Food Inc. – an Alternative View
Resource List
To the teacher:
If you are showing ‘Food Inc.’ the movie then here are some resources to use with your students to:
 Provide different view points
● Foster media literacy
 Create opportunities for critical thinking
● Stimulate debate
American Agriculture and Food Industry’s Response to ‘Food Inc.’ the movie

SafeFoodInc.com, http://www.safefoodinc.org/
o Myths & Facts about Food Inc. (text)
http://www.safefoodinc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=11

Monsanto, (text & videos)
o http://www.monsanto.com/food-inc/Pages/default.aspx
o http://monsantoblog.com/2009/06/08/food-inc-monsanto-did-not-decline-to-participate/

American Meat Institute
o Myths and Facts about Meat Production (text)
http://meatami.com/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/55910
o Meat Myth Crushers (videos) http://www.meatmythcrushers.com/about.html

National Chicken Council, (text) http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/ncc-responds-to%e2%80%9cfood-inc%e2%80%9d-movie-food-inc-is-a-one-sided-negative-and-misleading-film-about-theway-food-is-produced-and-sold-in-the-united-states/

America’s Dairy Farmers, Myths & Facts, Virtual Tours (text & videos)
http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/Learn-More/MythsvsFacts/Pages/MythvsFact.aspx
Mainstream Media articles

Forbes.com, author Rebecca Ruiz- Health reporter, ‘What Food Activists Ignore’,
http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/11/feed-the-world-activists-opinions-contributors-food-inc.html

Foreign Policy magazine, author Robert Paarlberg- professor & author ‘Attention Whole Foods Shoppers’,
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/26/attention_whole_foods_shoppers?page=0,0

Huffington Post, author Ellie Krieger- Dietician and host of food Network’s “Healthy Appetite”, ‘An Inside
Look at Beef Processing’ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellie-krieger/an-inside-look-at-beefpr_b_798435.html

Greenspirit, Dr. Patrick Moore-environmentalist, ‘Environmentalism for the 21st Century’ pg. 8-13, 21
http://www.greenspirit.com/21st_century.cfm?msid=29&page=1

Star Tribune , author Nicole Wyatt-vet student ‘Which Came First: Factory Chicken Farm or Egg Demand?
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/134428783.html?source=error
Facebook
 Food Inc StIncs
 Food ThInc
If you would like to bring more of a Canadian perspective about issues identified in the
‘Food Inc.’ movie to your students you may find the following resources helpful.
Canadian Information on issues identified in ‘Food Inc.’ the movie.
‘The Real Dirt on Farming II’ and accompanying ‘Teachers Guide’ are excellent resources for current Canadian
Agriculture Information. Order or download for free from AITC- M http://www.aitc.mb.ca/Resources.htm
1. Chicken
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 18-20
b. Chicken Farmers of Canada – Animal Care information (text) http://chicken.ca/on-thefarm/food_safety_and_animal_care/animal_care/
c. Chicken Farmers of Canada – Antibiotics – Your Questions Answered (text & video)
http://chicken.ca/antibiotics
d. Chicken Farmers of Canada –How has Farming Changed in the Last 50 Years? (video)
http://chicken.ca/antibiotics/videos/how-has-farming-changed-in-the-last-50-years/
e. Manitoba Chicken - http://manitobachicken.ca/at-the-farm/ includes a virtual tour of a chicken farm
and some information on the Canadian Supply Management system.
2. Corn
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 32 Animal Agriculture and Our Environment
b. Manitoba Corn Growers Association – research - http://www.manitobacorn.ca/research.html
c. Ontario Grain Farmers (text) - info about high fructose corn syrup.
http://www.gfo.ca/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=hWc5XTwXbXc%3d&tabid=89
3. Factory Farms
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 3
b. In Canada – 2006 census data 229,373 farms; 76% unincorporated family farms (Canadian census
doesn’t break down further)
4. Slow Food
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 3
b. ‘From the Farm, East Selkirk, Manitoba – Brian Chorney, Canola, Wheat, Soybeans and Oats’, 4:56,
CropLife, Brian talks about sustainability in terms of crop inputs, , protection, biotechnology,
research and climate change. He also looks at past practices compared to present practices. (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d95PJ06fv5Y&feature=plcp&context=C351e390UDOEgsToPDskI
qjGKqWau4jdXu1Zd91Ov0
c. If we were to use a slow food initiative as proposed in the movie then to feed the United States or
Canada for that matter, we would need to switch forest to farmland and increase the number of
farmers
d. To produce chickens the way Pollan describes it in Food Inc., we would need 45 million acres to
produce the 9 billion birds which are used annually. (that would be 4 times the amount of crop land
in Manitoba …just to produce chickens)
5. Cows
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 21
b. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (text) http://cowcalf.cattle.ca/ - animal care and environmental
stewardship on cow-calf operations
c. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (text) http://www.cattle.ca/feedlot-operations - animal care on
feedlot operations
d. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (text) http://www.cattle.ca/cattle-producers-and-theenvironment (check out just facts section)
6. E coli
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ - page 11, 21
b. MB Beef Producers magazine, ‘Cattle Country’, Vol. 14, No. 1 Feb. 2012, article, Review of Canada’s
Beef Cattle Industry Science Cluster pg. 1, see subsection Consumer Confidence and Beef Demand on
pg. 13 http://www.mcpa.net/wp-content/uploads/MBP-Cattle-Country-VIII_Final-Feb-2012.pdf
7. Dairy
a. Dairy Farmers of Canada (text & virtual tours) http://www.dairyfarmers.ca/what-we-do includes a
virtual tour of 2 types of dairy farms and provides information on Animal Health and Welfare,
Economics, Supply Management, International Trade Issues
b. rBST hormone has never been approved by the Canadian Government for use in Canadian dairy
cows. This hormone is not available in Canada and is not used on dairy cows in Canada. The excerpt
below is from ‘Canadian Herd Health Program’ information found on the virtual farm tour of the free
stall dairy operation at http://www.farmissues.com/virtualTour/en/index.html
“Keeping animals healthy is a top priority for dairy farmers. A serious health issue can cause
suffering to the animals and also wipe-out a farm’s production. Prevention of disease or illness
is always preferred over treatment.
Veterinarians help farmers maintain a healthy herd and may prescribe antibiotics if a cow is
sick. When this happens, treated cows are identified and milked separately from the rest of the
herd until the strict withdrawal period for the specific medication is met. The milk of these cows
is discarded. It is not sold to consumers.
At the processing plant, all milk is tested before it is pasteurized and processed in dairy products
to ensure there is no antibiotic residue. If residues are found, the entire shipment of milk is
discarded at the farmer’s expense. Farmers are paid for the quality of their milk, and are fined
heavily if it does not meet proper standards.
Did you know that in Canada, it is forbidden to use artificial growth hormones to stimulate milk
production in cows? The decision was made by Health Canada in 1999.”
http://www.farmissues.com/virtualTour/en/index.html
8. Workers
a. ‘Real Dirt on Farming II’ – page 27
b. Brandon Economic Development (text) - http://notes.brandon.ca/main.nsf/Pages+By+ID/648 info on
Maple Leaf employees
c. Government of Canada (text) - Federal government information on Seasonal Agriculture Worker
program http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/ei_tfw/sawp_tfw.shtml