FrankenSteer 2005
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Bullfrog Films
Directed by Marrin Cannell, Ted Remerowski
VHS, color, 48 min.
College - Adult
Agriculture, Bioethics, Biology, Environmental Studies
Date Entered: 09/11/2006
Reviewed by Buzz Haughton, Shields Library, University of California at DavisThe producers of this video recording sound the alarm against the increasingly artificial means used to raise cattle for food. In today’s highly mechanized agribusiness, dairy and beef cattle are kept alive in crowded conditions with antibiotics, which are also used to stimulate the animals’ growth. Ominously, responsibility of oversight has shifted from the Department of Agriculture to employees of the companies that raise the animals and slaughter them. Only a tiny fraction of beef and milk produced in the US actually undergoes government inspection for cleanliness and freedom from harmful chemicals and residues of medicine.
The directors’ editorial bias is obvious, but they garner a great deal of evidence to support their contention that common foods in the American diet are increasingly risky to consume. Highly recommended for general college and adult viewers.