Lawrence.com

A couple months ago, I saw renowned author and activist Michael Pollan speak in KC about his latest book, "In Defense of Food."

That book serves as an engaging, at-length answer to the, well, dilemma readers were left with from his previous book, "The Omnivore’s Dilemma." That is, “OK, so now we know what we’re not supposed to eat, but what ARE we supposed to eat?”

At his talk in KC, Pollan touched on several signs of movement in the right direction — so many interested readers of his books, huge increases in C.S.A.s (Community Supported Agriculture), more and more farmers’ markets across the country (Lawrence's has been around 33 years now), a boom in home gardening, and of course there was mention of the chemical-free Obama veggie garden.

Pollan also talked about a documentary film coming out this year called Food, Inc. Admittedly, I hadn’t thought about the film for a while until I received an email last month (that had obviously been forwarded several times) which stated that Food, Inc. had pulled in more money per theater than any other new release during the same weekend. Given its relatively limited indie distribution, it was still No. 1 amongst the mainstream.

This weekend it comes to the Tivoli in KC and Glenwood Arts Theater in Overland Park. (It sounds like it won't be at Liberty until the 24th.) Showtimes are supposed to be announced anytime now.

To cut to the chase, the documentary takes a critical look at the infrastructure of the American food complex, and the employment of bureaucratic barricades and a seemingly intentional lack of transparency that takes place before what we have come to know as “food” is put in its brightly colored packaging and placed on the shelves of our grocery stores. It's a mentality that's akin to a mechanic who doesn’t want you around while they work on your car.

Other films in the past have taken dissenting looks at our overgrown industrial food production system or the relatively new concept of the “multi-national corporation,” but by all accounts Food, Inc. does an exceptional job of putting both pieces of the puzzle at the scene of the crime, if you will.

While I rarely pass on a chance to rally behind a post-industrial food documentary, I became more skeptical of Pollan’s stance once I found out that he narrated the film. Having done more homework though, I’ve found that most reviews have been supportive of the film, the only ones to differ basically said that it was a bit slanted. Like a well-rounded sales pitch or persuasive essay, I not only expect, but look forward to a side of slant with a documentary.

Before you whine that Overland Park is too far to travel for a movie, check out foodincmovie.com and the trailer below. After that, stop whining and go see it.