Movies summery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movies summery - Essay Example Besides some compelling footages, the documentary also features voices and eye opening stories of farmers, food experts, food advocates, business people, and government officials. Food, Inc. seeks to inform the audience as consumers about their role in bring change to the system through making informed food choices. Food, Inc. presents an historical overview of the fast food industry indicating the transformation that has taken place over the years based the revolution of farming practices together with what and how people eat in the entire global food system. The documentary singles out the increased demand for fast food, which is inexpensive and unvarying in quality, and taste as what caused the shift to factory farming. However, it is noted that the demand for inexpensive food has led to people paying other prices like poor health and environmental degradation. The government policy of offering subsidies to corn farmers has made the commodity cheap therefore; many food producers f ind it continent to include corn or its ingredients in different products making corn perverse in many foodstuffs. It has become common, Food, Inc. notes for food producers to include components extracted from corn like xanthan gum, high-fructose corn syrup, and saccharin in their foods. The documentary also covers food contamination and the health risk such contamination pose to the population because of the revolution in food system. Contamination of food for human consumption due to the presence of bacteria such as E. coli has had far-reaching effects on human health as seen from the death of a child who ate contaminated hamburger. To make the concerns in the current food system clear, the documentary explores inherent differences between small-scale farming and industrial farming. Related to large-scale production, Food Inc. explores issues of workers’ rights and immigration of people to work in large slaughterhouses. These workers get low wages, have no job security, and have no right to form unions. The current food industry has made it impossible for small-scale farmers to compete according to Food Inc. the documentary highlights a case of a CEO of what used to be a small-scale organic yogurt production company but his company has since been taken over by a larger corporation called Groupe Danone. Food, Inc. further explores the changes in the food industries specifically targeting the treatment of seeds. The patents held by companies such as Monsanto which sells genetically modified seeds has made it illegal for farmers to store seeds from previous seasons. Some farmers face legal action even when their seeds have been contaminated by the genetically modified once from such companies. Lack of consumer awareness on the way food is processed and the ingredient it contains has been highlighted in Food, Inc as a problem. Many eat thinking they have taken a variety of food nutrients yet they have only eaten the same food type processed and packaged d ifferently. Business organizations as indicated in Food Inc. protect themselves and their products by holding onto intellectual property, and do not use detailed labels or warnings on food products they sale. Flow: For Love of Water Released in 2008, Flow: for Love of Water is a documentary about water management produced by Steven Starr. Irena Salina, the director, includes interviews from activists such as Peter Gleick, Maude Barlow, plus insights from scientists such as Rajendra Singh, Ashok Gadgil and

Contemporary Social Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contemporary Social Theory - Essay Example It is not possible to discard the classical theories because modern theories have to branch out of them and as the society is a continuous story, classical theories remain forever relevant. Also we require social theories that could combine and understand many cultures and regional specialities. To understand the demography, social class structure, population, law and justice matters, sociological network and sociological geography it is necessary to have easily applicable social theories. It enables culture mapping, research, social justice and the requirements of a social welfare state. It is necessary to analyse the complexities of contemporary societies, and to understand the present social world. It is necessary to theorise communication between social systems, social interaction, and hierarchies. It is also significant to understand the configuration of power points like global trends, media and shifting political issues. Mills argues that social theory has to be combined with social imagination that shows how the personal issues could affect the large scale social structures: â€Å"Issues have to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life. They have to do with the organisation of many such milieux into the institution of a historical society as a whole, with the ways in which various milieux overlap and interpenetrate to form the larger structure of social and historical life,† Mills (1959, p.15). Interpreting September 11th in terms of social theory is not easy. Calhoun et al (2002, P.24) argue: â€Å"The terrorist attacks have stimulated public soul-searching. Both attacks and responses to them have raised a host of questions about social organisations, basic social institutions, and how people mobilize amid crises.† Harrington covers both classical and contemporary social theories in his book Modern Social Theory. Harrington