Time Out meets the makers of 'Food Inc'

After inspiring a Richard Linklater film in 2002, the book ‘Fast Food Nation’ by Eric Schlosser is back, this time as a documentary, ‘Food Inc’. We spoke to Schlosser and the director, Robert Kenner.

Was ‘Food Inc’ an attempt to bring the issues surrounding poor food production to people who may have missed the ‘Fast Food Nation’ movie?
Eric Schlosser ‘It wasn’t that thought out. When I signed over the rights for a fictional film based on “Fast Food Nation”, I reserved the documentary rights. Robert and I first started thinking about this in 2002, and one of the problems we faced was funding. It wasn’t that there was no one eager to fund it, it was that accepting funding from certain people might put limits on how the film was made. And the most important thing for me was that it was funded in a way that the director could make the film he wanted to make.’

Robert, did you have to keep Eric’s name out of the mix when you were approaching some of the bigger fast food chains for interviews?
Robert Kenner ‘I tried to be as honest as possible, but I didn’t brag about Eric’s involvement. But we weren’t making the film with a preconceived point of view. For example, I had no idea we were going to treat Wal-Mart as well as we did. The fact is we had probably 25 different phonecalls with a company like Monsanto. We told them who we were talking to, what we were talking about. They have since followed me around saying, “We never declined to be in the film.”’
ES ‘The film is not about food. It’s about a certain kind of corporate power, and the consequences for ordinary people. These companies harm themselves by closing us out. There’s room for debate. By not participating I think they make themselves look much worse. But it is an insight into their psychology, which is one of control and power. It’s very short-sighted, but it’s also revealing. This is about unchecked power. Governments behave this way, religious groups behave this way, corporations behave this way.’
RK ‘And that’s no different in the UK than it is in the US.’

Do you think in the UK we have tighter control of food than in the US?
ES ‘Of course, your Members of Parliament would never ever accept money from corporate entities! Maybe in the UK it is a little bit more discreet. But I don’t believe the Food Standards Agency is representing consumer interest. If you look at BSE, that was a textbook example of a government agency completely controlled by the industry it was supposed to regulate.’

What’s the biggest issue you hope to raise with the film?
RK ‘It’s the Orwellian nature of it all. We hear it all the time: “It’s too confusing for the consumer.” That’s American for “Please don’t give them this information.” In our film, we don’t say it’s bad to eat cloned animals. What we say is that if this food is so good, why are you working so hard to stop us knowing what’s in it?’
ES ‘If those cloned animals are so tasty they should say, “Cloned” in big letters! Let the consumer decide. That’s how the free market should work. “Give me some of them clones, please!” Personally, I’d rather eat an issue of Time Out than eat a cloned animal. But right now in the US the meat from cloned animals is available in stores. And they don’t want you to know it.’

Has there been any improvement under Obama?
ES ‘Yeah. I think that the President and the First Lady get it, I think that they’re committed to change, particularly when it comes to the health of children. One of the first things they did was plant this organic garden, which was symbolic. But it was opposed by the agribusiness industry, which put out a press release attacking them for not using pesticides!’
RK ‘Michelle Obama was attacked for being un-American. It’s amazing.’

Read our review of 'Food Inc'

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