Comments on: Monsanto Develops Fact Site Before Release of Movie, Food Inc http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1373 Julie's Fresh Air is a web log about American Agriculture and a celebration of country life. Buy my book, Fresh Air, on Amazon to experience more about country life. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:54:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Sabby Smith http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1373&cpage=1#comment-113747 Sabby Smith Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:23:15 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1373#comment-113747 How can we "get the facts" as you so casually state when no one from industry would be interviewed for the film? The commenter above has some great points. How can we “get the facts” as you so casually state when no one from industry would be interviewed for the film? The commenter above has some great points.

]]> By: Grumpy Glutton http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1373&cpage=1#comment-102237 Grumpy Glutton Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:43:40 +0000 http://juliemurphree.org/?p=1373#comment-102237 Julie, as you note, FOOD, INC. has yet to be released. Have you actually seen the film? If not, how can you say that it's "one-sided, biased"? If you have seen it (I have, in the only way possible to date, an invitation-only advance screening), you'd know that the main reason that the film seems to be one-sided is that virtually all large agribusiness companies contacted refused to be interviewed. You state, "agriculture is the only industry not permitted to engage technological advances or be profitable." You're wrong on both counts. Agribusiness is hugely profitable (ADM net inc $1.8bln FY08, Monsanto net inc $2 bln FY08 to give just two examples) and is permitted to suck regularly at the taxpayers teet. That technology has advanced is self-evident from your "send farming back to the 1950s comment." One place where technological advance has been stifled is GMOs but that's for a good reason -- GMOs are unique in that they are just about the only technology that has the capability of reproducing itself. Ergo, it's virtually impossible to pull a faulty GMO technology out of the system once it's been introduced. I agree with you that the local/organic/sustainable movement does not recognize the price and supply consequences of rolling back the clock. However, if "Food, Inc. [sic] is counter-productive to the serious dialogue surrounding the critical topic of our nation’s food supply," then oppositely biased presentations such as yours are equally damaging. For my review of FOOD, INC. see bit.ly/1bye77. My impressions from an interview with FOOD, INC. director Robert Kenner at bit.ly/EQx3X. Julie, as you note, FOOD, INC. has yet to be released. Have you actually seen the film? If not, how can you say that it’s “one-sided, biased”? If you have seen it (I have, in the only way possible to date, an invitation-only advance screening), you’d know that the main reason that the film seems to be one-sided is that virtually all large agribusiness companies contacted refused to be interviewed.

You state, “agriculture is the only industry not permitted to engage technological advances or be profitable.” You’re wrong on both counts. Agribusiness is hugely profitable (ADM net inc $1.8bln FY08, Monsanto net inc $2 bln FY08 to give just two examples) and is permitted to suck regularly at the taxpayers teet. That technology has advanced is self-evident from your “send farming back to the 1950s comment.” One place where technological advance has been stifled is GMOs but that’s for a good reason — GMOs are unique in that they are just about the only technology that has the capability of reproducing itself. Ergo, it’s virtually impossible to pull a faulty GMO technology out of the system once it’s been introduced.

I agree with you that the local/organic/sustainable movement does not recognize the price and supply consequences of rolling back the clock. However, if “Food, Inc. [sic] is counter-productive to the serious dialogue surrounding the critical topic of our nation’s food supply,” then oppositely biased presentations such as yours are equally damaging.

For my review of FOOD, INC. see bit.ly/1bye77. My impressions from an interview with FOOD, INC. director Robert Kenner at bit.ly/EQx3X.

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