Kitchen Report

The two repeating drumbeats being sounded by sustainable food advocates are:

1. Industrial farming has grown too quickly to produce safe and humane food.
2. Inner-cities with their lack of access to fresh, locally grown food have become food deserts.

If this is a topic that you have been following, and have seen “Food, Inc.,” and “King Corn,” two documentaries that explore the problems of large-scale farming in the United States, you might also be interested in seeing “Fresh.” And if you feel like converting your friends to the cause, you can pay a licensing fee and host a screening.

Having seen “Food, Inc.” and “King Corn” and reviewed books by investigative journalist Michael Pollan already, I can’t say that I learned anything new (and still ate a hot dog at a barbeque the next day. I’m trying).

But, I did enjoy more in-depth interviews with Virginia farmer Joel Salatin and Milwaukee urban farmer Will Allen. The Christian Science Monitor published great profiles of these guys here and here. Interviews with hog farmer Russ Kremer and supermarket owner David Ball will really connect you to how the American food chain works. Here is a partial list of the characters in the documentary.

Two of my favorite quotes from the film:

“I’m just trying to help chickens express their chickeness.” – Joel Salatin

“Food is at the foundation, but it is really about life.” – Will Allen

Indeed.