We Feed the World

What kind of life does a first–rate farmer lead today? If romantic images of people in touch with nature come to mind, this film will definitely make you think again. Unfortunately, you will not find any nostalgic images in Erwin Wagenhofer's documentary. Rather, the Austrian director's aesthetically composed scenes of machinery at work smack of irony. The European Union's food industry regulations, which endeavour to guarantee high standards of agricultural products, are slowly pushing the human dimension out of farming. Financially demanding changes in production methods are ruining small–scale producers and those still surviving have to raise their prices, thus losing the competitive edge over cheap imports from Asia or South America. Wagenhofer contrasts European farmers, faced with absurd regulations, with the inhabitants of poverty–stricken countries, exploited by multinational companies. The vicious circle is closed off by the spokesperson for Nestlé, for whom the argument of employment opportunities is an alibi for anything and everything.