Educational Media Reviews Online

This thought-provoking documentary reveals the complex and highly controversial nature of today’s organic food industry and the dramatic changes that it’s been undergoing, especially organic farming which began with the back to nature movement in the 1970’s. The past decade has seen a phenomenal explosion in the organic food movement as it has moved from niche market to mainstream; the film points out that prior to 1935 we all ate organic food. The film definitively exams the pitfalls and promise involved with today’s organic farming, asking important questions like is it proven healthier, can mom-and-pop operations be suppliers for grocery chains of any size, and will it be sustainable? This increasingly lucrative sector of agriculture is drawing in major food corporations like Kraft (Boca and Back to Nature), Kellogg (Kashi), General Mills (Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen), and Pepsi (Naked Juice) that have no desire or need to adhere to the strict guidelines put down by organic farming licensing boards. The film draws attention to the case study of Silk, a brand of soymilk products, by Dean Foods. Once they gobbled up the small company that developed Silk, Dean began putting out products that were not based on soy, not organic, and based on dubious products. Furthermore, they switched the label from organic to natural, a term that is not subject to industry scrutiny and really means nothing today. The film makes the case for protecting organic farming from such predatory practices. The program further examines everything from hidden ownership of organic product lines by corporations to how organic strawberries have become the focus of a major health debate, and how did it happen that today the world's largest processor of organic foods is located in a remote province of China. Among those interviewed are: Gary Hirshberg/Stonyfield Farms, Steve Demos/Silk, Michael Potter/Eden Foods, Maggie Brown/Swanton Berry Farm, and George Siemon/Organic Valley.

The interview and video techniques and effects are interesting and add an empathetic human slant to the information provided. Editing of the scenes was effective. This DVD is suitable for high school and college students as well as all adults, and libraries will want to provide for interested viewers of all ages as well as students and researchers.