''Food Chains'' is a 2014 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about agricultural labor in the United States directed by

Sanjay Rawal Sanjay Rawal (born October 30, 1974) is an Indian-American documentary film director who lives in New York City. His first feature length film '' Food Chains'' premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in its Culinary Cinema Programme in 2014 and ha ...

. It was the Recipient of the 2015

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for Special/Documentary.James Beard Foundation
/ The 2015 Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards: Complete Winner Recap
''

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

'', April 24, 2015

Summary

Immokalee, Florida Immokalee ( ) is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,557 at the 2020 census, up from 24,154 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Collier Co ...

, migrant farmworkers pick fruits and vegetables that are sold to large US food wholesalers.Dave McNary
Eva Longoria’s ‘Food Chains’ Documentary Getting U.S. Distribution
'' Variety'', March 31, 2014 However, their working conditions are shown to be less than favorable. As a result, they form the

Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization focusing on social responsibility in corporate supply chains, human trafficking, sexual violence at work and occupational health and safety. Starting in 1993 ...

(CIW) to raise awareness and improve their circumstances.Frank Scheck
'Food Chains': Film Review
''The Hollywood Reporter'', November 24, 2014 Specifically, they go on a hunger strike to pressure

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Publix, is an employee ownership, employee-owned American supermarket Chain store, chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a Privately h ...

, a Florida-based food wholesaler, to pay them one penny more per pound of tomato. Meanwhile, the documentary also shows farmworkers in the vineyards of the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

.Tara Duggan
Documentary shows how those who pick our food get a raw deal
''San Francisco Chronicle'', November 25, 2014

Production

The film was produced by actress and Democratic fundraiser

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, and businesswoman. After several guest roles on television, she became recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS day ...

, ''

Fast Food Nation ''Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal'' is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by ''Rolling Stone'' in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel ''The Jungle''. The book wa ...

'' author Eric Schlosser, and heiress

Abigail Disney Abigail Edna Disney (born January 24, 1960) is an American documentary film producer, philanthropist, social activist, and member of the Disney family. She produced the 2008 documentary '' Pray the Devil Back to Hell''. Disney and Kathleen Hugh ...

, among others. It was presented at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

and the Napa Valley Film Festival. Shortly after, Screen Media purchased the distribution rights for North America. A Spanish version, narrated by actor Demián Bichir was released.

Critical reception

In a review for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', Frank Scheck suggested not much had changed since ''

Harvest of Shame ''Harvest of Shame'' was a 1960 television documentary presented by broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow on CBS that showed the plight of American migrant agricultural workers. It was Murrow's final documentary for the network; he left CBS a ...

'', a 1960 documentary about the same topic. He concluded that ''Food Chains'' was 'simultaneously inspirational and deeply depressing.' Writing for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', Tara Duggan added that there were 'many chilling moments' in the documentary. In ''

The New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in tabloid format, and rea ...

'', Elizabeth Weitzman called the documentary 'unsettling,' concluding 'you will certainly leave the theater more enlightened than when you arrived.'.Elizabeth Weitzman
'Food Chains': Movie Review
''The New York Daily News'', November 20, 2014 Jeannette Catsoulis of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

called the film 'rousing' and 'emphatic and empathetic.'.Jeannette Catsoulis
In for a Penny, in for a Pound, and Better Work Conditions
''The New York Times'', November 20, 2014

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Food Chains 2014 films American documentary films 2014 documentary films Documentary films about agriculture in the United States James Beard Foundation Award winners 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films