Hannibal Lecter’s Whore: Blog Of

            The film The Future of Food examines at large the entirety of genetically-modified products – its nature, and more importantly, the complex web of environmental, ethical, even political issues behind it. It also delves into the perpetual issues of patenting and labeling of GM products.

            The film singled out the Monsanto Company, contextualizing it down to the places and the people claimed to be detrimentally affected by the Company and by biotechnology in general.

            I admit that at first instance, I was uninterested with the subject matter. And I think I share the same apathy and indifference with other students who are not into biological sciences. The film is my first thorough look into biotechnology and the issues alongside with it. And it made me recognize that biotechnology is not just a mere technology per se; there are underlying contentious issues more than worthy of argumentation.

            Though the film is forthright on its attack against Monsanto and biotechnology in general, it did not appear to me to distrust the technology, and science as a whole. The film is apparently single-sided, and this partisan presentation could be misleading if we do not take into account the other side of the issue.

            The film Conversations About Plant Biotechnology explored the benefits of Biotechnology across continents – from India to Spain, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Philippines, to the United States.

            It was evident that the film made use of the emotional approach, rather than a scientific line of presentation. With the employment of such approach, the content dwelled more into the benefits and advantages of Biotechnology in the environment, in the economy, and even in family relations – citing that pesticide applications have been cut, greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced, farmers have increased their farm yields, with claims of having more and more time for the family. Thus, it was presented that farmers who use the technology are happier and are more successful. It covered stories from different countries, and that was aimed to impart the idea that success in farming through Biotechnology is something universal; it is not only restricted for particular groups of plant breeders in a particular place, but for all the other farmers all over the world.

            It appeared to me that it was more of a promotional material than what really constitutes a ‘movie’. The fact that it was sponsored by Monsanto is enough to justify why the content of the film was presented that way.