"Food Inc." and "Farmer John"

I was lucky last week to watch a screening of the new movie "Food Inc." on the same day that Netflix sent me "The Real Dirt on Farmer John."

"Food Inc." is a documentary about the evils of the industrial food system, featuring Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan. Much of the information it showcases comes from Schlosser's book "Fast Food Nation" and Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma". I appreciated seeing the material presented in such an accessible way, though I walked out feeling a little depressed, despite the helpful suggestions that came right before the credits.

So I was pleased the next day when I popped "Farmer John" into the machine, and watched this lovely film about the flamboyant owner of a midwestern family farm. After experiencing all the headache and debt that's driven so many similar operations out of business in recent years, John Peterson finally achieved success (on less than a tenth of his original acreage) farming organically and building a thriving CSA program.

It was exactly what I needed to see: the antidote to the poison. The industrial food system may be insidious and even lethal sometimes, but there are plenty of good things going on in the alternative world of small-scale, sustainable agriculture.