| Food Chains | |
| Director: | Sanjay Rawal |
| Producer: | Smriti Keshari Hamilton Fish Sanjay Rawal |
| Starring: | Eve Ensler Barry Estabrook Dolores Huerta Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kerry Kennedy Eva Longoria Eric Schlosser Forest Whitaker |
| Cinematography: | Forest Woodward |
| Editing: | Erin Barnett |
| Music: | Gil Talmi Macklemore |
| Distributor: | Screen Media |
| Runtime: | 83 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Food Chains is a 2014 American documentary film about agricultural labor in the United States directed by Sanjay Rawal. It was the Recipient of the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award for Special/Documentary.[1]
In Immokalee, Florida, migrant farmworkers pick fruits and vegetables that are sold to large US food wholesalers.[2] However, their working conditions are shown to be less than favorable.[2] As a result, they form the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to raise awareness and improve their circumstances.[3] Specifically, they go on a hunger strike to pressure Publix, a Florida-based food wholesaler, to pay them one penny more per pound of tomato.[3] Meanwhile, the documentary also shows farmworkers in the vineyards of the Napa Valley.[4]
The film was produced by actress and Democratic fundraiser Eva Longoria, Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser, and heiress Abigail Disney, among others.[4]
It was presented at the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Napa Valley Film Festival.[2] [4] Shortly after, Screen Media purchased the distribution rights for North America.[2] A Spanish version, narrated by actor Demián Bichir was released.[3]
In a review for The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck suggested not much had changed since Harvest of Shame, a 1960 documentary about the same topic.[3] He concluded that Food Chains was 'simultaneously inspirational and deeply depressing.'[3] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Tara Duggan added that there were 'many chilling moments' in the documentary.[4] In The New York Daily News, Elizabeth Weitzman called the documentary 'unsettling,' concluding 'you will certainly leave the theater more enlightened than when you arrived.'.[5] Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times called the film 'rousing' and 'emphatic and empathetic.'.[6]