Our Daily Bread

This past Saturday morning was beautiful, so we hopped on our bikes and made our way through the countryside to Links greenhouses north and east of Bowmanville. It is a ten or eleven kilometre ride each way, but it was worth it. The produce is always fresh and we bought our first corn on the cob of the season. Even in a cool, wet summer this is a great time for the fruits of agriculture.

Last night we watched an acclaimed documentary called Our Daily Bread produced in Germany. It looks at the factory-style production of food in Europe and it is rather sobering. A variety of venues, including vast greenhouses, conveyor belt cow milking, fish farms, and even a salt mine are filmed in disturbing detail. Interspersed are segments showing workers in the lunch rooms of these places where they are employed, a reminder that we all require our daily bread or its equivalent. The number of employees shown is minimal however, with much of the work done by machines. I noticed how much of the produce in one greenhouse was left on the vine. The European Union requires by law that only virtually perfect fruit and vegetables are sold to consumers, meaning that thousands of tons of excellent produce is destroyed every year.

This film doesn't have a commentary or dialogue. The message is the film footage itself, letting viewers form opinions. It's interesting that the title, Our Daily Bread, is a phrase from the Lord's Prayer which we repeat in our worship every Sunday. Rarely do we ask where our daily food originates, or how it is produced.

I would recommend Our Daily Bread, although there are some scenes that are disturbing. Maybe we all need to see them. Has anyone else watched this DVD?