Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread presents an intimate encounter with agriculture. We're shown a series of different agricultural operations, each depicting various facets of how food is manicured and processed. If you're considering vegetarianism, Daily Bread's examination of the ways in which pigs, cattle, and chickens are slaughtered may help to buffer your enthusiasm. In one scene a newborn calf is ripped from a hole cut into its mother's side. In another, screaming baby pigs are forced into a vice-like instrument where they receive their introductory branding. Various types of produce bathing in artificial light and pesticides are featured as well. Director Nikolaus Geyrhalter's unflinching camera captures working moments of camaraderie, boredom, tedium, and complacency, as he travels from job-site to job-site monitoring the toil. Fortunately, Our Daily Bread contains no narration, allowing the images captured to speak for themselves. I found this technique to be powerful for in the end I was forced to critique my own relationship with mealtime rather than someone else's carefully positioned politicized commentary. Our Daily Bread contains its harsh moments, but these scenes are carefully and intelligently interwoven with less traumatizing imagery, giving you time to regroup before slugging back another shot of reality. If you are someone who eats, try some Daily Bread on for size and challenge your taste-buds to a tidbit of truth.