There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America — a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world’s food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.

Sources:
www.thefutureoffood.com
video.google.com

The Genetic Takeover
Or
Mutant Food

Canada 1999

"For the American authorities to prohibit a product it's detrimental effects must be demonstrated, whereas the precautionary principle of international law - which Europeans try to apply - is the reverse: to authorize a product it must be proven safe."

52 minutes, click play to start

excerpt:

"Whoever controls the genes controls the twenty-first century." (Jeremy Rifkin)

As recent as a decade ago, the idea of gene manipulation and private control of the world's food chain would have still been considered the stuff of science fiction. Today, however, the current dramatic growth in the biotech industry means such concepts are now becoming very real for all of us. Yet the lack of public information and involvement has led to criticism of this research, most vigorously in the area of genetically modified foods. The Genetic Takeover attempts to shed light on this criticism which comes from scientists and others who believe that the public good must come before corporate profits.

The Genetic Takeover examines a number of different aspects surrounding genetically modified foods. These include the basic science of gene manipulation, the roles of private corporations and national governments, the impact of GM foods both on farmers and consumers, and the public response to GM foods in Europe compared to North America. Interviews (some subtitled) with critics and leading researchers, such as Jeremy Rifkin and Canada's Michele Brill-Edwards, reveal the secretive nature of for-profit biotechnology and alert the viewer to the long-term consequences of public apathy in the absence of any independent regulatory system. Additional footage, which shows laboratory work in Europe, dairy farm practices in Quebec and relevant new clips from various countries, gives the audience a sense of the debate's far-reaching nature.

Have we become unwitting guinea pigs for multinationals who blithely disregard millions of years of evolution? Genetically modified plants have become part of our daily diet and are already found in 75% of processed foods. This revolution has occurred without consumer awareness or knowledge of potential risks to our health and to the environment, despite vigorous condemnation from many scientists and farmers of the absence of independent, adequate testing. In response to consumer demands, many European and Asian countries have instituted mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods, but North America has been slow to react.

Sources:
www.umanitoba.ca
video.google.com