1 00:00:39,082 --> 00:00:40,475 MICHAEL POLLAN [voice-over]: Food. 2 00:00:40,475 --> 00:00:43,347 It's a set of relationships. 3 00:00:45,001 --> 00:00:47,656 It connects you to the farmer who grew it. 4 00:00:47,656 --> 00:00:50,833 It connects you to the animals or the plants. 5 00:00:50,833 --> 00:00:53,227 It connects you to the soil. 6 00:00:53,227 --> 00:00:56,143 It connects you to the workers who prepared it. 7 00:00:56,143 --> 00:00:58,928 So there's a lot at stake when you sit down to eat. 8 00:00:59,929 --> 00:01:01,713 Over the last two decades, 9 00:01:01,713 --> 00:01:03,759 thanks to some books and movies, 10 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:05,239 like the first "Food Inc.," 11 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:08,198 something called the Food Movement got started. 12 00:01:08,198 --> 00:01:10,940 People became keenly interested 13 00:01:10,940 --> 00:01:13,899 in where their food comes from, how is it produced. 14 00:01:16,250 --> 00:01:20,036 Today, farmers markets are everywhere. 15 00:01:20,036 --> 00:01:23,735 And even in the supermarket you can buy organic food, 16 00:01:23,735 --> 00:01:26,608 grass-fed, GMO-free. 17 00:01:27,609 --> 00:01:29,176 So, we thought we could create a food system 18 00:01:29,176 --> 00:01:31,700 aligned with our values. 19 00:01:34,006 --> 00:01:37,706 But the food industry is dominated by a small handful 20 00:01:37,706 --> 00:01:42,363 of very large and very powerful companies. 21 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,457 In normal times, the power of the food industry, 22 00:01:49,457 --> 00:01:51,372 of the monopolies that dominate it, 23 00:01:51,372 --> 00:01:53,939 is invisible to most of us. 24 00:01:53,939 --> 00:01:56,594 But when the pandemic hit, 25 00:01:56,594 --> 00:01:58,596 the curtain was peeled back... 26 00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:03,514 ...and you began to see that this highly efficient, 27 00:02:03,514 --> 00:02:07,953 consolidated food system is a very brittle system. 28 00:02:09,433 --> 00:02:12,523 There were whole crops being buried, 29 00:02:12,523 --> 00:02:16,310 hogs being euthanized 'cause they couldn't be processed. 30 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:20,618 Farmers disposing a flood of milk. 31 00:02:20,618 --> 00:02:25,014 At the same time there were shortages in the supermarket 32 00:02:25,014 --> 00:02:26,711 and then people were lining up for miles 33 00:02:26,711 --> 00:02:29,149 because they were hungry. 34 00:02:30,324 --> 00:02:33,544 So this consolidated food system 35 00:02:33,544 --> 00:02:37,157 could not adapt to the changes coming so fast. 36 00:02:39,202 --> 00:02:43,685 We have built a system that depends on predictability 37 00:02:43,685 --> 00:02:45,730 and the one thing we can't count on, 38 00:02:45,730 --> 00:02:47,167 is predictability anymore. 39 00:02:49,908 --> 00:02:53,521 We need a system that is more resilient 40 00:02:53,521 --> 00:02:55,218 than the one we have. 41 00:02:57,307 --> 00:03:00,528 You know, we really thought we could change the food system 42 00:03:00,528 --> 00:03:03,226 one bite at a time. 43 00:03:03,226 --> 00:03:05,794 And as important as that is, 44 00:03:05,794 --> 00:03:09,189 it's not enough, there's more we have to do. 45 00:05:10,614 --> 00:05:12,573 GERARDO REYES CHAVEZ I have been 46 00:05:12,573 --> 00:05:14,836 working in the fields since I was a kid 47 00:05:14,836 --> 00:05:17,142 harvesting different crops. 48 00:05:20,581 --> 00:05:24,585 I heard about Immokalee back in Mexico. 49 00:05:27,239 --> 00:05:30,330 People were talking about if you go to Immokalee 50 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:34,116 you are going to earn $70 a day. 51 00:05:34,116 --> 00:05:37,946 And that was just a flat-out lie 52 00:05:37,946 --> 00:05:41,645 of recruiters trying to, uh, just bring people, 53 00:05:41,645 --> 00:05:44,605 uh, with those, uh, false pretenses. 54 00:05:46,650 --> 00:05:50,611 Working in the fields, it's mainly Latino workers 55 00:05:50,611 --> 00:05:52,743 and Haitian workers. 56 00:05:54,745 --> 00:05:58,140 The industry wants immigrant workers 57 00:05:58,140 --> 00:06:03,232 because they feel that they can take advantage of us. 58 00:06:07,149 --> 00:06:08,933 ERIC SCHLOSSER [voice-over]: If you eat fresh fruits 59 00:06:08,933 --> 00:06:12,023 and vegetables, you're connected to immigrants 60 00:06:12,023 --> 00:06:16,680 who are being paid poor wages and being mistreated. 61 00:06:18,116 --> 00:06:21,424 My whole entry into the world of food and food systems 62 00:06:21,424 --> 00:06:23,644 was in trying to understand how 63 00:06:23,644 --> 00:06:26,603 in the 20th and the 21st century, 64 00:06:26,603 --> 00:06:28,997 we could be abusing and exploiting 65 00:06:28,997 --> 00:06:31,173 the poorest workers in the United States 66 00:06:31,173 --> 00:06:34,959 who are responsible for the healthiest foods that we eat. 67 00:06:36,700 --> 00:06:39,311 In Immokalee, at the height of the pandemic, 68 00:06:39,311 --> 00:06:41,444 state government did absolutely nothing 69 00:06:41,444 --> 00:06:43,359 to protect these workers. 70 00:06:43,359 --> 00:06:45,840 In fact, the state government in Florida 71 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:48,799 even prevented contact tracing 72 00:06:48,799 --> 00:06:50,453 because if they found people who had COVID, 73 00:06:50,453 --> 00:06:53,674 they'd have to remove them from the workforce. 74 00:06:55,980 --> 00:06:59,593 The idea was, let's not know who's sick 75 00:06:59,593 --> 00:07:02,247 and get as much harvested as possible. 76 00:07:04,424 --> 00:07:06,687 You know we're feeding the country, 77 00:07:06,687 --> 00:07:08,950 so our work is essential 78 00:07:08,950 --> 00:07:13,215 but we as people, we're treated as disposable. 79 00:07:27,969 --> 00:07:30,188 TONY THOMPSON [voice-over]: Iowa's always recognized 80 00:07:30,188 --> 00:07:31,320 as a flyover state. 81 00:07:33,583 --> 00:07:35,759 Those of us that live here 82 00:07:35,759 --> 00:07:37,718 understand that there's security in that. 83 00:07:49,599 --> 00:07:51,253 Good morning. 84 00:07:51,253 --> 00:07:53,690 I can take that country omelet on for you. 85 00:07:53,690 --> 00:07:55,387 How are you guys? 86 00:07:55,387 --> 00:07:58,739 It's my job to protect 135,000 citizens 87 00:07:58,739 --> 00:08:00,523 in Black Hawk County. 88 00:08:00,523 --> 00:08:01,829 We very much appreciate your support for the college... 89 00:08:01,829 --> 00:08:03,395 You bet. 90 00:08:03,395 --> 00:08:05,354 There's hardworking, blue-collar, 91 00:08:05,354 --> 00:08:06,921 good, honest, 92 00:08:06,921 --> 00:08:09,053 salt-of-the-earth-type people here. 93 00:08:09,053 --> 00:08:11,621 Here we go, ham and cheese omelet. 94 00:08:11,621 --> 00:08:13,101 - Thank you. - Any hot sauce for you? 95 00:08:13,101 --> 00:08:14,624 - No, this is great. - All right. 96 00:08:14,624 --> 00:08:16,104 - Appreciate it, thank you. - Enjoy. 97 00:08:17,801 --> 00:08:19,499 At the beginning of the pandemic, 98 00:08:19,499 --> 00:08:23,372 we were fearful what we were gonna face. 99 00:08:23,372 --> 00:08:25,766 And all of a sudden, we had people 100 00:08:25,766 --> 00:08:28,029 testing positive in our clinics here. 101 00:08:30,422 --> 00:08:33,600 Almost all of our contact tracing pointed back 102 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,776 to the Tyson meatpacking plant. 103 00:08:41,608 --> 00:08:43,697 So this is the Tyson plant. 104 00:08:47,527 --> 00:08:50,921 Tyson's is one of the larger employers here. 105 00:08:50,921 --> 00:08:53,489 They bring income and they provide jobs. 106 00:08:53,489 --> 00:08:55,709 You don't want to alienate them. 107 00:08:56,753 --> 00:08:59,582 But our disease surveillance officer, 108 00:08:59,582 --> 00:09:01,366 public health director 109 00:09:01,366 --> 00:09:04,152 and myself went into that plant. 110 00:09:10,593 --> 00:09:12,943 We saw people working elbow to elbow, 111 00:09:12,943 --> 00:09:14,902 and reaching over the top of each other. 112 00:09:14,902 --> 00:09:16,773 And no masks, no regulation, 113 00:09:16,773 --> 00:09:20,516 no... no real concerted policy on how to protect each other. 114 00:09:20,516 --> 00:09:22,474 And then we're hearing from people that, you know, 115 00:09:22,474 --> 00:09:24,607 they're-they're stepping back off the line, 116 00:09:24,607 --> 00:09:27,349 puking on the floor, going right back to work. 117 00:09:27,349 --> 00:09:29,612 We walked out of there, all of us, just going, 118 00:09:29,612 --> 00:09:31,179 "Oh, my God, this is horrible. 119 00:09:31,179 --> 00:09:34,269 We are, we are in so much trouble." 120 00:09:36,010 --> 00:09:39,709 By the end of the month, they had 1,300 positives 121 00:09:39,709 --> 00:09:41,755 out of 2,500 employees. 122 00:09:43,757 --> 00:09:46,020 And then it started to seep out of the plant 123 00:09:46,020 --> 00:09:48,544 into our community. 124 00:09:48,544 --> 00:09:50,633 You know, we had exponential increases 125 00:09:50,633 --> 00:09:53,636 in the numbers of deaths, um, by day. 126 00:09:53,636 --> 00:09:56,160 Not by week, not by month, but by day. 127 00:09:57,684 --> 00:10:01,165 We wanted the ten-to-14-day shutdown of the plant, 128 00:10:01,165 --> 00:10:04,516 but Tyson made it very clear to us 129 00:10:04,516 --> 00:10:06,649 that it just wasn't going to happen. 130 00:10:07,868 --> 00:10:09,826 The meatpacking industry was worried 131 00:10:09,826 --> 00:10:12,394 that local public authorities were going to shut down 132 00:10:12,394 --> 00:10:13,961 their slaughterhouses. 133 00:10:13,961 --> 00:10:17,268 So John Tyson wrote a letter that was published 134 00:10:17,268 --> 00:10:19,836 in newspapers across the United States 135 00:10:19,836 --> 00:10:24,667 raising a fear that we might start running out of meat. 136 00:10:24,667 --> 00:10:27,844 And then the meatpacking companies went to the president 137 00:10:27,844 --> 00:10:31,195 to keep their slaughterhouses open. 138 00:10:31,195 --> 00:10:32,240 - We're working with Tyson... - Should we 139 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:33,937 - ban exports? - We are. 140 00:10:33,937 --> 00:10:35,983 We're gonna sign an executive order today I believe. 141 00:10:35,983 --> 00:10:38,159 Two days after the Tyson letter, 142 00:10:38,159 --> 00:10:40,683 the Trump administration issued an order 143 00:10:40,683 --> 00:10:43,120 under the Defense Production Act 144 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,080 to ensure that the plants would keep running. 145 00:10:47,081 --> 00:10:49,692 So the industry got the president of the United States 146 00:10:49,692 --> 00:10:51,694 to do exactly what it wanted. 147 00:10:51,694 --> 00:10:55,306 It even helped write the executive order that he issued. 148 00:10:56,612 --> 00:11:00,834 It's a total perversion of the Defense Production Act 149 00:11:00,834 --> 00:11:04,751 to use it to allow a company to do what it wants to do. 150 00:11:04,751 --> 00:11:08,102 The whole point of the act is to force companies to do things 151 00:11:08,102 --> 00:11:12,367 they might not want to do, to serve the American public. 152 00:11:16,110 --> 00:11:17,764 Tyson says that they were doing this 153 00:11:17,764 --> 00:11:21,071 to feed America, but we know that a lot of their meat 154 00:11:21,071 --> 00:11:22,812 goes to China and overseas. 155 00:11:23,857 --> 00:11:27,338 We also know that Tyson had a banner year. 156 00:11:28,296 --> 00:11:30,385 That's blood money. 157 00:11:32,387 --> 00:11:34,998 They didn't care about our citizens 158 00:11:34,998 --> 00:11:39,829 and way too many people paid the price for that. 159 00:11:59,022 --> 00:12:02,939 I am Agriculture USA, 160 00:12:02,939 --> 00:12:04,767 born in freedom. 161 00:12:04,767 --> 00:12:08,945 I have become the greatest provider in all history. 162 00:12:08,945 --> 00:12:11,774 I'm the spirit of progress. 163 00:12:11,774 --> 00:12:14,037 I'm a way of life, 164 00:12:14,037 --> 00:12:15,647 the American way. 165 00:12:17,867 --> 00:12:19,739 During the Cold War, 166 00:12:19,739 --> 00:12:23,220 we talked about why our system was so much superior 167 00:12:23,220 --> 00:12:25,135 to that of the Soviet Union. 168 00:12:27,921 --> 00:12:31,141 And it was the free market that was supposedly responsible 169 00:12:31,141 --> 00:12:33,753 for the greatness of this country. 170 00:12:35,058 --> 00:12:38,148 The 1950s into the early 1960s 171 00:12:38,148 --> 00:12:43,110 was a period of rising wages for American workers. 172 00:12:43,110 --> 00:12:46,635 It's the greatest period of the growth of the middle class 173 00:12:46,635 --> 00:12:48,898 in American history. 174 00:12:48,898 --> 00:12:53,555 And those things are connected to having real competition 175 00:12:53,555 --> 00:12:55,862 and strict antitrust enforcement. 176 00:12:57,864 --> 00:13:01,650 The basic idea behind antitrust policy 177 00:13:01,650 --> 00:13:06,263 is that no one company, that no two companies 178 00:13:06,263 --> 00:13:09,527 should dominate an entire sector of our economy. 179 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,750 There was strict antitrust enforcement for decades 180 00:13:14,750 --> 00:13:18,014 under both Democratic and Republican administrations. 181 00:13:19,059 --> 00:13:23,933 In the 1940s, there was an antitrust suit against AandP. 182 00:13:23,933 --> 00:13:28,285 Their 14% of the market for groceries 183 00:13:28,285 --> 00:13:31,723 was considered a threat to competition. 184 00:13:32,942 --> 00:13:35,640 But one of the big monopolies 185 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,470 that endured was ATandT. 186 00:13:39,470 --> 00:13:41,690 It was argued that we couldn't break it up 187 00:13:41,690 --> 00:13:44,998 because we needed one company to control 188 00:13:44,998 --> 00:13:46,869 all the phone lines. 189 00:13:46,869 --> 00:13:49,785 Uh, the country, in the long run, will be sorry, 190 00:13:49,785 --> 00:13:51,308 and I find it difficult to believe that things 191 00:13:51,308 --> 00:13:53,876 will work as well, uh, in the, in the future 192 00:13:53,876 --> 00:13:55,617 as they have worked in the past. 193 00:13:55,617 --> 00:13:58,576 SCHLOSSER [voice-over]: But then ATandT was broken up, 194 00:13:58,576 --> 00:14:00,883 and pretty soon, there were huge reductions 195 00:14:00,883 --> 00:14:03,886 in the cost of making a long-distance call. 196 00:14:03,886 --> 00:14:06,236 That opened the way for cellular phones, 197 00:14:06,236 --> 00:14:11,633 modems, and the whole Internet economy we have today. 198 00:14:11,633 --> 00:14:14,462 So, breaking up monopolies 199 00:14:14,462 --> 00:14:18,466 is directly linked to creating innovation. 200 00:14:19,554 --> 00:14:22,862 Around 1980, antitrust enforcement 201 00:14:22,862 --> 00:14:25,081 was greatly reduced. 202 00:14:25,081 --> 00:14:28,563 It was argued that if prices were low, 203 00:14:28,563 --> 00:14:30,695 then it didn't matter how much control 204 00:14:30,695 --> 00:14:34,743 over a market one company had. 205 00:14:36,963 --> 00:14:40,836 Those views came to be government policy. 206 00:14:40,836 --> 00:14:44,013 Corporations began to buy up their competitors. 207 00:14:44,013 --> 00:14:47,930 And they got bigger and bigger and bigger. 208 00:14:47,930 --> 00:14:50,498 Back then, the four largest beef companies 209 00:14:50,498 --> 00:14:54,241 controlled only 25% of the market. 210 00:14:54,241 --> 00:14:56,852 Today, the four largest beef companies 211 00:14:56,852 --> 00:15:00,160 control 85% of the market. 212 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,991 Three companies control 83% of the cold cereal market. 213 00:15:04,991 --> 00:15:07,602 Two companies control 70% 214 00:15:07,602 --> 00:15:10,257 of the carbonated soft drink market. 215 00:15:10,257 --> 00:15:16,045 Two companies control 80% of the baby formula market. 216 00:15:16,045 --> 00:15:18,613 Why do companies buy up their competitors? 217 00:15:18,613 --> 00:15:21,181 It's because they don't want to compete. 218 00:15:21,181 --> 00:15:23,618 And when they don't have to compete, 219 00:15:23,618 --> 00:15:26,055 consumers have to pay more, 220 00:15:26,055 --> 00:15:28,623 farmers and ranchers get paid less, 221 00:15:28,623 --> 00:15:31,191 and the difference goes to those corporations 222 00:15:31,191 --> 00:15:34,020 as higher profits. 223 00:15:34,020 --> 00:15:35,891 But that's not the only problem. 224 00:15:35,891 --> 00:15:41,027 A highly consolidated market becomes a fragile market. 225 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:44,247 In 2022, 226 00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:46,946 when Abbott had to shut down a single factory, 227 00:15:46,946 --> 00:15:49,557 43% of the nation's baby formula 228 00:15:49,557 --> 00:15:51,994 was suddenly off the shelves, 229 00:15:51,994 --> 00:15:54,954 and mothers had to start scrambling 230 00:15:54,954 --> 00:15:57,826 to find food for infants. 231 00:15:57,826 --> 00:16:00,481 There is no formula within, like, 232 00:16:00,481 --> 00:16:02,657 three hours of where we live. 233 00:16:02,657 --> 00:16:05,094 I haven't been able to find formula for, like, a month. 234 00:16:05,094 --> 00:16:06,966 I've been going to stores, like, 235 00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:09,316 almost every day, every other day. 236 00:16:09,316 --> 00:16:11,013 What are our options here? 237 00:16:11,013 --> 00:16:13,233 What do y'all want people to do, 238 00:16:13,233 --> 00:16:15,539 'cause I don't know about y'all... 239 00:16:17,802 --> 00:16:20,327 ...but this is scary. 240 00:16:20,327 --> 00:16:23,721 When you have monopoly power over baby formula, 241 00:16:23,721 --> 00:16:27,334 and one company has a problem at one factory, 242 00:16:27,334 --> 00:16:30,815 suddenly, some infants don't get to eat. 243 00:16:39,346 --> 00:16:41,391 SARAH LLOYD [voice-over]: Wisconsin is the dairy state. 244 00:16:41,391 --> 00:16:43,567 It's not an accident. 245 00:16:43,567 --> 00:16:46,353 It makes sense that we're producing dairy here. 246 00:16:46,353 --> 00:16:49,617 We have good access to water. 247 00:16:49,617 --> 00:16:52,359 We have good growing seasons. 248 00:16:54,013 --> 00:16:56,580 So, this is a really great place 249 00:16:56,580 --> 00:17:00,410 to have animals and produce milk. 250 00:17:00,410 --> 00:17:03,370 Hello, there, ladies. 251 00:17:03,370 --> 00:17:06,025 Dairy is really in the blood 252 00:17:06,025 --> 00:17:11,334 of Wisconsin farmers, but it's crushing us right now. 253 00:17:12,553 --> 00:17:15,077 We've just had continually low prices 254 00:17:15,077 --> 00:17:17,471 paid to us for our milk. 255 00:17:19,951 --> 00:17:22,780 We are considered a medium-sized farm 256 00:17:22,780 --> 00:17:24,869 by Wisconsin standards. 257 00:17:27,394 --> 00:17:29,483 When I married my husband in 2007, 258 00:17:29,483 --> 00:17:33,748 we were only milking 250 cows, and now we're at 450. 259 00:17:33,748 --> 00:17:37,491 And that's because we're just trying to run faster 260 00:17:37,491 --> 00:17:40,189 to keep our head above water. 261 00:17:41,408 --> 00:17:44,498 Farmers are overproducing, 262 00:17:44,498 --> 00:17:47,414 which is leading to a lower price. 263 00:17:47,414 --> 00:17:49,198 And what people do, 264 00:17:49,198 --> 00:17:50,852 and what the bank tells me to do, 265 00:17:50,852 --> 00:17:54,421 is to just keep trying to produce more. 266 00:17:56,118 --> 00:17:58,338 We kind of create a vicious cycle, 267 00:17:58,338 --> 00:18:00,731 because then we're producing more and more 268 00:18:00,731 --> 00:18:02,342 and then the price is going down 269 00:18:02,342 --> 00:18:05,606 and then we're producing more to try to stay afloat. 270 00:18:05,606 --> 00:18:08,217 It's really a disaster. 271 00:18:11,307 --> 00:18:15,616 Well, I think that we're huge, at 450 cows, 272 00:18:15,616 --> 00:18:17,270 and then we're trying to compete 273 00:18:17,270 --> 00:18:19,924 with these thousand-cow dairies. 274 00:18:19,924 --> 00:18:23,014 And they're looking at the 5,000 cow dairies 275 00:18:23,014 --> 00:18:25,365 and then the 5,000-cow dairy 276 00:18:25,365 --> 00:18:28,150 is trying to compete with the 10,000. 277 00:18:28,150 --> 00:18:30,718 And now you hear about 20,000-cow dairies, 278 00:18:30,718 --> 00:18:32,241 30,000-cow dairies. 279 00:18:32,241 --> 00:18:33,982 Where does it stop? 280 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,858 Now there are fewer and fewer processers 281 00:18:40,858 --> 00:18:44,514 because they've all merged with each other. 282 00:18:46,037 --> 00:18:49,650 So it used to be that if I didn't like the price, 283 00:18:49,650 --> 00:18:54,481 I could find other processers to buy my milk. 284 00:18:54,481 --> 00:18:57,658 But now, because of consolidation, 285 00:18:57,658 --> 00:19:01,966 I can't move my milk to another place with a better price. 286 00:19:06,057 --> 00:19:12,629 We've lost half of our dairy farms in Wisconsin since 2007. 287 00:19:12,629 --> 00:19:16,372 Lots of people going bankrupt. 288 00:19:16,372 --> 00:19:20,985 The corporate control pushing folks like us 289 00:19:20,985 --> 00:19:24,163 to just throw up their hands and say, "I'm done." 290 00:19:28,341 --> 00:19:30,691 POLLAN [voice-over]: The food system is often at war 291 00:19:30,691 --> 00:19:32,910 with nature. 292 00:19:32,910 --> 00:19:34,651 And one of the great examples 293 00:19:34,651 --> 00:19:36,523 is when you watch the dairy industry 294 00:19:36,523 --> 00:19:42,093 move from wet, grassy places like Wisconsin and Vermont 295 00:19:42,093 --> 00:19:45,575 to deserts like California and Arizona. 296 00:19:45,575 --> 00:19:48,883 How could this possibly make sense? 297 00:19:48,883 --> 00:19:51,364 Well, as dairies get bigger, 298 00:19:51,364 --> 00:19:54,802 they move to places where there are very few regulations, 299 00:19:54,802 --> 00:19:57,979 where land is cheap and you can grow crops 300 00:19:57,979 --> 00:20:01,765 to feed your cattle all year round. 301 00:20:01,765 --> 00:20:04,725 But the environmental cost to this is insane. 302 00:20:04,725 --> 00:20:07,597 The rain will oblige you in Wisconsin 303 00:20:07,597 --> 00:20:09,904 and grow the grass for you. 304 00:20:10,905 --> 00:20:12,689 But in the desert, 305 00:20:12,689 --> 00:20:16,780 this is water that must be pumped deep out of the aquifers 306 00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:21,002 to irrigate the crops and hydrate the cattle. 307 00:20:21,002 --> 00:20:24,266 These mega-dairies are rapidly draining the water table 308 00:20:24,266 --> 00:20:26,616 in the Colorado River 309 00:20:26,616 --> 00:20:28,270 and leaving neighboring communities 310 00:20:28,270 --> 00:20:30,359 without drinking water. 311 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:33,057 So the logic of capitalism 312 00:20:33,057 --> 00:20:35,843 and the logic of nature are at war. 313 00:20:35,843 --> 00:20:40,630 It's a classic example of profits over sustainability. 314 00:20:53,991 --> 00:20:55,776 ZACK SMITH [voice-over]: My great-great-grandfather, 315 00:20:55,776 --> 00:20:59,127 he settled here in 1894. 316 00:21:00,868 --> 00:21:06,308 My dad came in 1975 and farmed for the next 40 years. 317 00:21:07,614 --> 00:21:10,660 And then, uh, I took over the operation. 318 00:21:11,705 --> 00:21:13,533 Things have really changed, 319 00:21:13,533 --> 00:21:16,187 just from my father's time to mine. 320 00:21:18,146 --> 00:21:21,323 In Iowa, we used to grow a multitude of crops. 321 00:21:21,323 --> 00:21:24,239 You know, 100 years ago, we used to have apple orchards, 322 00:21:24,239 --> 00:21:26,894 and every farm had livestock. 323 00:21:26,894 --> 00:21:28,504 But when you drive across Iowa now, 324 00:21:28,504 --> 00:21:30,811 you see nothing but commodity crops: 325 00:21:30,811 --> 00:21:33,161 corn and soybeans, 326 00:21:33,161 --> 00:21:37,426 because those are the crops the government subsidizes. 327 00:21:37,426 --> 00:21:40,037 And that's why, that's why farmers do what they do, 328 00:21:40,037 --> 00:21:42,431 is they follow the policy, because they're in business 329 00:21:42,431 --> 00:21:44,868 to make money just like everyone else. 330 00:21:45,913 --> 00:21:48,872 But the thing that is not factored into that 331 00:21:48,872 --> 00:21:52,093 is what is the result to the land? 332 00:21:53,094 --> 00:21:54,835 Our best resource here in Iowa 333 00:21:54,835 --> 00:21:56,924 is the richest soil in the world. 334 00:21:57,968 --> 00:22:00,536 But because of the intensive farming that we've done, 335 00:22:00,536 --> 00:22:03,452 half of our topsoil is already gone. 336 00:22:03,452 --> 00:22:06,281 We're losing soil faster than we're making it. 337 00:22:07,326 --> 00:22:09,545 And I get reminded of this every year 338 00:22:09,545 --> 00:22:13,506 as I'm farming next to the fence lines. 339 00:22:13,506 --> 00:22:15,246 And you can see a drop-off 340 00:22:15,246 --> 00:22:17,336 between the fence line and your field level, 341 00:22:17,336 --> 00:22:20,817 and that tells you exactly how much soil you've lost. 342 00:22:23,820 --> 00:22:27,084 I-I think any Iowa farm boy growing up 343 00:22:27,084 --> 00:22:29,696 wants to farm full-time. 344 00:22:29,696 --> 00:22:31,872 But I farm about 300 acres, 345 00:22:31,872 --> 00:22:36,877 and 300 acres is not enough to feed a family comfortably. 346 00:22:36,877 --> 00:22:40,446 So I work off the farm, as do a lot of folks. 347 00:22:40,446 --> 00:22:42,448 How's, uh, a load of seeds sound here, 348 00:22:42,448 --> 00:22:43,666 uh, later this morning? 349 00:22:43,666 --> 00:22:45,276 Stop by and, uh, drop that off... 350 00:22:45,276 --> 00:22:48,367 I sell seed and I sell farm inputs, 351 00:22:48,367 --> 00:22:51,065 chemicals to help eliminate pests and weeds. 352 00:22:52,458 --> 00:22:54,373 So let's look at this field here. 353 00:22:54,373 --> 00:22:55,722 You got a lot of potential value... 354 00:22:55,722 --> 00:22:56,897 I make recommendations 355 00:22:56,897 --> 00:22:59,421 to use synthetic fertilizers 356 00:22:59,421 --> 00:23:02,163 to get the highest return off of their land. 357 00:23:04,731 --> 00:23:06,994 So, I make my living from what a lot of people 358 00:23:06,994 --> 00:23:09,388 would call the industrialized food system. 359 00:23:12,565 --> 00:23:17,265 However, I have big concerns about the future. 360 00:23:21,965 --> 00:23:25,012 - That's 40 bags. - Okay. 361 00:23:25,012 --> 00:23:26,840 SMITH [voice-over]: If we stay on this path 362 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,060 where we continue to subsidize commodity crops, 363 00:23:30,060 --> 00:23:32,019 that's not good for the long-term 364 00:23:32,019 --> 00:23:34,717 of our farming communities, our soils, our water quality. 365 00:23:37,024 --> 00:23:41,332 So, I'm trying to come up with a whole new system 366 00:23:41,332 --> 00:23:43,726 so farmers like myself can grow things in a way 367 00:23:43,726 --> 00:23:46,163 that changes the rules of the game. 368 00:23:57,784 --> 00:23:59,176 - Hi. - Senator, how are you? 369 00:23:59,176 --> 00:24:00,264 - I'm very good. - Nice to meet you. 370 00:24:00,264 --> 00:24:01,483 Nice to meet you as well. 371 00:24:01,483 --> 00:24:02,919 Farmer Steve, I'm farming. 372 00:24:02,919 --> 00:24:04,486 Uh, all right. All right. 373 00:24:04,486 --> 00:24:06,053 - Cory. - We're thrilled 374 00:24:06,053 --> 00:24:08,447 to be able to have Senator Cory Booker, 375 00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:10,187 appointed earlier this year 376 00:24:10,187 --> 00:24:11,406 to the Senate Agriculture Committee. 377 00:24:15,758 --> 00:24:17,368 You have no idea how exciting it is for me 378 00:24:17,368 --> 00:24:19,458 to be standing here in a field in my own state. 379 00:24:19,458 --> 00:24:24,245 It was 15 years ago this month that I was elected 380 00:24:24,245 --> 00:24:27,814 to be mayor of New Jersey's largest city. 381 00:24:27,814 --> 00:24:29,990 If you would have told me 15 years ago 382 00:24:29,990 --> 00:24:34,690 that I would use every point of leverage I had in the Senate 383 00:24:34,690 --> 00:24:38,172 to become, uh, a member of the Ag Committee, 384 00:24:38,172 --> 00:24:40,043 I would have not believed you. 385 00:24:40,043 --> 00:24:42,524 I want you to know I am so excited to have 386 00:24:42,524 --> 00:24:45,440 the top of my agenda right now, 387 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,096 uh, dealing with, uh, America's food system, 388 00:24:49,096 --> 00:24:51,098 which is savagely broken. 389 00:24:51,098 --> 00:24:52,969 I-I come at this 390 00:24:52,969 --> 00:24:54,667 through lived experience. 391 00:24:54,667 --> 00:24:58,235 I watched what our food systems 392 00:24:58,235 --> 00:25:02,283 were doing to my family members and to my community. 393 00:25:03,980 --> 00:25:06,330 Being on the ground as a local leader, 394 00:25:06,330 --> 00:25:08,463 I started seeing that the systems within Newark 395 00:25:08,463 --> 00:25:11,118 were really failing kids, families 396 00:25:11,118 --> 00:25:14,513 where they didn't have access to healthy foods. 397 00:25:16,079 --> 00:25:19,169 These foods were being pushed in a way 398 00:25:19,169 --> 00:25:23,783 that seemed, to me, to prey upon low-income people. 399 00:25:25,349 --> 00:25:28,178 They need the cheapest food possible, 400 00:25:28,178 --> 00:25:31,181 but they're living in the middle of a food desert, 401 00:25:31,181 --> 00:25:34,533 where a Twinkie product is cheaper than an apple. 402 00:25:36,230 --> 00:25:39,102 African American kids, in the last decade alone, 403 00:25:39,102 --> 00:25:42,236 have seen their diabetes rates double. 404 00:25:43,585 --> 00:25:46,109 So it just made me want to drastically change 405 00:25:46,109 --> 00:25:48,808 the food systems for, then, my community, 406 00:25:48,808 --> 00:25:51,462 but now, of fixing the broken food systems 407 00:25:51,462 --> 00:25:55,162 in the United States and globally. 408 00:26:02,430 --> 00:26:04,606 JON TESTER [voice-over]: This part of Montana 409 00:26:04,606 --> 00:26:07,914 is a place where buffalo had a hard time surviving. 410 00:26:07,914 --> 00:26:10,438 But you can actually raise a hell of a crop here. 411 00:26:13,572 --> 00:26:16,705 In fact, I was supposed to finish seeding my peas today, 412 00:26:16,705 --> 00:26:20,230 but as you can tell, best-laid plans. 413 00:26:20,230 --> 00:26:23,190 Things don't tend to work when it gets cold, 414 00:26:23,190 --> 00:26:25,888 including me. 415 00:26:28,456 --> 00:26:30,458 I never felt appreciated as a farmer. 416 00:26:30,458 --> 00:26:34,331 I raise food, but food is treated like a commodity, 417 00:26:34,331 --> 00:26:37,334 it wasn't treated like something you'd eat. 418 00:26:38,379 --> 00:26:40,163 And I said to my wife, 419 00:26:40,163 --> 00:26:43,036 "If we don't do something to improve our profit margin, 420 00:26:43,036 --> 00:26:46,648 w-we're gonna be selling out just like everybody else." 421 00:26:46,648 --> 00:26:50,739 I would say there's about 150 bushel in the truck. 422 00:26:50,739 --> 00:26:53,873 In the late '80s, we converted to organics... 423 00:26:54,917 --> 00:26:58,486 ...and we raised durum for organic noodles. 424 00:26:58,486 --> 00:27:00,880 It was the first time since we'd been farming 425 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,143 that I actually felt like I was doing something 426 00:27:03,143 --> 00:27:06,668 that people appreciated, that people wanted. 427 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,589 But now, we're seeing an all-out attack 428 00:27:14,589 --> 00:27:16,591 on family farm agriculture. 429 00:27:19,246 --> 00:27:21,596 The corporate business model 430 00:27:21,596 --> 00:27:24,773 is killing rural America, it's killing it. 431 00:27:25,861 --> 00:27:27,646 And that's not the way it should be. 432 00:27:27,646 --> 00:27:31,606 There needs to be people living out here producing food. 433 00:27:34,130 --> 00:27:36,002 But as far as changing things, 434 00:27:36,002 --> 00:27:37,873 there's really only one place you can do that, 435 00:27:37,873 --> 00:27:39,788 and that's Washington, D.C. 436 00:27:43,749 --> 00:27:47,317 We've seen a mass exodus off the land. 437 00:27:48,362 --> 00:27:51,321 In my small town, as an example, 438 00:27:51,321 --> 00:27:53,106 when I graduated from high school, 439 00:27:53,106 --> 00:27:55,630 there was a thousand people in that town, 440 00:27:55,630 --> 00:27:57,588 now there's about 600. 441 00:27:57,588 --> 00:28:01,418 There were two hardware stores, now there are none. 442 00:28:01,418 --> 00:28:05,727 There were three grocery stores, now there's one. 443 00:28:05,727 --> 00:28:08,948 And maybe the most distressing is there were five bars, 444 00:28:08,948 --> 00:28:11,559 and now there's only two. 445 00:28:11,559 --> 00:28:14,954 I'm the Senate's only working farmer, 446 00:28:14,954 --> 00:28:16,607 and I want rural America to be vibrant again. 447 00:28:16,607 --> 00:28:18,871 That's my motivation here. 448 00:28:20,786 --> 00:28:22,613 Testa. 449 00:28:22,613 --> 00:28:23,832 Booka. 450 00:28:23,832 --> 00:28:26,008 How you doing, man? 451 00:28:26,008 --> 00:28:27,662 Good to see you. 452 00:28:29,142 --> 00:28:30,578 BOOKER [voice-over]: Jon Tester is, 453 00:28:30,578 --> 00:28:32,188 he's been a mentor to me in the Senate. 454 00:28:32,188 --> 00:28:35,714 He, early on, talked to me about the absurdities 455 00:28:35,714 --> 00:28:37,890 - in the Ag world. - And you could make... 456 00:28:37,890 --> 00:28:39,456 BOOKER [voice-over]: It's this odd combination 457 00:28:39,456 --> 00:28:41,850 of a guy from Montana 458 00:28:41,850 --> 00:28:43,722 and a guy from New Jersey, and yet, 459 00:28:43,722 --> 00:28:46,420 we have so much common ground. 460 00:28:46,420 --> 00:28:48,988 If you want to reestablish rural America again, 461 00:28:48,988 --> 00:28:51,555 if you want to have people that are able to live there, 462 00:28:51,555 --> 00:28:53,427 - y-you got to have opportunity. - Yeah. 463 00:28:53,427 --> 00:28:55,037 And if you're gonna have opportunity, 464 00:28:55,037 --> 00:28:56,822 then you got to have fair prices. 465 00:28:56,822 --> 00:28:59,389 But when you have consolidation, 466 00:28:59,389 --> 00:29:01,914 now you, now you've got people setting prices. 467 00:29:01,914 --> 00:29:03,829 They go out on a golf course and play a round of golf 468 00:29:03,829 --> 00:29:06,266 and determine what you're gonna get for a-a bushel of wheat 469 00:29:06,266 --> 00:29:09,182 or, o-or whatever-whatever you're talking about. 470 00:29:09,182 --> 00:29:12,228 But as long as we're, uh, doing nothing, 471 00:29:12,228 --> 00:29:13,969 you're gonna continue to see more consolidation 472 00:29:13,969 --> 00:29:15,405 and you're gonna continue to see 473 00:29:15,405 --> 00:29:17,059 the demise of the family farm. 474 00:29:17,059 --> 00:29:20,410 So, in many ways, they're picking winners and losers. 475 00:29:20,410 --> 00:29:23,022 The winners are the handful of multinational corporations, 476 00:29:23,022 --> 00:29:25,459 the losers are all the rest of us. 477 00:29:28,070 --> 00:29:30,072 We are so connected. 478 00:29:30,072 --> 00:29:31,900 The challenges in my community 479 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:33,336 are directly connected to a system 480 00:29:33,336 --> 00:29:35,512 that's driving farmers out of business, 481 00:29:35,512 --> 00:29:38,298 hurting our soil and our rivers, 482 00:29:38,298 --> 00:29:41,431 hurting the food workers, hurting the end consumers. 483 00:29:42,476 --> 00:29:43,825 And as a nation, 484 00:29:43,825 --> 00:29:45,827 we are dramatically subsidizing, 485 00:29:45,827 --> 00:29:51,180 with our tax dollars, the foods that are making us sick. 486 00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:54,096 And only a small fraction of our subsidies 487 00:29:54,096 --> 00:29:56,925 go to the healthy fresh foods 488 00:29:56,925 --> 00:29:59,841 that we should be eating as a majority of our diet. 489 00:30:01,843 --> 00:30:05,978 I don't want the government to be telling someone what to eat, 490 00:30:05,978 --> 00:30:09,111 but I sure as heck don't want my tax dollars 491 00:30:09,111 --> 00:30:12,985 subsidizing the things that are making people sick, 492 00:30:12,985 --> 00:30:16,858 and now we have to pay for the health care costs 493 00:30:16,858 --> 00:30:18,860 of-of the chronic disease 494 00:30:18,860 --> 00:30:21,820 that we're fueling with our food system. 495 00:30:21,820 --> 00:30:25,475 So, this is a conundrum to me. 496 00:30:33,483 --> 00:30:36,747 We have here the world's largest potato. 497 00:30:36,747 --> 00:30:38,140 I'll say that's a large potato. 498 00:30:38,140 --> 00:30:40,577 And here's what's in it. 499 00:30:40,577 --> 00:30:43,015 I've had a long career 500 00:30:43,015 --> 00:30:45,017 about looking at food and nutrition 501 00:30:45,017 --> 00:30:49,673 as ways to examine really important problems in society. 502 00:30:49,673 --> 00:30:51,806 Food connects to everything. 503 00:30:54,461 --> 00:30:56,898 By the 1980s, agricultural production 504 00:30:56,898 --> 00:31:00,380 had increased so much in the United States 505 00:31:00,380 --> 00:31:04,297 that the number of calories in the food supply 506 00:31:04,297 --> 00:31:07,953 increased to about 4,000 calories a day per person. 507 00:31:07,953 --> 00:31:10,825 And that's twice as many calories available 508 00:31:10,825 --> 00:31:12,914 in the food supply as anybody needs. 509 00:31:13,784 --> 00:31:16,178 This puts enormous pressure on food companies. 510 00:31:16,178 --> 00:31:19,007 How are they gonna sell? 511 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,621 Food companies are businesses with stockholders to please. 512 00:31:27,233 --> 00:31:28,930 The profits have to get bigger and bigger, 513 00:31:28,930 --> 00:31:31,498 sales have to increase and increase. 514 00:31:31,498 --> 00:31:34,370 And food companies figured out lots of ways to do that. 515 00:31:34,370 --> 00:31:36,546 ANNOUNCER [voice-over]: Wendy's Baconator is 516 00:31:36,546 --> 00:31:38,722 the ultimate bacon cheeseburger. 517 00:31:38,722 --> 00:31:40,637 NESTLE [voice-over]: They opened up fast-food places 518 00:31:40,637 --> 00:31:43,336 all over the world. 519 00:31:43,336 --> 00:31:46,905 They made foods in larger portions. 520 00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:49,995 ANNOUNCER [voice-over]: One enormous sandwich. 521 00:31:49,995 --> 00:31:52,040 NESTLE [voice-over]: If you are presented 522 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,824 with a very large amount of food... 523 00:31:53,824 --> 00:31:55,826 ANNOUNCER [voice-over]: Our biggest entrees ever. 524 00:31:55,826 --> 00:31:57,263 NESTLE [voice-over]: ...all of the research shows 525 00:31:57,263 --> 00:31:58,917 that you're gonna eat more from that portion 526 00:31:58,917 --> 00:32:02,311 than you would if you were given a small portion. 527 00:32:03,356 --> 00:32:05,836 And then, food companies made foods 528 00:32:05,836 --> 00:32:09,275 available any place that you could think of. 529 00:32:09,275 --> 00:32:11,016 You go into a clothing store, 530 00:32:11,016 --> 00:32:13,975 and there's candy bars at the checkout counter. 531 00:32:13,975 --> 00:32:16,760 ♪ Hot donuts 532 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,459 ♪ With Kentucky Fried Chicken. ♪ 533 00:32:19,459 --> 00:32:21,591 NESTLE [voice-over]: So, food companies 534 00:32:21,591 --> 00:32:24,420 are doing everything they can to get people to eat 535 00:32:24,420 --> 00:32:28,990 anytime, anyplace, day or night, in large portions. 536 00:32:28,990 --> 00:32:33,429 What better way to sell foods, whether people need it or not? 537 00:32:33,429 --> 00:32:35,170 It's time for Fourthmeal. 538 00:32:35,170 --> 00:32:38,173 It's a late-night meal, between dinner and breakfast. 539 00:32:42,047 --> 00:32:44,179 NESTLE [voice-over]: So, I think it's just very hard 540 00:32:44,179 --> 00:32:46,268 to resist a food environment 541 00:32:46,268 --> 00:32:49,402 that is just yelling at us all the time, 542 00:32:49,402 --> 00:32:51,882 "Eat more! Eat more! Eat more!" 543 00:33:02,154 --> 00:33:04,025 CARLOS MONTEIRO [voice-over]: In the 1980s, 544 00:33:04,025 --> 00:33:08,073 I worked as a pediatrician in the outskirts of Saão Paulo. 545 00:33:10,075 --> 00:33:12,642 Since then, we have observed 546 00:33:12,642 --> 00:33:16,255 a decline in child malnutrition, 547 00:33:16,255 --> 00:33:19,867 and an increase in obesity. 548 00:33:22,217 --> 00:33:25,003 We had, in Brazil, each year, 549 00:33:25,003 --> 00:33:28,136 one million new cases of obesity. 550 00:33:30,095 --> 00:33:33,663 Our research found a decline 551 00:33:33,663 --> 00:33:38,886 in the purchase of salt, cooking oils, table sugar, 552 00:33:38,886 --> 00:33:43,369 and-and then I say, "Whoa, these are supposed to be 553 00:33:43,369 --> 00:33:45,371 "the determinants of obesity, right? 554 00:33:45,371 --> 00:33:47,242 "If they are declining, that's... 555 00:33:47,242 --> 00:33:48,983 this doesn't make sense." 556 00:33:50,289 --> 00:33:52,073 But then we realized that that traditional, 557 00:33:52,073 --> 00:33:55,990 whole foods like rice and beans, 558 00:33:55,990 --> 00:33:59,646 were being replaced by soft drinks, 559 00:33:59,646 --> 00:34:04,129 packaged snacks, sausages, instant noodles. 560 00:34:04,129 --> 00:34:06,566 All these products are formulations 561 00:34:06,566 --> 00:34:09,569 of nutrients and additives. 562 00:34:10,570 --> 00:34:12,789 Colors and flavors, 563 00:34:12,789 --> 00:34:15,531 emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners. 564 00:34:15,531 --> 00:34:17,968 These are chemical compounds 565 00:34:17,968 --> 00:34:22,669 totally unknown to our metabolism. 566 00:34:22,669 --> 00:34:25,063 And these foods are submitted 567 00:34:25,063 --> 00:34:28,066 to intensive processing. 568 00:34:29,545 --> 00:34:33,027 So we decided to call this food group 569 00:34:33,027 --> 00:34:35,334 "ultra-processed foods." 570 00:34:36,900 --> 00:34:40,078 We raised the hypothesis that the consumption 571 00:34:40,078 --> 00:34:43,472 of ultra-processed food could be the main driver 572 00:34:43,472 --> 00:34:46,997 of diabetes and other chronic diseases. 573 00:34:50,740 --> 00:34:54,135 In 2019, one researcher, 574 00:34:54,135 --> 00:34:59,836 Kevin Hall, decided to test our hypothesis. 575 00:35:00,881 --> 00:35:03,840 HALL [voice-over]: I was first pretty skeptical of this idea. 576 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,060 And I would ask, "What is it about ultra-processed foods 577 00:35:06,060 --> 00:35:08,628 that causes people of overeat?" 578 00:35:08,628 --> 00:35:10,630 Is it the nutrients that's driving this, 579 00:35:10,630 --> 00:35:14,329 or perhaps it's something about the processing of these foods? 580 00:35:15,374 --> 00:35:17,898 So I decided to design two diets. 581 00:35:17,898 --> 00:35:21,293 In the ultra-processed diet, we had 80% of calories 582 00:35:21,293 --> 00:35:23,121 coming from ultra-processed foods, 583 00:35:23,121 --> 00:35:25,427 whereas in the minimally processed diet, 584 00:35:25,427 --> 00:35:28,909 we had zero percent of calories from ultra-processed foods. 585 00:35:28,909 --> 00:35:31,912 But the meals were matched for the calories, 586 00:35:31,912 --> 00:35:36,917 matched for salt, sugar, fat, fiber and protein. 587 00:35:36,917 --> 00:35:40,442 We told people to eat as much or as little as desired. 588 00:35:41,835 --> 00:35:45,143 When people were exposed to this ultra-processed diet, 589 00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:48,755 they ended up eating about 500 calories per day more 590 00:35:48,755 --> 00:35:52,062 compared to the mostly unprocessed diet. 591 00:35:52,062 --> 00:35:54,500 NESTLE [voice-over]: Usually, in studies of this type, 592 00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:58,286 you find a difference of 30 to 50 calories a day. 593 00:35:58,286 --> 00:36:00,158 But 500? 594 00:36:00,158 --> 00:36:02,725 I mean, that's an unbelievable result. 595 00:36:02,725 --> 00:36:04,945 HALL [voice-over]: On the ultra-processed diet, 596 00:36:04,945 --> 00:36:07,165 people gained weight and gained body fat. 597 00:36:07,165 --> 00:36:10,168 And when we switched them to the unprocessed diet, 598 00:36:10,168 --> 00:36:13,388 those people spontaneously lost weight and lost fat. 599 00:36:13,388 --> 00:36:17,218 And so, this study suggests that there's something else 600 00:36:17,218 --> 00:36:19,829 about ultra-processed foods, independent of the salt, 601 00:36:19,829 --> 00:36:22,223 the sugar and the fat and the fiber, 602 00:36:22,223 --> 00:36:25,400 that's driving people to overeat. 603 00:36:27,924 --> 00:36:30,231 The easiest way to explain 604 00:36:30,231 --> 00:36:33,930 the different categories of processing is corn. 605 00:36:33,930 --> 00:36:38,935 Corn on the cob, unprocessed, it's been peeled and washed. 606 00:36:38,935 --> 00:36:43,592 Canned corn, minimally processed, salt has been added. 607 00:36:43,592 --> 00:36:47,596 But Dorito chips have color, texture 608 00:36:47,596 --> 00:36:49,598 and flavoring additives. 609 00:36:49,598 --> 00:36:51,687 Ultra-processed. 610 00:36:53,211 --> 00:36:54,342 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: Processed food, 611 00:36:54,342 --> 00:36:56,344 you can make at home. 612 00:36:56,344 --> 00:37:00,000 Ultra-processed foods, you don't have the ingredients, 613 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,045 you don't have the additives, 614 00:37:02,045 --> 00:37:04,222 and you don't have the machines. 615 00:37:06,572 --> 00:37:08,138 POLLAN [voice-over]: The reason you process food 616 00:37:08,138 --> 00:37:09,531 is not that there's anything wrong with it 617 00:37:09,531 --> 00:37:10,837 in its natural state, 618 00:37:10,837 --> 00:37:12,882 it's that you make a lot more money. 619 00:37:14,406 --> 00:37:17,800 You know, the money in the system is not at the farm end. 620 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:22,675 The farmer's getting less than 15% of your food dollars. 621 00:37:22,675 --> 00:37:24,633 No, the money is going to the processor 622 00:37:24,633 --> 00:37:27,462 who's benefiting from the fact that we're overproducing 623 00:37:27,462 --> 00:37:31,118 and driving down the cost of raw materials. 624 00:37:32,119 --> 00:37:33,512 The food processors 625 00:37:33,512 --> 00:37:36,689 buy those cheap agricultural commodities 626 00:37:36,689 --> 00:37:40,127 and then turn it into the panoply 627 00:37:40,127 --> 00:37:44,174 of ultra-processed food products in your supermarket. 628 00:37:44,174 --> 00:37:46,525 If you complicate that food 629 00:37:46,525 --> 00:37:50,833 in the form of flavor or novelty, 630 00:37:50,833 --> 00:37:53,271 that's where the money is. 631 00:37:54,315 --> 00:37:56,709 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: Ultra-processed food ensures 632 00:37:56,709 --> 00:38:00,016 that a consumer will buy more and more and more, 633 00:38:00,016 --> 00:38:02,628 because these products 634 00:38:02,628 --> 00:38:06,284 are made to be consumed in excess. 635 00:38:11,027 --> 00:38:12,812 MARK SCHATZKER [voice-over]: Eating worked pretty well 636 00:38:12,812 --> 00:38:15,815 for humans for an awfully long time. 637 00:38:15,815 --> 00:38:17,425 We ate what we needed, 638 00:38:17,425 --> 00:38:21,037 our needs were in balance with our appetite. 639 00:38:21,037 --> 00:38:22,648 And it's really only recently 640 00:38:22,648 --> 00:38:24,650 that something about our relationship with food 641 00:38:24,650 --> 00:38:27,217 got disturbed, distorted. 642 00:38:27,217 --> 00:38:30,960 Now we find ourselves literally eating ourselves to death. 643 00:38:32,397 --> 00:38:34,790 Animals have similar nutritional needs 644 00:38:34,790 --> 00:38:36,401 to ourselves, so what do they do? 645 00:38:36,401 --> 00:38:39,621 They, on some intuitive level, know what to eat. 646 00:38:39,621 --> 00:38:41,797 It's called nutritional wisdom. 647 00:38:41,797 --> 00:38:45,192 These mama cows are over in this field eating alfalfa 648 00:38:45,192 --> 00:38:47,934 because that's rich in protein and they're supporting a fetus, 649 00:38:47,934 --> 00:38:50,153 so they need the protein. 650 00:38:50,153 --> 00:38:51,764 But these steers, they're over here in this field 651 00:38:51,764 --> 00:38:53,853 and they're eating rye grass which has got sugar 652 00:38:53,853 --> 00:38:56,682 and carbohydrates in it because they're laying on fat. 653 00:38:56,682 --> 00:38:58,248 And they do this on their own. 654 00:38:58,248 --> 00:39:01,121 They're somehow attracted to the food they need. 655 00:39:01,121 --> 00:39:02,601 And humans are no different. 656 00:39:02,601 --> 00:39:05,038 Millions of years ago, 657 00:39:05,038 --> 00:39:09,347 our ancestors, walking around the jungles of Africa, 658 00:39:09,347 --> 00:39:11,871 there was no label on the fruit that they ate, 659 00:39:11,871 --> 00:39:14,264 they didn't know about the calories. 660 00:39:14,264 --> 00:39:15,701 But this experience of just looking 661 00:39:15,701 --> 00:39:18,399 for the food that tasted the best 662 00:39:18,399 --> 00:39:19,661 is what nourished them. 663 00:39:19,661 --> 00:39:22,142 It's how they had a nutritious diet. 664 00:39:23,186 --> 00:39:24,797 You think of something like a delicious peach, 665 00:39:24,797 --> 00:39:29,149 that flavor that we experience is the brain's system 666 00:39:29,149 --> 00:39:34,241 of analyzing the nutrition that's within a food. 667 00:39:34,241 --> 00:39:37,810 Flavor is nature's language of nutrition. 668 00:39:39,333 --> 00:39:42,510 For decades now, we've been manipulating 669 00:39:42,510 --> 00:39:44,947 the sensory characteristics of food. 670 00:39:44,947 --> 00:39:48,473 Thanks to flavor technology, we can make anything we want 671 00:39:48,473 --> 00:39:51,040 taste like whatever we want it to taste like. 672 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:54,957 Fake flavors but, also, artificial sweeteners. 673 00:39:54,957 --> 00:39:57,351 We haven't really questioned what the consequences of this 674 00:39:57,351 --> 00:40:00,354 has been, we just assumed it's a good idea. 675 00:40:00,354 --> 00:40:02,965 Well, now we have new research that is showing 676 00:40:02,965 --> 00:40:04,837 that this is actually a terrible idea. 677 00:40:04,837 --> 00:40:07,492 That we're actually interfering with the brain's 678 00:40:07,492 --> 00:40:10,016 and the body's ability to metabolize food. 679 00:40:14,412 --> 00:40:16,544 DANA SMALL [voice-over]: My interest is in how 680 00:40:16,544 --> 00:40:19,939 the brain processes food reward. 681 00:40:19,939 --> 00:40:22,550 I did the first neural imaging study, 682 00:40:22,550 --> 00:40:24,683 um, of feeding in humans. 683 00:40:25,727 --> 00:40:27,337 We were measuring brain response 684 00:40:27,337 --> 00:40:30,253 as they were eating little pieces of chocolate. 685 00:40:31,254 --> 00:40:32,821 I really wanted to understand 686 00:40:32,821 --> 00:40:35,084 areas of the brain that represent 687 00:40:35,084 --> 00:40:37,739 the pleasure of the, of the food. 688 00:40:37,739 --> 00:40:41,874 Pepsi was interested in our research. 689 00:40:41,874 --> 00:40:44,224 I think they wanted to try to understand 690 00:40:44,224 --> 00:40:46,008 how to make healthier foods. 691 00:40:46,008 --> 00:40:49,534 And so, they came to me with a question, 692 00:40:49,534 --> 00:40:54,016 "Is it possible to decrease the amount of calories 693 00:40:54,016 --> 00:40:56,279 "in a typical sugar-sweetened beverage 694 00:40:56,279 --> 00:40:58,891 without compromising reward?" 695 00:40:59,935 --> 00:41:03,852 So, in the lab, we created a series of beverages 696 00:41:03,852 --> 00:41:06,812 where we manipulated the sweetness, 697 00:41:06,812 --> 00:41:09,510 independent of calories. 698 00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:12,557 So that way, we have equally sweet drinks 699 00:41:12,557 --> 00:41:15,429 but drinks of different calorie amounts. 700 00:41:16,691 --> 00:41:18,084 You're gonna be receiving liquids 701 00:41:18,084 --> 00:41:20,216 through the mouthpiece, okay? 702 00:41:20,216 --> 00:41:22,044 SMALL [voice-over]: We looked at the brain's areas 703 00:41:22,044 --> 00:41:24,612 that are responsible for reward. 704 00:41:26,048 --> 00:41:30,096 What we thought was that the highest-calorie beverage 705 00:41:30,096 --> 00:41:32,968 would become the most-liked beverage, 706 00:41:32,968 --> 00:41:35,144 but that's not what we found. 707 00:41:35,144 --> 00:41:37,277 Instead, it was actually the middle doses, 708 00:41:37,277 --> 00:41:40,106 where sweetness and calories are matched, 709 00:41:40,106 --> 00:41:43,022 that was eliciting the greatest brain response. 710 00:41:44,371 --> 00:41:46,591 In nature, the relationship between sweetness 711 00:41:46,591 --> 00:41:48,897 and energy is-is pretty stable. 712 00:41:48,897 --> 00:41:52,248 So, when you manipulate sensory information 713 00:41:52,248 --> 00:41:54,860 without regard for the nutritional content, 714 00:41:54,860 --> 00:41:57,427 you're essentially creating mismatches. 715 00:41:58,777 --> 00:42:01,649 And so, we conducted follow-up studies 716 00:42:01,649 --> 00:42:03,782 to see what was going on. 717 00:42:03,782 --> 00:42:06,045 Comfortable under there? - Yep. 718 00:42:06,045 --> 00:42:07,699 SMALL [voice-over]: And what we found 719 00:42:07,699 --> 00:42:12,747 was that when sweetness matches the calories, 720 00:42:12,747 --> 00:42:17,056 then the body metabolizes that energy. 721 00:42:17,056 --> 00:42:19,014 But when something was too sweet for the amount 722 00:42:19,014 --> 00:42:22,496 of calories or not sweet enough for the amount of calories, 723 00:42:22,496 --> 00:42:26,587 the body's ability to metabolize those calories 724 00:42:26,587 --> 00:42:28,241 was-was blunted. 725 00:42:28,241 --> 00:42:32,462 Those calories are not being used as a fuel. 726 00:42:32,462 --> 00:42:36,423 Instead, they might be converted into fat. 727 00:42:36,423 --> 00:42:40,340 So, if you reduce calories by adding artificial sweetener, 728 00:42:40,340 --> 00:42:43,952 you could actually be doing more harm than good. 729 00:42:45,171 --> 00:42:46,694 When I saw the findings, I shared it 730 00:42:46,694 --> 00:42:49,479 with our collaborators at Pepsi right away. 731 00:42:49,479 --> 00:42:52,178 But this result, that I thought was super exciting, 732 00:42:52,178 --> 00:42:53,962 because we're gonna learn something new-- 733 00:42:53,962 --> 00:42:56,574 "This is really cool"-- um, 734 00:42:56,574 --> 00:42:59,011 had the opposite effect that I thought it was gonna have. 735 00:43:00,055 --> 00:43:02,623 I received a bunch of emails from Pepsi 736 00:43:02,623 --> 00:43:04,930 saying that the data made no sense, 737 00:43:04,930 --> 00:43:07,106 really saying that they didn't believe 738 00:43:07,106 --> 00:43:08,542 what we were reporting. 739 00:43:08,542 --> 00:43:10,979 Uh, they-they pulled our funding. 740 00:43:10,979 --> 00:43:14,809 And it wasn't until much later that I realized the problem 741 00:43:14,809 --> 00:43:17,333 was not that they didn't believe me, 742 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:19,640 but in fact, that they did believe me. 743 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,424 And that's what made them worried. 744 00:43:24,036 --> 00:43:26,299 The moment you know that something is bad for health, 745 00:43:26,299 --> 00:43:28,562 ethically, you have to correct it. 746 00:43:28,562 --> 00:43:30,651 I think they wanted deniability, 747 00:43:30,651 --> 00:43:33,306 because what our research suggested 748 00:43:33,306 --> 00:43:37,484 is that their products could negatively impact health 749 00:43:37,484 --> 00:43:40,052 in unanticipated ways. 750 00:43:42,402 --> 00:43:44,056 SCHATZKER [voice-over]: When you walk into a supermarket, 751 00:43:44,056 --> 00:43:46,667 it's not just artificial sweeteners. 752 00:43:46,667 --> 00:43:49,148 There is a whole arsenal of additives 753 00:43:49,148 --> 00:43:52,673 designed to mislead the brain. 754 00:43:52,673 --> 00:43:55,981 There's fat replacers, artificial flavors, 755 00:43:55,981 --> 00:43:58,636 so-called natural flavors. 756 00:43:58,636 --> 00:44:01,421 So how does your brain react when it keeps getting fooled 757 00:44:01,421 --> 00:44:02,814 by the food it eats? 758 00:44:04,467 --> 00:44:07,470 The best way to think about it is the fuel gauge on your car. 759 00:44:07,470 --> 00:44:10,038 Imagine if you looked at it and it said it was full, 760 00:44:10,038 --> 00:44:12,258 but it might be empty, it might be half full. 761 00:44:12,258 --> 00:44:14,869 Imagine it was uncertain in the way 762 00:44:14,869 --> 00:44:16,697 that modern food has become uncertain. 763 00:44:16,697 --> 00:44:18,481 What would you do? 764 00:44:18,481 --> 00:44:21,093 Well, you-you'd fill your car up a whole lot more often. 765 00:44:21,093 --> 00:44:22,529 Well, that's what your brain does. 766 00:44:22,529 --> 00:44:24,009 When it keeps getting fooled, 767 00:44:24,009 --> 00:44:25,924 when one day sweetness means calories 768 00:44:25,924 --> 00:44:27,795 and the next day it means no calories 769 00:44:27,795 --> 00:44:31,756 or just some calories, it goes, "I better eat more food 770 00:44:31,756 --> 00:44:34,541 to make sure I don't get ripped off." 771 00:44:34,541 --> 00:44:37,849 We're short-circuiting an evolutionary process 772 00:44:37,849 --> 00:44:40,547 that's hundreds of thousands of years old. 773 00:44:40,547 --> 00:44:43,942 And we've learned through the i-ingenuity of food science 774 00:44:43,942 --> 00:44:46,509 to fool the human body. 775 00:44:46,509 --> 00:44:49,121 Um, but you pay a price for that, 776 00:44:49,121 --> 00:44:51,906 in losing your taste for real food. 777 00:44:51,906 --> 00:44:54,866 And as we lose our taste for eating plants, 778 00:44:54,866 --> 00:44:56,955 we lose all those antioxidants, 779 00:44:56,955 --> 00:45:00,045 we lose all those protective factors. 780 00:45:00,045 --> 00:45:04,049 When you have that premade meal, 781 00:45:04,049 --> 00:45:06,312 it's hard to know that it's unhealthy, 782 00:45:06,312 --> 00:45:09,750 but it's all been designed to manipulate you. 783 00:45:09,750 --> 00:45:11,709 The eye, the taste buds, 784 00:45:11,709 --> 00:45:14,015 and get you to eat as much as possible, 785 00:45:14,015 --> 00:45:16,670 ideally, to addict you to it. 786 00:45:20,239 --> 00:45:22,241 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: In the United States, 787 00:45:22,241 --> 00:45:24,156 the average consumption of ultra-processed foods 788 00:45:24,156 --> 00:45:28,769 is about 58% of total energy intake. 789 00:45:28,769 --> 00:45:30,945 But in most of the world, 790 00:45:30,945 --> 00:45:34,035 consumption of ultra-processed food is much lower. 791 00:45:34,035 --> 00:45:37,952 And most calories still come from real foods. 792 00:45:40,302 --> 00:45:43,349 Today, these big food companies, 793 00:45:43,349 --> 00:45:46,439 they are targeting markets in many countries 794 00:45:46,439 --> 00:45:48,484 with aggressive campaigns. 795 00:45:53,272 --> 00:45:55,927 ♪ That could be you right now. ♪ 796 00:45:58,233 --> 00:45:59,495 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: These countries 797 00:45:59,495 --> 00:46:02,629 are not prepared to defend themselves 798 00:46:02,629 --> 00:46:04,979 from the health problems 799 00:46:04,979 --> 00:46:08,374 created by ultra-processed foods. 800 00:46:08,374 --> 00:46:10,898 ♪ Breakfast time is Kellogg's time ♪ 801 00:46:10,898 --> 00:46:13,292 ♪ Breakfast is Kellogg's. 802 00:46:34,008 --> 00:46:35,618 FRAN MARION [voice-over]: I have worked in fast food 803 00:46:35,618 --> 00:46:38,491 for over 20 years. 804 00:46:39,709 --> 00:46:41,668 I have worked at McDonald's, 805 00:46:41,668 --> 00:46:43,931 I have worked at Popeyes. 806 00:46:45,019 --> 00:46:47,805 I'm currently at Taco Bell. 807 00:46:49,067 --> 00:46:51,634 I have two children. 808 00:46:51,634 --> 00:46:53,462 My kids are my world. 809 00:46:53,462 --> 00:46:55,290 But it's been hard. 810 00:46:55,290 --> 00:46:57,118 There have been times I can't afford the heating bill, 811 00:46:57,118 --> 00:47:00,643 there have been times where I can't afford to pay my rent. 812 00:47:00,643 --> 00:47:02,036 There's been times where I couldn't afford 813 00:47:02,036 --> 00:47:04,212 to put food on the table. 814 00:47:04,212 --> 00:47:06,954 I have a gas bill. 815 00:47:06,954 --> 00:47:09,739 A light bill. Internet bill. 816 00:47:09,739 --> 00:47:12,090 Rent, $715. 817 00:47:12,090 --> 00:47:13,874 If I miss a day, 818 00:47:13,874 --> 00:47:16,921 one of these becomes a shutoff notice, 819 00:47:16,921 --> 00:47:19,053 a disconnect notice. 820 00:47:20,533 --> 00:47:23,101 My biggest fear is winding back up in a position 821 00:47:23,101 --> 00:47:25,930 that I had to crawl out of, and living out of my car 822 00:47:25,930 --> 00:47:28,454 and living away from my children. 823 00:47:32,545 --> 00:47:34,895 This is everything we own. 824 00:47:34,895 --> 00:47:38,856 Our clothes, shoes. 825 00:47:38,856 --> 00:47:41,641 This is me and my family's prized possessions. 826 00:47:41,641 --> 00:47:43,773 It's all we own. 827 00:47:43,773 --> 00:47:45,775 I don't ever want my family 828 00:47:45,775 --> 00:47:47,908 to have to experience that again, 829 00:47:47,908 --> 00:47:52,043 but it-it's hard, on the wages we make, and you almost... 830 00:47:52,043 --> 00:47:56,874 it's almost impossible for us just to survive. 831 00:48:04,838 --> 00:48:06,796 Most people will say that these jobs 832 00:48:06,796 --> 00:48:09,364 are for people that are just starting out. 833 00:48:09,364 --> 00:48:14,674 But the average fast-food worker's a 30-year-old woman. 834 00:48:14,674 --> 00:48:16,676 Not-not a kid. 835 00:48:16,676 --> 00:48:20,898 This-this is someone's mother, someone's sister, 836 00:48:20,898 --> 00:48:23,944 trying to make it to feed their family. 837 00:48:23,944 --> 00:48:25,554 I have a cheesy sausage toasted burrito 838 00:48:25,554 --> 00:48:27,295 and a regular coffee, $4.10 today. 839 00:48:27,295 --> 00:48:29,210 The cost of living is steadily going up, 840 00:48:29,210 --> 00:48:31,430 but our wages aren't. 841 00:48:32,997 --> 00:48:35,608 How can I go to work for these billion-dollar companies 842 00:48:35,608 --> 00:48:38,437 and feed all these people, 843 00:48:38,437 --> 00:48:41,919 all to come home to hear my son's stomach growl? 844 00:48:44,486 --> 00:48:46,793 For-for the ones that have all the sauce on it, 845 00:48:46,793 --> 00:48:48,055 they're cheaper. 846 00:48:49,143 --> 00:48:51,015 Four dollars. 847 00:48:51,015 --> 00:48:54,322 Right now we have $13.97. All right. 848 00:48:54,322 --> 00:48:57,195 I do not get sick leave. 849 00:48:57,195 --> 00:48:58,848 I do not get health care. 850 00:49:01,286 --> 00:49:03,201 As an adult, I've never been able 851 00:49:03,201 --> 00:49:04,898 to afford to see a doctor. 852 00:49:04,898 --> 00:49:07,988 I got it. 20, 40... 853 00:49:07,988 --> 00:49:10,121 I'm tired. 854 00:49:11,992 --> 00:49:14,603 And nobody knows how tired I am 855 00:49:14,603 --> 00:49:18,042 except for those people that go through it just like me. 856 00:49:21,001 --> 00:49:22,960 SCHLOSSER [voice-over]: Today, the federal minimum wage 857 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:26,224 is seven dollars and 25 cents an hour. 858 00:49:26,224 --> 00:49:30,663 It's been at that level since 2009. 859 00:49:30,663 --> 00:49:32,491 Adjusted for inflation, 860 00:49:32,491 --> 00:49:38,497 it's almost 50% lower than it was in the late 1960s. 861 00:49:38,497 --> 00:49:44,982 So the poorest workers have seen their pay cut in half. 862 00:49:46,026 --> 00:49:49,247 The CEO of Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, 863 00:49:49,247 --> 00:49:53,468 earns more in an hour than the typical Taco Bell worker 864 00:49:53,468 --> 00:49:55,949 earns in a year. 865 00:49:55,949 --> 00:50:00,780 And we're paying so that they can have cheap labor. 866 00:50:00,780 --> 00:50:03,087 Walmart and McDonald's 867 00:50:03,087 --> 00:50:06,090 are two of the largest employers of workers 868 00:50:06,090 --> 00:50:09,919 who are dependent on food stamps and on Medicaid. 869 00:50:09,919 --> 00:50:13,967 So it's taxpayers who are supporting these companies, 870 00:50:13,967 --> 00:50:18,102 as opposed to these companies supporting their workers. 871 00:50:19,277 --> 00:50:22,062 It's not only fast-food and supermarket workers, 872 00:50:22,062 --> 00:50:25,500 it's millions of other workers in the food system 873 00:50:25,500 --> 00:50:30,201 who are being exploited in ways that are hidden from view. 874 00:50:37,599 --> 00:50:39,688 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: The agricultural industry 875 00:50:39,688 --> 00:50:43,388 depends on more than three million workers. 876 00:50:44,737 --> 00:50:46,478 Agriculture has always been a place 877 00:50:46,478 --> 00:50:48,871 where exploitation has happened. 878 00:50:50,830 --> 00:50:54,964 Because it emerged out of slavery. 879 00:50:54,964 --> 00:50:58,620 70 cents a day. 70... 70 cents all day job. 880 00:51:00,231 --> 00:51:02,755 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: When slavery was abolished, 881 00:51:02,755 --> 00:51:07,499 it didn't disappear, it just changed form. 882 00:51:08,717 --> 00:51:10,110 NARRATOR [voice-over]: One farmer looked at this 883 00:51:10,110 --> 00:51:13,374 and said, "We used to own our slaves. 884 00:51:13,374 --> 00:51:15,202 Now we just rent them." 885 00:51:18,423 --> 00:51:20,990 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: The whole industry was still 886 00:51:20,990 --> 00:51:26,170 just refusing to recognize that the workers deserve 887 00:51:26,170 --> 00:51:29,825 to be treated as-as human beings. 888 00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:36,136 Today, slavery continues to happen, 889 00:51:36,136 --> 00:51:38,182 even though it's a crime. 890 00:51:40,053 --> 00:51:45,406 One case of modern-day slavery happened in our community. 891 00:51:45,406 --> 00:51:49,193 Workers escaped from a U-Haul truck 892 00:51:49,193 --> 00:51:52,935 where they were tied with chains. 893 00:51:52,935 --> 00:51:55,068 The defendants have been accused 894 00:51:55,068 --> 00:51:56,461 of threatening, 895 00:51:56,461 --> 00:51:59,159 slapping and kicking farm workers. 896 00:51:59,159 --> 00:52:02,162 Chaining them to a pole, beating them, 897 00:52:02,162 --> 00:52:05,078 locking them inside U-Haul trailers, 898 00:52:05,078 --> 00:52:09,735 keeping them in debt and forcing them to work for free. 899 00:52:10,779 --> 00:52:12,216 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: So, as workers, 900 00:52:12,216 --> 00:52:16,045 we organized to fight back. 901 00:52:16,045 --> 00:52:17,482 When I got involved 902 00:52:17,482 --> 00:52:19,136 with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, 903 00:52:19,136 --> 00:52:23,401 we were focusing on the big tomato growers, 904 00:52:23,401 --> 00:52:27,056 thinking that they will have to listen to us. 905 00:52:29,058 --> 00:52:31,017 JON ESFORMES [voice-over]: There were articles 906 00:52:31,017 --> 00:52:33,933 about slavery. 907 00:52:33,933 --> 00:52:37,328 Our company's name was listed 908 00:52:37,328 --> 00:52:39,112 because we're one of the largest growers 909 00:52:39,112 --> 00:52:40,374 here in Florida. 910 00:52:42,246 --> 00:52:44,726 We've always heard about wage theft, 911 00:52:44,726 --> 00:52:50,254 of sexual harassment, of bad operators. 912 00:52:50,254 --> 00:52:53,387 But you never think it's going on in your house. 913 00:52:55,868 --> 00:52:58,958 When you've got labor contractors 914 00:52:58,958 --> 00:53:03,180 providing workers to a farmer, 915 00:53:03,180 --> 00:53:04,964 it creates an environment where there's a step back 916 00:53:04,964 --> 00:53:09,360 from any responsibility about how they're being treated, 917 00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:11,188 how they're being paid. 918 00:53:13,799 --> 00:53:15,366 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: The growers 919 00:53:15,366 --> 00:53:18,456 just closed the door on our nose. 920 00:53:18,456 --> 00:53:21,589 They didn't care about our demands 921 00:53:21,589 --> 00:53:24,375 or about anything that we had to say. 922 00:53:24,375 --> 00:53:28,379 So we need to widen o-our understanding 923 00:53:28,379 --> 00:53:32,948 on what can influence this industry. 924 00:53:32,948 --> 00:53:35,299 And then we realized that the market power 925 00:53:35,299 --> 00:53:38,258 was with the corporations 926 00:53:38,258 --> 00:53:41,218 that buy millions of dollars of tomatoes. 927 00:53:44,177 --> 00:53:47,833 These companies want to create a friendly image 928 00:53:47,833 --> 00:53:51,576 towards the consumer that buries behind 929 00:53:51,576 --> 00:53:54,840 all the abuses that are part of our lives. 930 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:59,323 And we knew that if we bring this message that injustices 931 00:53:59,323 --> 00:54:02,978 are going on behind the food that everybody's eating, 932 00:54:02,978 --> 00:54:05,851 companies would have to respond. 933 00:54:08,462 --> 00:54:11,770 The Coalition of Immokalee Workers started 934 00:54:11,770 --> 00:54:14,207 what we call the Campaign for Fair Food. 935 00:54:14,207 --> 00:54:18,167 We created alliances all over the country. 936 00:54:18,167 --> 00:54:22,737 Students were organizing in support of the workers. 937 00:54:22,737 --> 00:54:28,265 So we were able to bring the power of consumers 938 00:54:28,265 --> 00:54:32,269 to be part of this fight for our rights. 939 00:54:37,361 --> 00:54:39,319 POLLAN [voice-over]: One of the most encouraging developments 940 00:54:39,319 --> 00:54:41,452 has been the emergence of consumers 941 00:54:41,452 --> 00:54:43,280 who want to reform the system, 942 00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:47,196 who want a more humane system, a more sustainable system. 943 00:54:47,196 --> 00:54:48,894 But it doesn't always work. 944 00:54:48,894 --> 00:54:51,853 Because they're up against such powerful corporations 945 00:54:51,853 --> 00:54:54,421 that they can be thwarted at every turn. 946 00:54:55,466 --> 00:54:58,599 For example, one of the most brutal conditions 947 00:54:58,599 --> 00:55:02,560 under which our food animals live are female pigs, 948 00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:06,259 who spend their lives in a "gestation crate," it's called, 949 00:55:06,259 --> 00:55:09,306 that is barely bigger than they are. 950 00:55:09,306 --> 00:55:13,745 The voters of California voted by a significant margin 951 00:55:13,745 --> 00:55:16,704 to outlaw the sale of pork 952 00:55:16,704 --> 00:55:20,317 from animals that were living in gestation crates. 953 00:55:20,317 --> 00:55:23,145 And the industry would not let that stand. 954 00:55:23,145 --> 00:55:25,017 So they took it to the Supreme Court, 955 00:55:25,017 --> 00:55:29,630 where they nearly succeeded in getting this law tossed out. 956 00:55:29,630 --> 00:55:33,852 So we have allowed these giant, consolidated food companies 957 00:55:33,852 --> 00:55:38,335 to accumulate so much power that they exercise a veto 958 00:55:38,335 --> 00:55:41,250 over the consumer and over the voter. 959 00:55:42,991 --> 00:55:47,561 They have also perfected the art of obfuscating 960 00:55:47,561 --> 00:55:52,087 the role of the meat industry in climate change. 961 00:55:53,132 --> 00:55:54,873 No single food contributes as much 962 00:55:54,873 --> 00:55:58,877 to global warming as cattle. 963 00:55:58,877 --> 00:56:02,663 And in fact, one third of greenhouse gasses 964 00:56:02,663 --> 00:56:05,144 are produced by the food system alone. 965 00:56:05,144 --> 00:56:07,712 That's second only to transportation. 966 00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:13,631 But we're up against a very powerful industry. 967 00:56:13,631 --> 00:56:15,589 The food industry spends more on lobbying 968 00:56:15,589 --> 00:56:17,417 than the defense industry. 969 00:56:17,417 --> 00:56:19,463 That has bought them 970 00:56:19,463 --> 00:56:23,902 an incredible measure of power in Congress. 971 00:56:23,902 --> 00:56:27,209 But there are corporations out there that fully recognize 972 00:56:27,209 --> 00:56:28,776 that the consumer wants to see 973 00:56:28,776 --> 00:56:31,344 a different kind of meat industry. 974 00:56:31,344 --> 00:56:32,954 The question is, what are these corporations 975 00:56:32,954 --> 00:56:34,826 gonna do with this? 976 00:56:34,826 --> 00:56:39,570 Is this gonna drive real change or the appearance of change? 977 00:56:50,494 --> 00:56:52,191 PAT BROWN [voice-over]: I was a professor at Stanford. 978 00:56:52,191 --> 00:56:54,280 My job was basic biomedical research, 979 00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:57,588 just trying to understand how cells work, how genes work. 980 00:56:57,588 --> 00:57:00,155 I had a sabbatical, and I decided 981 00:57:00,155 --> 00:57:02,854 to use it to try to figure out what would be 982 00:57:02,854 --> 00:57:06,901 the, uh, most impactful thing I could do, uh, next. 983 00:57:06,901 --> 00:57:10,644 And, uh, very quickly, I came to the conclusion 984 00:57:10,644 --> 00:57:13,604 that it's to completely replace animals in the food system. 985 00:57:13,604 --> 00:57:16,694 Even if we just replaced cows, 986 00:57:16,694 --> 00:57:19,436 we could give ourselves a 30-year pause 987 00:57:19,436 --> 00:57:21,481 in the rise of greenhouse gasses. 988 00:57:21,481 --> 00:57:24,441 And possibly more important is that 989 00:57:24,441 --> 00:57:26,399 the total number of living mammals, 990 00:57:26,399 --> 00:57:28,009 birds, reptiles, 991 00:57:28,009 --> 00:57:30,098 amphibians and fish on Earth 992 00:57:30,098 --> 00:57:34,015 is less than a third what it was 50 years ago. 993 00:57:34,015 --> 00:57:36,757 The collapse in global biodiversity 994 00:57:36,757 --> 00:57:40,805 is overwhelmingly caused by habitat destruction 995 00:57:40,805 --> 00:57:44,896 to graze livestock or raise crops to feed them. 996 00:57:44,896 --> 00:57:47,115 And you see it happening in real time, 997 00:57:47,115 --> 00:57:48,726 when you watch the Amazon burning 998 00:57:48,726 --> 00:57:52,730 to expand animal agriculture. 999 00:57:52,730 --> 00:57:56,647 So, I quit my job at Stanford, a job that I loved. 1000 00:57:56,647 --> 00:57:59,040 I felt like, "Okay, well, I got to do this." 1001 00:58:02,435 --> 00:58:04,263 You're not gonna solve the problem 1002 00:58:04,263 --> 00:58:07,875 by trying to persuade people to change their diets. 1003 00:58:07,875 --> 00:58:09,790 That's never worked. 1004 00:58:09,790 --> 00:58:12,010 You just have to realize that people aren't gonna stop 1005 00:58:12,010 --> 00:58:15,492 wanting meat, we're just making it the wrong way. 1006 00:58:18,669 --> 00:58:20,366 My first challenge was to understand 1007 00:58:20,366 --> 00:58:22,586 what makes meat taste like meat. 1008 00:58:22,586 --> 00:58:25,502 The answer was that animal tissues 1009 00:58:25,502 --> 00:58:30,855 contain very high levels of a biomolecule called heme, 1010 00:58:30,855 --> 00:58:36,077 and it turns on the chemistry of meat flavor and aroma. 1011 00:58:36,077 --> 00:58:38,558 We've genetically engineered a yeast cell 1012 00:58:38,558 --> 00:58:40,995 to make the heme directly. 1013 00:58:43,302 --> 00:58:44,651 POLLAN [voice-over]: Pat Brown's not making 1014 00:58:44,651 --> 00:58:46,740 a big health claim for his products. 1015 00:58:46,740 --> 00:58:49,395 It wasn't designed to be a health food, 1016 00:58:49,395 --> 00:58:52,311 it was designed to fake the meat experience. 1017 00:58:53,399 --> 00:58:55,880 So this is your not-so-secret ingredient. 1018 00:58:55,880 --> 00:58:58,056 You can taste it if you like. 1019 00:58:59,623 --> 00:59:00,928 We've done a lot of work thinking about 1020 00:59:00,928 --> 00:59:02,582 how to bind the burger together, 1021 00:59:02,582 --> 00:59:04,410 and we needed to make it something so robust 1022 00:59:04,410 --> 00:59:06,238 that you could stick it on a grill and flip it without... 1023 00:59:06,238 --> 00:59:08,327 - And it wouldn't fall apart? - Wouldn't fall apart, 1024 00:59:08,327 --> 00:59:09,720 and, you know, you can make meatballs with it... 1025 00:59:09,720 --> 00:59:11,417 So, what was the breakthrough? 1026 00:59:11,417 --> 00:59:12,766 - Can you share that? - Um, you know, methylcellulose 1027 00:59:12,766 --> 00:59:14,768 was a really big improvement for us. 1028 00:59:14,768 --> 00:59:16,335 - Sounds like a tree product. - It is a tree product. 1029 00:59:16,335 --> 00:59:17,945 Cellulose comes from trees. 1030 00:59:17,945 --> 00:59:20,861 Um, it's a really abundant molecule in the world. 1031 00:59:20,861 --> 00:59:23,647 - POLLAN And where do you get it? - I think it's a byproduct 1032 00:59:23,647 --> 00:59:25,300 - from a lot of the paper industry... - Mm-hmm. 1033 00:59:25,300 --> 00:59:27,825 - Mm-hmm. - And, uh... 1034 00:59:27,825 --> 00:59:29,348 wood pulp? 1035 00:59:31,263 --> 00:59:32,699 It's cleaned up enough that it doesn't taste like w-wood pulp. 1036 00:59:32,699 --> 00:59:34,135 - I'm sure not. - Yeah. 1037 00:59:42,143 --> 00:59:43,710 BROWN [voice-over]: This is a facility 1038 00:59:43,710 --> 00:59:46,104 that has none of the horrors of a slaughterhouse. 1039 00:59:47,671 --> 00:59:50,108 I think we have a plant-based food, 1040 00:59:50,108 --> 00:59:52,110 with a fraction of the environmental footprint 1041 00:59:52,110 --> 00:59:54,286 of covering the planet with cows. 1042 00:59:56,680 --> 00:59:57,855 POLLAN [voice-over]: You can make a case 1043 00:59:57,855 --> 01:00:00,074 that the Impossible Burger 1044 01:00:00,074 --> 01:00:04,383 represents a good alternative to meat as we now produce it. 1045 01:00:04,383 --> 01:00:08,648 It doesn't have hormones in it, no antibiotics in it. 1046 01:00:08,648 --> 01:00:10,432 But make no mistake, 1047 01:00:10,432 --> 01:00:12,783 this is built on commodity agriculture, 1048 01:00:12,783 --> 01:00:16,656 and it's an ultra-processed food. 1049 01:00:16,656 --> 01:00:20,051 So there are trade-offs. 1050 01:00:20,051 --> 01:00:22,793 I like a burger experience as much as the next guy, 1051 01:00:22,793 --> 01:00:26,840 and if I can have it without implicating a cow 1052 01:00:26,840 --> 01:00:29,277 and all the problems that come with cows, 1053 01:00:29,277 --> 01:00:31,323 maybe that's a good thing. 1054 01:00:33,542 --> 01:00:36,328 We are at a very interesting moment. 1055 01:00:36,328 --> 01:00:39,244 Food science is being dedicated to a nobler goal 1056 01:00:39,244 --> 01:00:41,463 than it has in the past: 1057 01:00:41,463 --> 01:00:44,684 to move us off of a heavy meat diet, 1058 01:00:44,684 --> 01:00:47,818 onto a more plant-based diet. 1059 01:00:47,818 --> 01:00:49,689 The Impossible Burger is now 1060 01:00:49,689 --> 01:00:51,691 in every Burger King in the country. 1061 01:00:51,691 --> 01:00:54,085 There's a willingness on the part of the consumer 1062 01:00:54,085 --> 01:00:55,608 to experiment with these products. 1063 01:00:55,608 --> 01:00:58,655 But they're... questionable. 1064 01:00:58,655 --> 01:01:02,789 Um, they may solve one problem and create another. 1065 01:01:02,789 --> 01:01:04,704 I think the thing that troubles me most 1066 01:01:04,704 --> 01:01:08,142 is the implication that this is health food. 1067 01:01:08,142 --> 01:01:10,144 Because the phrase "plant-based" 1068 01:01:10,144 --> 01:01:13,757 has a, has this aura of greenness, 1069 01:01:13,757 --> 01:01:18,762 of health, and that is deceptive. 1070 01:01:22,287 --> 01:01:24,245 My relationship with food 1071 01:01:24,245 --> 01:01:25,943 is complicated. 1072 01:01:25,943 --> 01:01:27,596 Very complicated. 1073 01:01:28,772 --> 01:01:31,078 Because I have type 1 diabetes. 1074 01:01:34,125 --> 01:01:35,909 You know, I think most of us love food, 1075 01:01:35,909 --> 01:01:39,434 but we don't have to think about it every day, every hour. 1076 01:01:41,306 --> 01:01:44,744 I measure my blood sugar before and after every meal, 1077 01:01:44,744 --> 01:01:46,354 and the simpler I eat, 1078 01:01:46,354 --> 01:01:48,661 the more level my blood sugar is. 1079 01:01:55,537 --> 01:01:56,843 As a journalist, 1080 01:01:56,843 --> 01:01:59,541 I am very much interested in new foods. 1081 01:01:59,541 --> 01:02:02,588 ...been able to extract proteins from it. 1082 01:02:02,588 --> 01:02:04,851 I needed to find out how they were made, 1083 01:02:04,851 --> 01:02:07,549 find out what it might mean for my own body. 1084 01:02:07,549 --> 01:02:09,160 Is it clean label? Like what does it... 1085 01:02:09,160 --> 01:02:10,465 - As clean as it gets. - Yeah. 1086 01:02:10,465 --> 01:02:12,511 Our products are 95% mushroom roots, 1087 01:02:12,511 --> 01:02:14,034 with some flavoring. 1088 01:02:14,034 --> 01:02:15,862 We've got this super salmon filet 1089 01:02:15,862 --> 01:02:20,998 made entirely out of plants, without hurting a single fish. 1090 01:02:20,998 --> 01:02:22,956 ZIMBEROFF [voice-over]: I worry that 1091 01:02:22,956 --> 01:02:24,784 these new food companies, 1092 01:02:24,784 --> 01:02:27,656 um, are following the footsteps of Big Food 1093 01:02:27,656 --> 01:02:29,963 with foods that are empty calories, 1094 01:02:29,963 --> 01:02:32,139 high-impact on my blood sugar. 1095 01:02:32,139 --> 01:02:34,402 Now, what are the proteins that you're producing? 1096 01:02:34,402 --> 01:02:36,709 That's something we can't talk about it, kind of right now. 1097 01:02:36,709 --> 01:02:38,972 ZIMBEROFF [voice-over]: These founders of start-ups 1098 01:02:38,972 --> 01:02:43,324 have compelling ideas that they're so passionate about. 1099 01:02:43,324 --> 01:02:44,978 So, at Sundial Foods, we're making 1100 01:02:44,978 --> 01:02:46,806 plant-based chicken wings with only eight ingredients. 1101 01:02:46,806 --> 01:02:48,634 And you are the founders of the company? 1102 01:02:48,634 --> 01:02:50,114 We're both cofounders. 1103 01:02:50,114 --> 01:02:51,637 We actually met in a class in UC Berkeley, 1104 01:02:51,637 --> 01:02:54,379 so all of this started as a school project. 1105 01:02:55,859 --> 01:02:57,817 ZIMBEROFF [voice-over]: The new food has become 1106 01:02:57,817 --> 01:03:01,081 the cause for every tech investor. 1107 01:03:01,081 --> 01:03:02,822 They want something in their playbook 1108 01:03:02,822 --> 01:03:05,738 that speaks to saving the world. 1109 01:03:05,738 --> 01:03:07,435 - We-we produce dairy without a cow. - Okay. 1110 01:03:07,435 --> 01:03:09,829 So, we've made molecular coffee. 1111 01:03:09,829 --> 01:03:12,832 We're the first ones to make it without coffee beans. 1112 01:03:12,832 --> 01:03:16,575 So, it's uh, world's first uh, real honey made without bees. 1113 01:03:16,575 --> 01:03:18,359 ZIMBEROFF [voice-over]: Some of these start-ups are raising 1114 01:03:18,359 --> 01:03:19,970 hundreds of millions of dollars. 1115 01:03:21,232 --> 01:03:23,277 Tyson, JBS, 1116 01:03:23,277 --> 01:03:24,626 Hormel, they've all invested 1117 01:03:24,626 --> 01:03:27,847 in alternative meat companies. 1118 01:03:27,847 --> 01:03:30,023 But what happens down the road? 1119 01:03:30,023 --> 01:03:34,680 These big companies are only thinking about their profit. 1120 01:03:34,680 --> 01:03:37,378 What's it going to be like for the everyday consumer 1121 01:03:37,378 --> 01:03:38,902 walking through the supermarket? 1122 01:03:38,902 --> 01:03:42,340 How will they navigate the new landscape? 1123 01:03:45,038 --> 01:03:48,128 POLLAN [voice-over]: So now, food made by scientists 1124 01:03:48,128 --> 01:03:50,304 has led to cultured meat. 1125 01:03:50,304 --> 01:03:53,612 Meat that is the multiplication of actual meat cells. 1126 01:03:53,612 --> 01:03:55,005 This really is meat. 1127 01:03:55,005 --> 01:03:56,876 So this is called EPIC. 1128 01:03:56,876 --> 01:03:58,269 When I was practicing 1129 01:03:58,269 --> 01:04:00,488 as a cardiologist, the question was, 1130 01:04:00,488 --> 01:04:04,014 what if I practiced for the next 35 years? 1131 01:04:04,014 --> 01:04:05,667 I would likely be, you know, involved 1132 01:04:05,667 --> 01:04:08,757 in saving 3,000, 4,000 lives. 1133 01:04:08,757 --> 01:04:12,326 But what if we could start 1134 01:04:12,326 --> 01:04:15,155 saving trillions of animal lives 1135 01:04:15,155 --> 01:04:19,159 and also, positively affecting billions of human lives? 1136 01:04:20,204 --> 01:04:21,988 When I was working at the Mayo Clinic, 1137 01:04:21,988 --> 01:04:23,511 we would have patients that would come 1138 01:04:23,511 --> 01:04:25,992 with a very large heart attack. 1139 01:04:25,992 --> 01:04:28,777 So we would take stem cells from that patient 1140 01:04:28,777 --> 01:04:30,692 and we would reinject them into the heart, 1141 01:04:30,692 --> 01:04:32,042 to regrow the heart muscle. 1142 01:04:32,042 --> 01:04:34,609 That's where my idea came from, 1143 01:04:34,609 --> 01:04:37,612 of growing meat directly from animal cells. 1144 01:04:39,179 --> 01:04:41,007 POLLAN [voice-over]: I always want to know, 1145 01:04:41,007 --> 01:04:44,619 "How does this product connect to the farmland, 1146 01:04:44,619 --> 01:04:45,751 "to the earth? 1147 01:04:45,751 --> 01:04:47,448 What's its relation to nature?" 1148 01:04:48,493 --> 01:04:51,365 Here, you're not on any kind of farm. 1149 01:04:51,365 --> 01:04:53,019 You're back in a lab 1150 01:04:53,019 --> 01:04:57,806 manufacturing a broth out of amino acids. 1151 01:04:57,806 --> 01:05:00,505 So, any of these cultivators here 1152 01:05:00,505 --> 01:05:02,507 - can grow chicken or beef... - Yeah. 1153 01:05:02,507 --> 01:05:04,726 - ...or pork or... - The same cultivators... 1154 01:05:04,726 --> 01:05:06,163 - Essentially. - ...depending, and you can put 1155 01:05:06,163 --> 01:05:07,991 - different things in them. - Any species. 1156 01:05:09,470 --> 01:05:11,777 Essentially, we've got a couple of tanks here 1157 01:05:11,777 --> 01:05:14,171 that are holding the-the feed for the cells. 1158 01:05:14,171 --> 01:05:16,477 And, uh, we have recipes of nutrients 1159 01:05:16,477 --> 01:05:20,046 for each type of animal that we're making. 1160 01:05:20,046 --> 01:05:22,353 - There's actually chicken in there. - Yeah, there's chicken. 1161 01:05:22,353 --> 01:05:23,571 Imagine that this is outside of the-- 1162 01:05:23,571 --> 01:05:25,486 this is the body of an animal. 1163 01:05:25,486 --> 01:05:28,011 - Right. - Inside of it, there's cells that are growing. 1164 01:05:28,011 --> 01:05:30,013 Those cells are doubling every 24 hours, 1165 01:05:30,013 --> 01:05:31,623 and after a certain number of doublings, 1166 01:05:31,623 --> 01:05:33,364 you have a lot of cells in there. 1167 01:05:33,364 --> 01:05:35,714 In a, in-- for instance, a cultivator like this, 1168 01:05:35,714 --> 01:05:38,325 every five days you can have a batch of meat. 1169 01:05:39,413 --> 01:05:41,372 Meat of the future could be local, 1170 01:05:41,372 --> 01:05:43,461 it could be regional. 1171 01:05:43,461 --> 01:05:46,159 Just like you go out and see beer being made, 1172 01:05:46,159 --> 01:05:47,856 you can also go and see how your meat's being made. 1173 01:05:47,856 --> 01:05:49,032 Mm-hmm. 1174 01:05:50,337 --> 01:05:51,904 This is all chicken. 1175 01:05:51,904 --> 01:05:53,950 I was gonna ask you about the ingredient label. 1176 01:05:53,950 --> 01:05:55,864 It'll be "chicken cells." 1177 01:05:56,865 --> 01:05:58,476 So, when we started off, 1178 01:05:58,476 --> 01:06:01,740 that small piece would be a couple of thousand dollars. 1179 01:06:01,740 --> 01:06:04,221 And the challenge is to make it at a cost that is affordable. 1180 01:06:04,221 --> 01:06:06,571 Ultimately, in five to ten years, 1181 01:06:06,571 --> 01:06:08,573 we'll be able to get the prices that are very similar 1182 01:06:08,573 --> 01:06:11,184 to what people will be used to paying for, let's say, 1183 01:06:11,184 --> 01:06:12,794 - an animal that is butchered. - Right. 1184 01:06:20,672 --> 01:06:22,108 Could've fooled me. 1185 01:06:23,762 --> 01:06:26,504 In fact, we were fooled. 1186 01:06:26,504 --> 01:06:29,768 We subsequently learned that the chicken breast I sampled 1187 01:06:29,768 --> 01:06:33,032 did not come from the tanks we were shown 1188 01:06:33,032 --> 01:06:36,166 but from a more costly and labor-intensive process. 1189 01:06:36,166 --> 01:06:39,343 The technology to produce whole-cut chicken at scale 1190 01:06:39,343 --> 01:06:42,694 is not as close as the industry would have us believe. 1191 01:06:45,088 --> 01:06:48,700 If alternative meat products can help shrink 1192 01:06:48,700 --> 01:06:52,182 the industrial meat system, that'd be great. 1193 01:06:52,182 --> 01:06:54,445 But I think there is a place for animals 1194 01:06:54,445 --> 01:06:57,578 in American agriculture, in any agriculture. 1195 01:06:57,578 --> 01:07:00,494 When it's done sustainably and animals are used 1196 01:07:00,494 --> 01:07:03,410 in such a way that they're feeding the soil, 1197 01:07:03,410 --> 01:07:05,108 feeding the plants. 1198 01:07:05,108 --> 01:07:07,066 Uh, that you have this closed loop 1199 01:07:07,066 --> 01:07:10,417 of animals and plants, recycling nutrients. 1200 01:07:10,417 --> 01:07:12,767 That's a sustainable farm to me. 1201 01:07:12,767 --> 01:07:15,814 So I don't think the goal needs to be eliminating meat, 1202 01:07:15,814 --> 01:07:17,859 but we sure need to shrink the meat system. 1203 01:07:17,859 --> 01:07:20,297 There's no question about that. 1204 01:07:32,439 --> 01:07:33,875 SMITH [voice-over]: Last Friday, 1205 01:07:33,875 --> 01:07:36,487 I resigned, uh, from my position 1206 01:07:36,487 --> 01:07:40,099 as a, uh, Pioneer seed rep 1207 01:07:40,099 --> 01:07:43,233 so that I can put a lot more focus 1208 01:07:43,233 --> 01:07:47,541 into, uh, this project that's called The Stock Cropper. 1209 01:07:49,282 --> 01:07:51,719 I think a lot of people will look at it and think, 1210 01:07:51,719 --> 01:07:54,635 "Zack, you're completely insane." 1211 01:07:54,635 --> 01:07:57,073 It's probably a... 1212 01:07:57,073 --> 01:07:59,727 probably a well-placed, uh, criticism. 1213 01:08:02,513 --> 01:08:04,819 With The Stock Cropper, we've devised 1214 01:08:04,819 --> 01:08:07,518 a farming system that is truly regenerative, 1215 01:08:07,518 --> 01:08:09,868 good for the soil, good for the environment... 1216 01:08:11,957 --> 01:08:15,743 ...in a more positive direction for the future of agriculture 1217 01:08:15,743 --> 01:08:18,268 than the one we're currently on. 1218 01:08:21,488 --> 01:08:23,795 This barn is mobile, so that our animals 1219 01:08:23,795 --> 01:08:27,799 are always passing into fresh ground, fresh pasture. 1220 01:08:30,236 --> 01:08:33,065 So we have our ruminant animals out front, 1221 01:08:33,065 --> 01:08:36,112 uh, like my friend the sheep here, 1222 01:08:36,112 --> 01:08:38,201 and what their job is to do is to be the lawn mowers 1223 01:08:38,201 --> 01:08:42,422 and mow down the pasture and process that vegetation. 1224 01:08:42,422 --> 01:08:45,686 And then, following behind the sheep and goats, 1225 01:08:45,686 --> 01:08:48,254 we have the pigs. 1226 01:08:48,254 --> 01:08:50,561 The pigs graze on what's left, and their snouts 1227 01:08:50,561 --> 01:08:53,520 are essentially our tillers to kind of move the soil around 1228 01:08:53,520 --> 01:08:56,044 and incorporate some of the manures. 1229 01:08:57,176 --> 01:08:59,526 Our animals are our manure spreaders 1230 01:08:59,526 --> 01:09:02,094 as we move through the field. 1231 01:09:02,094 --> 01:09:06,229 And then, the annual pasture is allowed to regenerate. 1232 01:09:07,882 --> 01:09:10,233 What we're in right now is only about 1233 01:09:10,233 --> 01:09:14,062 three weeks since it was grazed and we already got regrowth. 1234 01:09:14,062 --> 01:09:15,890 So, the beauty of this system is we're putting livestock 1235 01:09:15,890 --> 01:09:18,545 back on the land, but we're doing it in a fashion 1236 01:09:18,545 --> 01:09:20,243 that holds nutrients in place 1237 01:09:20,243 --> 01:09:23,550 so they'll be available to next year's crop. 1238 01:09:25,900 --> 01:09:28,076 You know, this system is completely different 1239 01:09:28,076 --> 01:09:31,819 than the conventional system I use on the rest of my farm, 1240 01:09:31,819 --> 01:09:34,735 where we have to replace a lot of the things 1241 01:09:34,735 --> 01:09:36,824 that these animals are doing naturally, 1242 01:09:36,824 --> 01:09:40,915 uh, with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. 1243 01:09:44,702 --> 01:09:46,747 And the end product is a higher quality, 1244 01:09:46,747 --> 01:09:49,402 tastier meat animal. 1245 01:09:49,402 --> 01:09:51,491 Something that's a premium product 1246 01:09:51,491 --> 01:09:55,016 to add value to my farming operation. 1247 01:09:57,715 --> 01:09:59,195 ART CULLEN [voice-over]: Well, Zack, 1248 01:09:59,195 --> 01:10:01,371 until recently, you were a Pioneer dealer. 1249 01:10:01,371 --> 01:10:03,373 That's correct, I was. 1250 01:10:03,373 --> 01:10:07,072 - But you gave it up? - I did. I gave it up. 1251 01:10:07,072 --> 01:10:09,553 You gonna take a hit on your income, then? 1252 01:10:09,553 --> 01:10:12,033 - Yeah, for sure. - Yeah. 1253 01:10:12,033 --> 01:10:14,384 - Yeah. - Why would you do that? 1254 01:10:14,384 --> 01:10:16,864 'Cause I wanted to wake up in the morning 1255 01:10:16,864 --> 01:10:18,692 and believe in what I was doing. 1256 01:10:18,692 --> 01:10:21,521 I see the path that... 1257 01:10:21,521 --> 01:10:23,436 what the current commodity game is on, 1258 01:10:23,436 --> 01:10:26,831 and it's a path that, uh, it doesn't do a lot of good 1259 01:10:26,831 --> 01:10:29,268 for the things I'm passionate about, which is the land 1260 01:10:29,268 --> 01:10:32,097 and water quality and c-communities and... 1261 01:10:32,097 --> 01:10:34,926 Um, I could've kept on doing that same stuff, 1262 01:10:34,926 --> 01:10:37,885 uh, or I could've said, 1263 01:10:37,885 --> 01:10:39,496 "I've got this alternative system and maybe 1264 01:10:39,496 --> 01:10:41,324 this will provide some opportunity," 1265 01:10:41,324 --> 01:10:43,413 and I s-- you know, you only live once, take a chance. 1266 01:10:43,413 --> 01:10:48,505 And so, what will the old boys think when you, when you say, 1267 01:10:48,505 --> 01:10:50,376 "I'm gonna have goats in a cage... 1268 01:10:50,376 --> 01:10:52,204 "...and give up my Pioneer dealership?" 1269 01:10:52,204 --> 01:10:54,554 I-I'm just happy that I can provide entertainment 1270 01:10:54,554 --> 01:10:56,687 and something for them to talk about in the coffee shop. 1271 01:10:56,687 --> 01:10:58,297 That's my contribution to the community. 1272 01:10:58,297 --> 01:10:59,951 Oh, that's good. Yeah. - Yeah. 1273 01:10:59,951 --> 01:11:01,822 It's my way to give back. 1274 01:11:04,347 --> 01:11:07,915 So this is what I mean by "Iowa bullion." 1275 01:11:07,915 --> 01:11:09,917 You know, there's a lot of places in the world 1276 01:11:09,917 --> 01:11:11,615 that would kill to have dirt like this, 1277 01:11:11,615 --> 01:11:14,835 and that's why I want to keep every inch of it here, 1278 01:11:14,835 --> 01:11:17,011 uh, on my family's land where it belongs. 1279 01:11:17,011 --> 01:11:19,927 Not blowing in the wintertime, into the ditch. 1280 01:11:19,927 --> 01:11:21,668 Or not, you know, washing off, 1281 01:11:21,668 --> 01:11:23,975 you know, through the low spot into the crick. 1282 01:11:23,975 --> 01:11:25,455 This is, this is what, this is-- 1283 01:11:25,455 --> 01:11:28,284 - this is wealth right here. - Right. Right. 1284 01:11:28,284 --> 01:11:30,677 Well, I mean, the corn looks beautiful, really. 1285 01:11:30,677 --> 01:11:32,549 Yeah. 1286 01:11:35,073 --> 01:11:36,988 There's definitely an excitement 1287 01:11:36,988 --> 01:11:38,337 about The Stock Cropper. 1288 01:11:38,337 --> 01:11:40,339 I've attracted a lot of other people 1289 01:11:40,339 --> 01:11:42,863 that farm weird, uh, like myself. 1290 01:11:44,169 --> 01:11:45,562 We're gonna walk down through this path here, 1291 01:11:45,562 --> 01:11:46,867 if you follow me. 1292 01:11:49,696 --> 01:11:51,872 Okay, so this is the-the original system. 1293 01:11:51,872 --> 01:11:56,050 We basically did sheep and goats out front, pigs behind. 1294 01:11:56,050 --> 01:11:58,357 You can barely smell these hogs. 1295 01:11:58,357 --> 01:12:01,621 Outside a typical hog confinement building, 1296 01:12:01,621 --> 01:12:03,623 you'd be retching right now. 1297 01:12:03,623 --> 01:12:05,451 SMITH [voice-over]: When you explain that the animals 1298 01:12:05,451 --> 01:12:07,192 are feeding the plants 1299 01:12:07,192 --> 01:12:08,628 and the plants are feeding the animals, 1300 01:12:08,628 --> 01:12:11,283 and it's all happening in this one space, 1301 01:12:11,283 --> 01:12:13,372 you can see the looks in their eyes. 1302 01:12:13,372 --> 01:12:15,026 They got what we were doing. 1303 01:12:15,026 --> 01:12:17,028 So now the moment, uh, 1304 01:12:17,028 --> 01:12:18,769 that we've all been waiting for. 1305 01:12:18,769 --> 01:12:21,380 The new Clustercluck Nano here. 1306 01:12:21,380 --> 01:12:24,035 In order to really, truly be scalable, 1307 01:12:24,035 --> 01:12:27,473 you have to have the ability to have autonomous movement 1308 01:12:27,473 --> 01:12:29,475 without being here. 1309 01:12:29,475 --> 01:12:31,912 This is solar-powered, electrically driven, 1310 01:12:31,912 --> 01:12:33,305 on a programmable basis. 1311 01:12:33,305 --> 01:12:35,133 This is a big deal. 1312 01:12:35,133 --> 01:12:37,222 And I've got folks that are really interested, 1313 01:12:37,222 --> 01:12:39,311 but they're also skeptical 1314 01:12:39,311 --> 01:12:42,358 because they see the challenges to scale this up. 1315 01:12:43,315 --> 01:12:45,143 1898, we had a tractor. 1316 01:12:45,143 --> 01:12:47,101 - Yeah. - We could use it. 1317 01:12:47,101 --> 01:12:50,191 Took clear till the '50s, 1950s, 1318 01:12:50,191 --> 01:12:51,628 - to get rid of the horses. - Right. 1319 01:12:51,628 --> 01:12:53,238 So, I mean, 1320 01:12:53,238 --> 01:12:54,544 you're dealing with a crowd 1321 01:12:54,544 --> 01:12:56,415 - that does not like change. - Yeah. 1322 01:12:56,415 --> 01:12:58,330 And that's okay, but change comes eventually, 1323 01:12:58,330 --> 01:13:00,288 and we're hoping that we're... 1324 01:13:00,288 --> 01:13:04,423 betting on the right, the right horse, so to speak. 1325 01:13:04,423 --> 01:13:06,469 The biggest issue right now 1326 01:13:06,469 --> 01:13:08,688 is that the big four meat companies 1327 01:13:08,688 --> 01:13:10,821 have essentially blocked the path 1328 01:13:10,821 --> 01:13:14,259 for independent producers to process livestock. 1329 01:13:15,826 --> 01:13:18,698 And what we need is a shift in policy that makes possible 1330 01:13:18,698 --> 01:13:21,962 smaller and regional packing facilities. 1331 01:13:21,962 --> 01:13:23,660 That will open up the floodgates 1332 01:13:23,660 --> 01:13:27,141 for farmers to get their products to consumers. 1333 01:13:34,279 --> 01:13:36,629 My passion in this is to create a system 1334 01:13:36,629 --> 01:13:39,415 where there's more farmers out here like myself 1335 01:13:39,415 --> 01:13:41,112 being able to feed their family with-- 1336 01:13:41,112 --> 01:13:44,115 instead of thousands of acres, maybe several hundred? 1337 01:13:45,551 --> 01:13:50,556 And produce high-quality food products. 1338 01:13:50,556 --> 01:13:52,297 That's my dream. 1339 01:14:01,611 --> 01:14:02,786 All right. 1340 01:14:02,786 --> 01:14:04,788 Here we go. 1341 01:14:09,096 --> 01:14:11,055 I used to be a fisherman 1342 01:14:11,055 --> 01:14:14,014 chasing fish around the globe. 1343 01:14:14,014 --> 01:14:16,887 You name it I fished it: tuna, herring, 1344 01:14:16,887 --> 01:14:18,366 lobster, cod. 1345 01:14:19,411 --> 01:14:20,804 It was great, 1346 01:14:20,804 --> 01:14:22,936 you know, fishing day and night, 1347 01:14:22,936 --> 01:14:25,330 being in the belly of a boat months at a time. 1348 01:14:27,158 --> 01:14:30,074 The problem was, I was fishing 1349 01:14:30,074 --> 01:14:32,729 at the height of industrial, extractive 1350 01:14:32,729 --> 01:14:34,426 food production. 1351 01:14:35,514 --> 01:14:38,474 Huge trawlers with half-mile nets 1352 01:14:38,474 --> 01:14:40,171 ripping up ecosystems. 1353 01:14:42,608 --> 01:14:44,654 And so, we got too good at what we did. 1354 01:14:46,307 --> 01:14:49,354 The answer everybody told us was fish farming. 1355 01:14:49,354 --> 01:14:51,574 I was gonna help feed the planet 1356 01:14:51,574 --> 01:14:54,490 and I was still gonna be able to work on the water. 1357 01:14:54,490 --> 01:14:58,015 The smell of fish was still gonna come home with me. 1358 01:14:58,015 --> 01:15:01,497 So I went out to these pens, and I'm pulling them out. 1359 01:15:01,497 --> 01:15:04,108 And it's neither fish nor food, they got a grey color, 1360 01:15:04,108 --> 01:15:05,805 there's sea lice on them. 1361 01:15:05,805 --> 01:15:09,983 I swear to God, they're stupider than regular fish. 1362 01:15:09,983 --> 01:15:12,638 And so, it's borrowing all the bad practices 1363 01:15:12,638 --> 01:15:14,640 that are happening on land. 1364 01:15:14,640 --> 01:15:17,556 Heavy use of pesticides, antibiotics. 1365 01:15:17,556 --> 01:15:20,516 This was industrial pig farming out in the ocean. 1366 01:15:24,345 --> 01:15:26,696 So I ended up just really trying to figure out 1367 01:15:26,696 --> 01:15:29,481 how do I be a steward of the sea 1368 01:15:29,481 --> 01:15:33,006 and switch from pillaging to regeneration? 1369 01:15:34,007 --> 01:15:35,574 I asked the ocean, 1370 01:15:35,574 --> 01:15:37,794 "What does it make sense to grow?" 1371 01:15:37,794 --> 01:15:40,231 And it says, "Why don't you grow things 1372 01:15:40,231 --> 01:15:42,276 "that don't swim away, 1373 01:15:42,276 --> 01:15:44,452 "that you don't have to feed 1374 01:15:44,452 --> 01:15:47,760 and that breathe life back into the ocean?" 1375 01:15:48,761 --> 01:15:51,634 So I decided to grow kelp. 1376 01:15:53,679 --> 01:15:55,681 I mean this is an embarrassing thing 1377 01:15:55,681 --> 01:15:58,118 for a fisherman to do, right, growing plants underwater? 1378 01:15:58,118 --> 01:15:59,598 When I first came down, 1379 01:15:59,598 --> 01:16:01,861 I was getting l-laughed off the docks. 1380 01:16:01,861 --> 01:16:04,560 I lied to people, told them I was growing hemp underwater, 1381 01:16:04,560 --> 01:16:06,474 which seemed like it was a little better. 1382 01:16:08,651 --> 01:16:12,611 You can see the white buoys out there in the distance. 1383 01:16:12,611 --> 01:16:14,570 That's our ten-acre farm. 1384 01:16:16,572 --> 01:16:18,530 Below the surface, we're able to pack 1385 01:16:18,530 --> 01:16:22,447 so many crops along that vertical water column. 1386 01:16:22,447 --> 01:16:26,407 We have our kelp at one level, then we've got our mussels 1387 01:16:26,407 --> 01:16:30,020 and our scallops and our oysters and clams. 1388 01:16:31,935 --> 01:16:35,112 The power of the ocean is that I don't need to fertilize 1389 01:16:35,112 --> 01:16:37,157 like a corn farmer. 1390 01:16:37,157 --> 01:16:38,811 You don't need tractors, 1391 01:16:38,811 --> 01:16:40,987 you don't need buildings, you don't need to buy land. 1392 01:16:43,599 --> 01:16:45,644 Every one of our oysters, all our kelp, 1393 01:16:45,644 --> 01:16:48,560 also is restoring our ecosystem. 1394 01:16:48,560 --> 01:16:51,868 An oyster filters 50 gallons of water a day. 1395 01:16:51,868 --> 01:16:54,784 And our kelp soaks up five times more carbon 1396 01:16:54,784 --> 01:16:57,090 than land-based plants. 1397 01:16:59,615 --> 01:17:02,182 I really believe that kelp 1398 01:17:02,182 --> 01:17:04,837 is gonna be the most sustainable food on the planet. 1399 01:17:09,668 --> 01:17:12,062 As a chef, I'm always looking for new ingredients, 1400 01:17:12,062 --> 01:17:13,498 new flavors. 1401 01:17:13,498 --> 01:17:15,456 Kelp is amazing 1402 01:17:15,456 --> 01:17:18,590 because not only can I use it like an herb, 1403 01:17:18,590 --> 01:17:23,029 but also, I can sauté it really simply the way I would spinach. 1404 01:17:25,553 --> 01:17:27,251 Kelp dolmades. 1405 01:17:27,251 --> 01:17:28,644 MINGRONE [voice-over]: Trying new things just needs 1406 01:17:28,644 --> 01:17:30,515 to become the normal 1407 01:17:30,515 --> 01:17:32,909 instead of something that's outlandish or weird. 1408 01:17:32,909 --> 01:17:35,912 You know, sushi wasn't even widely accepted 1409 01:17:35,912 --> 01:17:38,131 until relatively recently. 1410 01:17:39,176 --> 01:17:41,308 Kelp is affordable, it's nutritious, 1411 01:17:41,308 --> 01:17:44,747 and it will absolutely be a part of the future of food. 1412 01:17:50,100 --> 01:17:51,971 The question is what kind 1413 01:17:51,971 --> 01:17:54,147 of industry will we have going forward? 1414 01:17:55,671 --> 01:17:57,673 Is this gonna be about thousand-acre farms 1415 01:17:57,673 --> 01:17:59,849 owned by a couple global companies? 1416 01:17:59,849 --> 01:18:03,069 Or is it gonna be about thousands of ten-acre farms 1417 01:18:03,069 --> 01:18:04,288 dotting our coastline? 1418 01:18:05,419 --> 01:18:08,509 Replication, that's what's powerful, 1419 01:18:08,509 --> 01:18:10,686 not consolidation. 1420 01:18:12,688 --> 01:18:17,649 There is another way here that we can be proud of. 1421 01:18:18,519 --> 01:18:20,913 We got really good at fishing, right? 1422 01:18:20,913 --> 01:18:23,133 Too good. Maybe we'll really get good 1423 01:18:23,133 --> 01:18:24,917 at solutions this time around. 1424 01:18:35,145 --> 01:18:36,755 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: Here in Florida, 1425 01:18:36,755 --> 01:18:40,324 the Fair Food Program has implemented agreements 1426 01:18:40,324 --> 01:18:42,935 with growers from the agricultural industry. 1427 01:18:45,329 --> 01:18:47,766 Now, there is a code of conduct 1428 01:18:47,766 --> 01:18:51,291 that guarantees that the abuses that happen 1429 01:18:51,291 --> 01:18:54,773 will not be tolerated. 1430 01:18:54,773 --> 01:18:59,430 Workers are protected to speak free of retaliation, 1431 01:18:59,430 --> 01:19:03,521 and they receive a bonus at the end of the week. 1432 01:19:03,521 --> 01:19:06,393 So it's an increase in wages. 1433 01:19:08,831 --> 01:19:10,702 ESFORMES [voice-over]: When we signed the Fair Food agreement, 1434 01:19:10,702 --> 01:19:14,706 I got some pretty nasty phone calls 1435 01:19:14,706 --> 01:19:18,057 from our competitors/friends in the industry. 1436 01:19:18,057 --> 01:19:21,757 "Does it impact my bottom line?" Sure. 1437 01:19:21,757 --> 01:19:24,455 But doing the right thing, running a clean business, 1438 01:19:24,455 --> 01:19:28,459 is always gonna cost more than breaking the fucking law. 1439 01:19:30,113 --> 01:19:32,115 Today, 90% of the tomatoes 1440 01:19:32,115 --> 01:19:33,943 being produced in Florida 1441 01:19:33,943 --> 01:19:35,771 are covered by the Fair Food agreement. 1442 01:19:38,164 --> 01:19:39,949 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: And 14 corporations 1443 01:19:39,949 --> 01:19:44,083 that buy from these growers have signed onto it. 1444 01:19:45,432 --> 01:19:48,784 But not everybody has come on board. 1445 01:19:48,784 --> 01:19:53,353 Wendy's decided to actually cut purchases 1446 01:19:53,353 --> 01:19:57,662 from growers for adhering to the Fair Food Program. 1447 01:19:57,662 --> 01:20:01,884 Instead, they went to Mexico to buy from mega-farms 1448 01:20:01,884 --> 01:20:05,670 that do not respect the rights of the workers. 1449 01:20:05,670 --> 01:20:07,672 SCHLOSSER [voice-over]: If Wendy's were to join 1450 01:20:07,672 --> 01:20:10,849 the Fair Food Program and pay an extra penny a pound 1451 01:20:10,849 --> 01:20:16,289 to farm workers, it would cost maybe $500,000 a year. 1452 01:20:16,289 --> 01:20:19,945 It's a tiny portion of their annual revenue 1453 01:20:19,945 --> 01:20:22,948 and might increase the cost of a Wendy's hamburger 1454 01:20:22,948 --> 01:20:28,388 by 1/30th of a penny. 1455 01:20:28,388 --> 01:20:30,521 CHAVEZ [voice-over]: There are other corporations 1456 01:20:30,521 --> 01:20:34,525 that refuse to participate on the Fair Food program. 1457 01:20:34,525 --> 01:20:36,701 But if they would sign on to it, 1458 01:20:36,701 --> 01:20:40,748 then we would see an increase in wages of almost double. 1459 01:20:42,054 --> 01:20:46,363 And now, the Fair Food Program has become the blueprint 1460 01:20:46,363 --> 01:20:50,410 for labor relationships in many other parts of the country. 1461 01:20:57,156 --> 01:20:59,115 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: In Latin America, 1462 01:20:59,115 --> 01:21:01,900 many countries are making progress 1463 01:21:01,900 --> 01:21:05,817 to reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods. 1464 01:21:07,601 --> 01:21:10,909 In Chile, they use black warning labels 1465 01:21:10,909 --> 01:21:14,478 saying "too much sugar," "too much saturated fat," 1466 01:21:14,478 --> 01:21:15,914 "too much calories." 1467 01:21:15,914 --> 01:21:18,525 And in Mexico, for instance, they say, 1468 01:21:18,525 --> 01:21:21,224 if a product has a warning label, 1469 01:21:21,224 --> 01:21:23,574 they cannot have anything other thing 1470 01:21:23,574 --> 01:21:25,228 saying the product is good. 1471 01:21:25,228 --> 01:21:27,360 No health claims. 1472 01:21:29,667 --> 01:21:31,103 In Brazil, 1473 01:21:31,103 --> 01:21:33,627 every day, we have 40 million meals 1474 01:21:33,627 --> 01:21:36,892 prepared in public schools. 1475 01:21:37,936 --> 01:21:39,895 COOK [speaking Portuguese]: 1476 01:21:49,905 --> 01:21:51,297 MONTEIRO [voice-over]: The Brazilian dietary policy 1477 01:21:51,297 --> 01:21:53,386 is that real food is essential. 1478 01:21:53,386 --> 01:21:55,388 Cooking is essential. 1479 01:21:55,388 --> 01:21:59,088 And basically, avoiding ultra-processed foods. 1480 01:22:03,222 --> 01:22:06,530 Children that have access to this program, 1481 01:22:06,530 --> 01:22:11,187 really are acquiring healthy eating habits. 1482 01:22:12,623 --> 01:22:15,234 DANIELA CANELLA 1483 01:22:23,721 --> 01:22:28,291 This program promotes the demand for healthy foods. 1484 01:22:28,291 --> 01:22:32,991 The municipalities, they are obliged by law 1485 01:22:32,991 --> 01:22:37,300 to buy unprocessed and minimally processed foods. 1486 01:22:37,300 --> 01:22:42,870 And they should buy 30% of food from local family farmers. 1487 01:23:07,808 --> 01:23:09,767 Come on guys, get in line. 1488 01:23:09,767 --> 01:23:12,422 Normally, school districts 1489 01:23:12,422 --> 01:23:14,946 purchase food from a distribution company. 1490 01:23:14,946 --> 01:23:16,643 But the Camden city school district 1491 01:23:16,643 --> 01:23:18,819 is now providing food 1492 01:23:18,819 --> 01:23:21,431 direct from the farmers to the table 1493 01:23:21,431 --> 01:23:23,824 right in our school cafeterias. 1494 01:23:23,824 --> 01:23:26,740 We have asparagus fries today with Parmesan and... 1495 01:23:26,740 --> 01:23:28,438 It's so successful. 1496 01:23:28,438 --> 01:23:33,138 There are more students selecting salads than ever. 1497 01:23:33,138 --> 01:23:35,140 There was a time where they're gonna walk past it, 1498 01:23:35,140 --> 01:23:37,099 get a cheeseburger, get tenders, get whatever. 1499 01:23:39,188 --> 01:23:42,278 To be able to serve fresh, fresh, fresh produce, 1500 01:23:42,278 --> 01:23:44,062 straight from the farm, 1501 01:23:44,062 --> 01:23:47,239 it makes all the difference in the world. 1502 01:23:47,239 --> 01:23:49,589 It makes them want to come to school. 1503 01:23:49,589 --> 01:23:51,156 Yeah. 1504 01:23:51,156 --> 01:23:52,723 BROWN [voice-over]: We're partnering with 1505 01:23:52,723 --> 01:23:55,595 The Common Market to build relationships 1506 01:23:55,595 --> 01:23:57,293 with our local farmers. 1507 01:23:57,293 --> 01:24:00,731 So those were grown on farms near here. 1508 01:24:00,731 --> 01:24:03,473 We saw there needed to be a link 1509 01:24:03,473 --> 01:24:06,476 that connected communities like ours with the abundance 1510 01:24:06,476 --> 01:24:08,521 of farmland and the abundance of good food 1511 01:24:08,521 --> 01:24:10,219 that's grown in our region. 1512 01:24:12,134 --> 01:24:14,788 It's largely federal policy 1513 01:24:14,788 --> 01:24:17,182 that is supporting these large, multinational companies 1514 01:24:17,182 --> 01:24:21,143 who are selling cheap and processed food. 1515 01:24:21,143 --> 01:24:23,928 Programs like ours demonstrate 1516 01:24:23,928 --> 01:24:25,886 the kind of policy change that we want to see. 1517 01:24:25,886 --> 01:24:30,500 Policy that's beneficial for both farmers in rural places 1518 01:24:30,500 --> 01:24:32,676 and urban consumers. 1519 01:24:40,249 --> 01:24:43,165 Buenos días. 1520 01:24:44,209 --> 01:24:46,864 So, you feel good about the hearing today? 1521 01:24:46,864 --> 01:24:48,431 Yeah. 1522 01:24:48,431 --> 01:24:50,607 The coalition around these nutrition issues 1523 01:24:50,607 --> 01:24:54,089 has grown from family farmers to civil rights activists 1524 01:24:54,089 --> 01:24:56,743 to environmental justice people. 1525 01:24:56,743 --> 01:24:59,137 They see this potential coalition 1526 01:24:59,137 --> 01:25:02,227 that could really make real change. 1527 01:25:02,227 --> 01:25:04,969 - Good luck. - Thank you very much. 1528 01:25:04,969 --> 01:25:06,579 I'm now the chairperson 1529 01:25:06,579 --> 01:25:09,582 of a powerful subcommittee on nutrition. 1530 01:25:10,627 --> 01:25:12,542 And I want to be a part of letting people know 1531 01:25:12,542 --> 01:25:15,501 a lot of these pressing realities that moved me 1532 01:25:15,501 --> 01:25:18,504 to want to deal with our food system. 1533 01:25:19,766 --> 01:25:21,986 So it's a tremendous privilege 1534 01:25:21,986 --> 01:25:26,338 and responsibility to focus Washington on an issue 1535 01:25:26,338 --> 01:25:29,124 that I believe is at the center 1536 01:25:29,124 --> 01:25:31,778 of human life, American life. 1537 01:25:31,778 --> 01:25:35,391 Now, let's be clear, the majority of our food system 1538 01:25:35,391 --> 01:25:38,307 is being now controlled by just a handful 1539 01:25:38,307 --> 01:25:41,353 of big multinational corporations. 1540 01:25:41,353 --> 01:25:44,791 These food companies carefully forment-- uh, formulate 1541 01:25:44,791 --> 01:25:48,317 and market nutrient-poor, addictive, 1542 01:25:48,317 --> 01:25:53,191 ultra-processed foods which now comprise two-thirds 1543 01:25:53,191 --> 01:25:55,933 of the calories in children and teens 1544 01:25:55,933 --> 01:25:57,500 in their diets in the United States. 1545 01:25:57,500 --> 01:25:59,980 And these companies want us to believe 1546 01:25:59,980 --> 01:26:02,809 that the resultant diet-related diseases, 1547 01:26:02,809 --> 01:26:08,337 such as obesity and diabetes, are somehow a moral failing. 1548 01:26:08,337 --> 01:26:11,078 That they represent a lack of willpower, 1549 01:26:11,078 --> 01:26:14,038 or a failure to get enough exercise. 1550 01:26:14,038 --> 01:26:16,258 That-that is just a lie. 1551 01:26:16,258 --> 01:26:18,347 It's a lie. 1552 01:26:18,347 --> 01:26:20,392 And so, I believe we need to rethink 1553 01:26:20,392 --> 01:26:23,700 the way we approach food and nutrition policy. 1554 01:26:23,700 --> 01:26:26,659 Our lives literally depend upon it. 1555 01:26:28,400 --> 01:26:30,576 By fixing our food system, 1556 01:26:30,576 --> 01:26:32,230 we will create health and well-being 1557 01:26:32,230 --> 01:26:34,537 in-in every aspect of our lives. 1558 01:26:34,537 --> 01:26:39,106 But the forces of Washington right now are really invested 1559 01:26:39,106 --> 01:26:41,500 in sustaining these broken systems. 1560 01:26:41,500 --> 01:26:43,154 Because it's creating big profit 1561 01:26:43,154 --> 01:26:44,982 for very powerful interests. 1562 01:26:44,982 --> 01:26:48,203 Tyson Foods, in the last quarter of 2021, 1563 01:26:48,203 --> 01:26:51,771 their net income rose from $469 million 1564 01:26:51,771 --> 01:26:55,775 to $1.2 billion, that's one quarter, okay? 1565 01:26:55,775 --> 01:26:57,299 ; I've got a piece of legislation 1566 01:26:57,299 --> 01:26:59,214 right now to put more transparency 1567 01:26:59,214 --> 01:27:01,694 on those big meatpacking companies 1568 01:27:01,694 --> 01:27:04,697 and have a special investigator with subpoena power. 1569 01:27:04,697 --> 01:27:07,396 Make sure these folks aren't doing antitrust activities. 1570 01:27:07,396 --> 01:27:09,746 But make no mistake, there's gonna be a lot 1571 01:27:09,746 --> 01:27:11,617 of money thrown against me. 1572 01:27:12,966 --> 01:27:14,446 They're gonna say, "We're not gonna let 1573 01:27:14,446 --> 01:27:17,362 some bigmouth senator from Montana stop us." 1574 01:27:17,362 --> 01:27:20,757 And so, bring it on, guys. 1575 01:27:21,845 --> 01:27:23,238 How'd the hearing go? 1576 01:27:23,238 --> 01:27:25,065 - Really well. - Yeah. 1577 01:27:25,065 --> 01:27:27,894 Now we're being filmed doing an illegal activity. 1578 01:27:27,894 --> 01:27:29,896 We're jaywalking here. 1579 01:27:29,896 --> 01:27:31,289 I think the light's gonna change for us maybe? 1580 01:27:31,289 --> 01:27:33,291 You think so? 1581 01:27:33,291 --> 01:27:34,771 Sometimes the law has to catch up to where you are. 1582 01:27:34,771 --> 01:27:36,076 That's right. 1583 01:27:38,035 --> 01:27:39,428 BOOKER [voice-over]: I really think that this is 1584 01:27:39,428 --> 01:27:42,257 a moment in history where we can expand 1585 01:27:42,257 --> 01:27:45,085 the innovations going on in the American food system 1586 01:27:45,085 --> 01:27:49,176 to show people that there's a better way of doing this. 1587 01:27:56,749 --> 01:27:58,185 POLLAN [voice-over]: It's all doable, 1588 01:27:58,185 --> 01:27:59,970 it's all fixable. 1589 01:27:59,970 --> 01:28:03,887 If we tackle the big problem of antitrust 1590 01:28:03,887 --> 01:28:05,628 and agricultural policy. 1591 01:28:05,628 --> 01:28:07,499 We need to change the incentives, 1592 01:28:07,499 --> 01:28:11,416 so the government is subsidizing healthy calories, 1593 01:28:11,416 --> 01:28:13,288 not unhealthy calories. 1594 01:28:13,288 --> 01:28:15,812 Just imagine if the government decided 1595 01:28:15,812 --> 01:28:19,511 to step in on the side of the consumer and the citizen, 1596 01:28:19,511 --> 01:28:22,471 rather than on the side of the big food companies. 1597 01:28:23,733 --> 01:28:26,039 We had a pandemic 1598 01:28:26,039 --> 01:28:28,433 and saw how brittle things were. 1599 01:28:28,433 --> 01:28:32,132 So let's create resiliency 1600 01:28:32,132 --> 01:28:36,441 by empowering the folks that raise their food 1601 01:28:36,441 --> 01:28:39,139 in our local and regional food systems. 1602 01:28:40,532 --> 01:28:41,707 SMITH [voice-over]: The future doesn't have to be 1603 01:28:41,707 --> 01:28:43,666 cornfield after cornfield. 1604 01:28:43,666 --> 01:28:45,320 If we want to see change happen, 1605 01:28:45,320 --> 01:28:48,845 we have to change agricultural policy. 1606 01:28:48,845 --> 01:28:50,368 We get the right policy, 1607 01:28:50,368 --> 01:28:52,805 and we'll start taking care of our soils, 1608 01:28:52,805 --> 01:28:54,546 which in turn makes healthy food. 1609 01:28:54,546 --> 01:28:56,983 Like, it's not rocket science. 1610 01:28:58,115 --> 01:28:59,290 BREN [voice-over]: This is our chance 1611 01:28:59,290 --> 01:29:00,857 to chart a new course. 1612 01:29:00,857 --> 01:29:03,903 We can actually grow good food, create good jobs, 1613 01:29:03,903 --> 01:29:06,602 while we're also healing the planet. 1614 01:29:06,602 --> 01:29:09,648 And that's sort of the world I-I'd love to live in. 1615 01:29:09,648 --> 01:29:10,867 - Fifteen! - Stand up! 1616 01:29:10,867 --> 01:29:12,390 KC! 1617 01:29:12,390 --> 01:29:14,000 MARION [voice-over]: I want to see everybody 1618 01:29:14,000 --> 01:29:15,741 treated fairly. 1619 01:29:15,741 --> 01:29:17,656 We are the ones 1620 01:29:17,656 --> 01:29:19,832 that make this company successful. 1621 01:29:19,832 --> 01:29:22,705 - Who runs this Taco Bell? - We do! 1622 01:29:22,705 --> 01:29:24,533 MARION [voice-over]: I want to see life. 1623 01:29:24,533 --> 01:29:26,186 I want to see people living life, 1624 01:29:26,186 --> 01:29:28,232 not just fighting to survive. 1625 01:29:30,190 --> 01:29:32,410 SCHLOSSER [voice-over]: We can have a food system 1626 01:29:32,410 --> 01:29:36,022 that produces healthy food for consumers, 1627 01:29:36,022 --> 01:29:42,333 that provides a safe workplace and decent wages to workers, 1628 01:29:42,333 --> 01:29:45,510 that treats animals like they're living beings 1629 01:29:45,510 --> 01:29:49,122 and not industrial commodities, 1630 01:29:49,122 --> 01:29:53,475 that treats the land in a way that's sustainable 1631 01:29:53,475 --> 01:29:56,303 and not destructive. 1632 01:29:56,303 --> 01:30:00,090 We not only can do it, we have to. 1633 01:30:07,793 --> 01:30:10,405 ♪ This land is your land 1634 01:30:12,189 --> 01:30:14,670 ♪ This land is my land 1635 01:30:18,064 --> 01:30:22,068 ♪ From California 1636 01:30:22,068 --> 01:30:26,812 ♪ Well, to the New York island ♪ 1637 01:30:26,812 --> 01:30:31,687 ♪ From the redwood forest 1638 01:30:31,687 --> 01:30:36,561 ♪ To the Gulf Stream waters 1639 01:30:37,562 --> 01:30:39,129 ♪ I tell you 1640 01:30:39,129 --> 01:30:41,348 ♪ This land 1641 01:30:41,348 --> 01:30:46,353 ♪ Was made for you and me 1642 01:30:47,877 --> 01:30:51,489 ♪ As I went walking 1643 01:30:51,489 --> 01:30:55,493 ♪ Down that ribbon of a highway ♪ 1644 01:30:57,103 --> 01:31:01,325 ♪ I saw above me 1645 01:31:01,325 --> 01:31:05,590 ♪ Oh, that endless skyway 1646 01:31:06,852 --> 01:31:10,726 ♪ Now, I saw below me 1647 01:31:11,553 --> 01:31:15,339 ♪ That golden valley 1648 01:31:16,209 --> 01:31:17,994 ♪ And I said 1649 01:31:17,994 --> 01:31:20,649 ♪ This land 1650 01:31:20,649 --> 01:31:25,741 ♪ Was made for you and me 1651 01:31:27,046 --> 01:31:31,355 ♪ As I was walking 1652 01:31:31,355 --> 01:31:34,271 ♪ Now, they tried to stop me 1653 01:31:36,229 --> 01:31:40,233 ♪ They put up a sign that said ♪ 1654 01:31:40,233 --> 01:31:44,847 ♪ Oh, it said, "Private property" ♪ 1655 01:31:45,978 --> 01:31:50,200 ♪ Well, on the back side 1656 01:31:50,200 --> 01:31:55,335 ♪ You know, it said nothing 1657 01:31:55,335 --> 01:31:59,688 ♪ So, it must be that side 1658 01:31:59,688 --> 01:32:05,520 ♪ Was made for you and me, yeah ♪ 1659 01:32:19,882 --> 01:32:24,582 ♪ One bright, sunny morning 1660 01:32:24,582 --> 01:32:29,587 ♪ Well, in the shadow of a steeple ♪ 1661 01:32:29,587 --> 01:32:34,244 ♪ Down by the welfare office 1662 01:32:34,244 --> 01:32:39,205 ♪ I... I saw my people 1663 01:32:39,205 --> 01:32:44,080 ♪ You know, now, they stood hungry ♪ 1664 01:32:44,080 --> 01:32:49,085 ♪ I... I stood wondering 1665 01:32:49,085 --> 01:32:53,655 ♪ I was wondering if this land ♪ 1666 01:32:53,655 --> 01:32:58,964 ♪ Was made for you and me 1667 01:32:59,661 --> 01:33:01,706 ♪ This land is your land ♪ 1668 01:33:04,666 --> 01:33:08,060 ♪ This land is my land 1669 01:33:09,322 --> 01:33:13,283 ♪ From Riverside, California 1670 01:33:13,283 --> 01:33:17,722 ♪ Oh, to Staten Island 1671 01:33:17,722 --> 01:33:23,032 ♪ Well, on down to west of Georgia ♪ 1672 01:33:23,032 --> 01:33:26,862 ♪ Oh, don't forget to say Philadelphia ♪ 1673 01:33:26,862 --> 01:33:31,214 ♪ Oh, we moving on down to Mississippi ♪ 1674 01:33:31,214 --> 01:33:34,304 ♪ Oh, Houston, Texas 1675 01:33:34,304 --> 01:33:35,958 ♪ Ah, L.A. 1676 01:33:35,958 --> 01:33:37,612 ♪ Yeah 1677 01:33:37,612 --> 01:33:40,832 ♪ You know, this land is your land ♪ 1678 01:33:40,832 --> 01:33:46,664 ♪ Ah, this land is my land 1679 01:33:46,664 --> 01:33:50,015 ♪ Oh, this land is your land ♪ 1680 01:33:50,015 --> 01:33:52,278 ♪ You've got to believe 1681 01:33:52,278 --> 01:33:55,064 ♪ Oh, it's my land 1682 01:33:55,064 --> 01:33:58,197 ♪ Oh 1683 01:33:58,197 --> 01:34:00,373 ♪ Mm 1684 01:34:00,373 --> 01:34:05,596 ♪ Ooh, this land was made for you and me, yeah ♪ 1685 01:34:05,596 --> 01:34:09,034 ♪ Oh, this land was made for you and me ♪ 1686 01:34:09,034 --> 01:34:11,471 ♪ Oh, this land 1687 01:34:11,471 --> 01:34:13,648 ♪ This land is your land 1688 01:34:13,648 --> 01:34:15,824 ♪ Ah, this land 1689 01:34:15,824 --> 01:34:17,869 ♪ This land is my land.