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Similar to The World According to Monsanto
Monsanto is the world leader in genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as one of the most controversial corporations in industrial history. This century-old empire has created some of the most toxic products ever sold, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the herbicide Agent Orange. Based on a painstaking investigation, The World According to Monsanto puts together the pieces of the company’s history, calling on hitherto unpublished documents and numerous first-hand accounts.
This came out of France, and that should be shocking given the quality of it and their history with documentaries. They aren't exactly the BBC, they aren't really known for films like this...but I also live in the English speaking world so, some of them could be lost in translation. However, the production values are fairly high for a French Documentary. Another interesting note is that this was released in 2008 during a rash of conspiracy theories involving the company as a whole and GMOs in general, and it handled it in a very even and fair way without really buying into Alex Jones style media frenzy that surrounded the topic at the time. That being said, it did make some very good points about the negative effects on farming as a whole and the cost that these things put on private farmers who can't keep seed for the next year. However, it's take on what GMOs are and how they are made was dealt with vaguely and partially inaccurate. Without getting into details, it placed too much emphasis on one singular side of the debate to the point where the science wasn't exactly inaccurate, but more along the lines of cherry picked to fit the thesis, which shouldn't have a place in a documentary. Other than that, it was a fairly fair film, even if it was, from the get-go, intended to be a hit-piece, it was a mostly honest hit-piece.
February 17, 2008
This came out of France, and that should be shocking given the quality of it and their history with documentaries. They aren't exactly the BBC, they aren't really known for films like this...but I also live in the English speaking world so, some of them could be lost in translation. However, the production values are fairly high for a French Documentary. Another interesting note is that this was released in 2008 during a rash of conspiracy theories involving the company as a whole and GMOs in general, and it handled it in a very even and fair way without really buying into Alex Jones style media frenzy that surrounded the topic at the time. That being said, it did make some very good points about the negative effects on farming as a whole and the cost that these things put on private farmers who can't keep seed for the next year. However, it's take on what GMOs are and how they are made was dealt with vaguely and partially inaccurate. Without getting into details, it placed too much emphasis on one singular side of the debate to the point where the science wasn't exactly inaccurate, but more along the lines of cherry picked to fit the thesis, which shouldn't have a place in a documentary. Other than that, it was a fairly fair film, even if it was, from the get-go, intended to be a hit-piece, it was a mostly honest hit-piece.
