The Future of Food (2004)

This documentary explores genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their impact of food, agriculture, and law.

Although I was aware of GMOs and the arguments against having them in food, I was unaware of the legal aspects of GMOs. Apparently, living things were not able to be patented; however, with the advent of GMOs, companies have been able to patent plants/seeds that have been genetically modified. While this is interesting in itself, I think some of the legal consequences that have resulted are even more shocking. One of the examples used in the film is of a farmer who, through no fault of his own, ended up with a GMO crop in his field (they think seeds may have blown off a truck into his field). The GMO cross-breeded with his own seed and when the company that owned the patent found out, they sued. The government found that, regardless of how the GMO seed arrived in his field, the farmer had violated the patent rights of the corporation (Monsanto, I think). Also, any plant that was crossed with the GMO seed was also the property of the corporation.

The documentary also followed the corporate-government relations in respect to regulation of GMOs and labeling in the supermarkets. Apparently, in the EU, all GMOs must be labeled, but GMOs are in a ton of food in the U.S. without anyone knowing.

While the documentary was a typical social documentary, it took a different approach to GMOs (mainly, legal/political) that I found interesting. However, the documentary was slow moving at times and a little one sided. I gave it a 3/5 on Netflix.