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Food Chains
By Andrea Beach,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Thought-provoking docu stresses economics of Big Grocery.
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Food Chains
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What's the Story?
Migrant farm workers in Florida stage a six-day hunger strike outside the corporate offices of Publix, a large grocery chain, to ask for better wages and working conditions. The film uses this event as the framework for exploring those conditions and the everyday lives of the workers, as well as for explaining in detail how our food-supply system works and how it's come to be. It also explores the history of agricultural workers in the United States, going back to slavery and missionary times, and gives a history of the struggle for farm workers' rights.
Is It Any Good?
FOOD CHAINS is a thought-provoking, eye-opening documentary about the process of getting food from the field to the grocery store. It has a point of view and expresses it unabashedly, which is that no one who toils full-time in the field should live in poverty and that the big grocery chains, given the power they exercise over the whole supply chain and their tremendous annual profits, should take active and relatively painless steps to improve the lives of those working in the fields. The film doesn't try to present balanced viewpoints, instead focusing on raising awareness of the situation, in particular of the indignity of living in poverty.
The economics are thoughtfully explained and easy for middle schoolers and up to understand without being dumbed down. But it's more likely to interest and affect high schoolers as they broaden their awareness and contemplate the choices they'll make as adults. It'll definitely leave you thinking about where you shop for groceries and what you'll buy when you're there.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how food gets to our table. Had you ever given it any thought? What surprised you the most about the process of getting tomatoes from the field to the grocery-store shelf?
Have you seen any other movies about the food business in America? How does this one compare? Does it present the issues fairly or impartially? Should it?
Where does your family buy most of its food? Why there? Do you have a lot of choices? If you do, did this movie change your mind about some of them? If you don't have much choice, why is that?
Movie Details
- In theaters: April 26, 2014
- On DVD or streaming: November 1, 2014
- Cast: Forest Whitaker , Eva Longoria
- Director: Sanjay Rawal
- Inclusion Information: Black actors, Female actors, Latino actors
- Studios: Illumine Group , Two Moons Production
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: History
- Run time: 83 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: March 7, 2023
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