com
“Most of you have probably heard about Food, Inc., the movie, but did you also know there’s a companion book to the film? The book explores the challenges raised by the movie in fascinating depth through 13 essays, most of them written especially for this book, and many by experts featured in the film. Highlights include chapters by Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food), Anna Lappe (Hope’s Edge and Grub), Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation and film co-producer), Robert Kenner (film director), and a chapter on asking the right questions from Sustainable Table! The book is so popular it’s already in its fourth printing.”

From the Publisher