Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Updated food biz report is both enraged and hopeful.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Food, Inc. 2
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In FOOD, INC. 2, documentary filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo seek to inform viewers about several issues and breakthroughs happening in the world of food, updating the information shared in 2008's Food, Inc. The film states that large, powerful food companies continue to subsidize ultra-processed foods, contributing to overeating, weight problems, and diabetes diagnoses. The film also argues that an overreliance on meat is both a leading cause of climate change and a source of cruelty to animals—and it says that people like fast-food workers and produce pickers are treated poorly. But there's good news, too. The film shows how workers are rising up and forming coalitions, entrepreneurs are working on various ways to introduce more plant-based foods into people's diets, and farmers are coming up with innovative ways to return to natural, holistic processes.
Is It Any Good?
Ranging from enraged to hopeful, this sequel may lack the original's explosive quality, but it still offers important information. Feeling a bit more like a greatest-hits collection than a cohesive documentary, Food, Inc. 2 zips quickly from subject to subject, lingering just long enough on each to tug at viewers' emotions. It rages at the callousness of big corporations that covet profits and couldn't care less about people's health. It rails at the unfeeling companies that don't pay their workers a living wage. And then it offers hope via farmers and innovators who are trying to come up with alternative methods of farming and producing food.
The movie's message about consumers' obsession with beef could be conveyed with even more urgency, given that meat companies are clear-cutting land and displacing other animals to make more room for cattle, which then endangers the climate with excessive amounts of methane. And Food, Inc. 2 probably could have been a little clearer as to what individuals can actually do, such as simply cutting down on our intake of beef and ultra-processed foods. (It does urge viewers to use their "fork, voice, and vote" to change things.) But, given that food is one of the most important issues we face in the coming years, the small steps taken by Food, Inc. 2 are better than no steps at all.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence shown and mentioned in Food, Inc. 2, especially in relation to animal cruelty and exploiting workers. How does including this content help the movie tell its story?
Did the movie make you want to change anything about the way you eat? What does it say people can do as individuals or in groups to act on the movie's messages and suggested solutions? More info is available at www.foodinc2.com.
Do you consider Fran Marion and Gerardo Reyes Chavez good role models? Why, or why not?
What is the purpose of a documentary? Did this one leave you feeling angry? Hopeful? Both? How?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 9, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : April 12, 2024
- Cast : Michael Pollan , Eric Schlosser , Cory Booker
- Directors : Robert Kenner , Melissa Robledo
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Magnolia Pictures
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : Activism , STEM
- Run time : 94 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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