Food Inc.

Week 3 – Discussion Guide

11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that
bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was
morning—the third day.

 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and
let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse
of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to
govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light
from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—
the fourth day.

 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across
the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving
thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in
number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was
evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

 24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures
that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God
made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the
creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it.

Mixer

What is one hopeful thing you found in the movie this week or as a whole?

Discussion
1. Eric Schlosser (one of the talking head bald guys who wrote Fast Food
Nation) says that changing the food industry is about changing public
understanding of processed food. He likens it to the tobacco industry. Do
you think he’s right? Will our children view our consumption of fast food
with the same disbelief we experience when we see the prevalence of
smoking two generations ago?

2. What do you all think about the Stonyfield Farms story and their founder
Gary Hirshberg? Is he on to something or selling out? What are the good
and bad implications of a small, organic farm being owned by a large
corporation? Hirshberg says he wants to work with Walmart because one purchase
order from them take “x” number of toxins and pollutants out of the eco-system. He
asserts that if you make the perfect the enemy of the good you’ll never get
anywhere, so we judo flips capitalism on it’s head and uses the popularity of organics
to get Walmart to change what it sells. However, when asked whether or not these
little organic farm companies can maintain their integrity when they are owned by
large food conglomerates he says, “the jury is still out”. How can you tell is
Hirschberg’s strategy is working or not?

3. Throughout the film we are confronted with how the “big business” of the
food industry is working against the consumer. It would easy after watching
a movie like Food Inc. to conclude that business is bad. But is it? Is business
and a bad thing? Why or why not?

Now look at the Genesis reading this morning. (Feel free to read this out to
the group if you want)

In 1:11 and 1:24 the Creation is endowed with the ability to “produce” things. It s
not a static – perfect creation – made to stay still. No, God makes the heavens and
the earth to go somewhere. To grow and sprout and produce. This is why trees make
more trees and flowers more flowers – etc. The Creation is producing and growing by
design.

Now look at people in 1: 26. The people are created to “rule” and “subdue” the
Creation. The word rule (radah) has the context of “participation”. Humans are to
participate with God in the “producing” “growing” movement of the Creation, which
is where subdue comes in. The word subdue (or kibosh) means to stop, to boundary
to direct or even harness. Humans are to work in the Creation and help it grow by
directing it to produce new things. We get to create just like the Creator because we
“rule” like God does. (This is where everything from music, to art, to plastic, to
metal, to tools come in).

So, remember this material world is not bad – it’s part of the good creation and
there is way to care for it and work with it that honors God.

Business is at its core the exchange of goods and services so that everyone can get
what they need. In this sense business is a sacred activity just like art and music. It
is the process and means by which the Creation can produce and everyone gets what
they need. Good business images God and we need sacred business. To call business
anti-to-God in its entirety is to actually deny the Creator design.

Where do you see good and bad business in Food Inc.?

4.) Why is it inappropriate for Christians to say then that “corporate

America” is all bad? We are frustrated with the way companies seem to work in
dehumanizing people for profit. We see the stories of these companies ignoring
human beings in the name of profit and we get angry. But, if we as Christians turn
around and demonize “corporations” as a whole we are guilty of the same sin. This is
because we have decided to stop seeing the sacred, image bearing people that make
those corporations and as such we dehumanize them in the same way they
dehumanize others. Let us not play by the rules of that system. That’s eye for an eye
and not the Jesus way.

Business can be a sacred activity when it’s practiced fairly and justly. It is not
inherently bad and we must repent if we send that message with our Christianity.

5.) Where do you want to change? Walmart’s dairy purchaser says that
Walmart and other companies react to what the customers want. How did
individual purchases affect Walmart’s dairy offerings? What are the choices
you can make that change the system and redeem it.
Brainstorm:
Ideas are
– If you buy sodas, bring water instead (soda is full of Genetically modified
substances and high fructose corn syrup – it's also a huge contributor to the obesity
epidemic. You vote for change when you don’t buy it)
- Choose healthy food in the school lunch line. Tell your administration that you want
healthy choices and then pick them! If they offer French fries or an orange – pick the
orange and ask them to get rid of the fries.
- Eat together as a family
- Stop buying processed food when you get to choose (if you buy from a vending
machine at school – don’t pick candy or chips – pick something healthy and if it’s not
there – bring a snack.

You get to vote three times a day when can buy your own food – start now by voting
in small places you have choices.

Close with the collect for agriculture

29. For Agriculture

See also Various Occasions no. 19.

Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so

that it might produce what is needed for life: Bless those who
work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant that
we may all share the fruits of the earth, rejoicing in your
goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.