AlexanderHiden
This documentary starts out really good. First explaining in detail what organic food means and then questioning and criticizing it, which I thought was really interesting, but then, about half way in, it takes a turn for the worse. It goes from interesting, informative and questioning to really uninteresting and boring.We must eat healthier food, big companies are evil and sell us unhealthy food, the food system is wrong and the small amounts of pesticides that is still left on conventional food are dangerous (even though the person saying this admits that there is no evidence on that, yet, and we were just told that pesticides are also used in organic produce). I agree with some of those things but I thought I bought a documentary about organic food?It continues with the message that kids needs to learn more about real food and that the school lunches have to be healthier and that we should start to buy local organic food from food markets. Lastly encouraging the viewer to grow their own mini organic farm in the backyard (because everyone has their own house with garden
)But there are already better documentary going into these last subjects. I do not understand why the filmmaker does not continue researching about organic food. Is it healthier for us? Is it better for the environment? Is it more nutritious? Does it give a better life for the animals? Does it really taste better? Is it sustainable? Is it a healthier choice for the farmers and will it give them more profit? Yes, a lot of these questions are mentioned especially in the beginning of the film. But I do not understand why the filmmaker does not continue on that trail the whole film with interviews with experts and more studies and animated diagrams and stats about ORGANIC food. If you are interested in learning more about organic food, I would recommend that you watch the first half, then turn it off.
Sean Austin
This title is similar in structure and style to "Food Inc." - I don't know if that was deliberate but this documentary approaches organic food production (in contrast to industrialized agriculture) in a way that doesn't assume that the viewer is well-versed in the subject. The tone and feel are rather homespun and naive in an "aw shucks" kind of way that allows you to feel as though you are discovering the topic along with the narrator.As for the other reviewer's comments about the lack of scientific credibility: he must have run out for some Cheetos and Mountain Dew when the assortment of Ph.Ds in the film spoke about nutrition density, industrial food processing and the results of scientific studies.
Dennis Littrell
Director Kip Pastor talks to a lot of people in the organic food business including those passionate about organics to those skeptical of the value of organic foods. He shows us how fast and large the industry has grown and he shows us why.He shows us that people are concerned about their health and they want to eat right. But most people have no idea what "organic" means. The rules for being organic are arcane even mysterious and yes they do spray. But what they spray is apparently less toxic than what Big Agriculture sprays.One of the things I learned is that there are levels of being organic both in terms of size (small organic farms are being gobbled up by the big guys) and in terms of just how "pure" the farmers are. I also learned that the label "organic," even the green and white "USDA organic," on a food does not guarantee that the food is better than something conventionally produced. However I think organic is on average superior, and this video supports that belief. And that is basically (and vaguely) what some of the people Pastor interviewed thought. More nutritional? Maybe. Maybe not. Safer? I would say very likely.How boring or interesting is this video to the average viewer? Probably only so-so. To someone clearly interested in knowing what organic is all about? Interesting. Should you as a home ed teacher show this to your class? Yes.—Dennis Littrell, author of "The World Is Not as We Think It Is"
Gregon
Easily one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen.A good documentary plunges deeply into it's topic to arrive at a well supported conclusion. In Organic We Trust is a rambling disorganized fiasco. It makes no effort to prove any of the assertions it makes. Instead, it drifts aimlessly from opinion of opinion. The scientist should explain why pesticides are harmful to children, not the farmhand. If growing organically is good for the soil, describe how. If pesticides are bad for us, describe how they harm us. If corporations are consolidating the farm industry, describe some examples and then give us personal stories of how local farmers have been harmed.The people on the street, the experts, and Kip Pastor all are unclear on the benefits of organic foods. Terms such as "nutrient rich" and "good for the environment" and "safer". In fact, no supporting evidence is made to confirm any of these assertions. Do organic foods have a higher concentration of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals? This would have been an excellent time for a slick animated graph. Do organic foods preserve the soil. Another opportunity for evidence. Perhaps Kip Pastor just expects us to accept the experts opinions because of their titles and offices? Or perhaps it was just Kip's intellectual laziness.Watching Kip's vacant eyes stare blankly over the fields of organic barley, made me ponder how much organic celery would sufficiently raise his IQ to make a decent documentary.