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For a film whose title claims to be about the future of food, its creator seems to be concerned about the future of democracy as well. In her ninety-minute documentary, The Future of Food, filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia shows the appalling links between the food we eat and the government we live under. Following an October 23 screening at the Brattle Street Theatre in Cambridge, Koons hosted a panel with two specialists: Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, and Doreen Stabinsky, a Genetic Engineering (GE) Advisor for Greenpeace International.
Koons’ film focuses on the frightening seeds that are at the forefront of today’s so-called “biotech revolution”: Roundup Ready canola seeds. These patented seeds (Yes! Now you can patent life!) contain the Roundup Ready gene, providing farmers with a crop resistant to Roundup pesticide. Unfortunately, as the movie points out, these seeds are potentially more of a threat than a bearer of healthy life.
The seeds—and the pesticide of course—are owned by Monsanto Co., a pioneer in the invasion of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). These artificially constructed plants are quickly sprouting up in our nation’s food supply. New patent laws are paving the way for companies like Monsanto to have a monopoly on the production of canola, corn, and other crops.
Koons also points out disturbing links between government agencies and Monsanto. Linda Fisher, for example, is a high-ranking official in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates the use of GMOs. Incidentally, Fisher worked for Monsanto between stints at the EPA. This is only one name from Koons’ long list of conflict-of-interest government officials from the corporate world.
Delving into a topic that is factually overwhelming, Koons keeps the image on the screen fresh. Visually, the film is well-balanced, alternating between panoramas of beautiful corn fields and microscopic pictures of cells being injected with a gene they normally reject. Interviews of top scientists are balanced with comments from affected farmers.
Across the globe, nations are protesting the use of GMOs, and American corporations are listening—just not in the US. In Sweden, there are McDonald’s that serve organic food. In China, Kraft assures consumers that no GMOs are used. In America, consumers are unknowingly fed GMOs.
According to author Lappe, “We’re heading in the direction of food facism...GMOs are the result of a thin democracy.” Corporations act as if GMOs are the answer for everything, including the end of world hunger—but according to her, that’s not the case: “World hunger is not a result of scarcity of food,” Lappe explained, “but a scarcity of democracy.”
Greenpeace’s Stabinsky spoke about a number of programs that help educate the public. But it is a long battle—Koons warned that Monsanto and the American Farm Bureau will be showing a series of documentaries this January on PBS called “America’s Heartland.” This sentimentally toned whitewash of the “biotech revolution,” she feels, was in direct response to her film. “They can’t sue me because it’s all true,” Koons said, “so they did this instead.”
The Future of Food is an effort to remedy our government-sponsored ignorance. After all, a field of GMO-infested plants looks identical to an organically grown field. Without required scientific testing and labels on the food, it’s impossible to tell the difference. Consumers have no idea what they’re buying.
Scientists are currently unable to document the effects of GMOs on the human body, but the potential for irreversible harm looms ominously. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is supposed to ensure the safety of drugs sold to the public, so why is the potentially disastrous time-bomb of GMOs being sold without scrutiny? In a country founded on the ideals of democracy, consumers cannot even choose what they eat. Current legislation in Congress calling for GMO labeling, sponsored by enlightened members such as Dennis Kucinich, has yet to make it out of committee. What’s worse, with the worrisome overlap of government regulatory officials and industry executives, the government seems bent on keeping this information from the general public.
Other articles by Julia Montepagani |
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