{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Food Chains | image = File:Food Chains Documentary Poster.jpg | caption = Release poster | director = Sanjay Rawal | writer = Erin Barnett<br>Sanjay Rawal | producer = Smriti Keshari<br>Hamilton Fish<br>Sanjay Rawal | starring = Eve Ensler<br>Barry Estabrook<br>Dolores Huerta<br>Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<br>Kerry Kennedy<br>Eva Longoria<br>Eric Schlosser<br>Forest Whitaker | cinematography = Forest Woodward | editing = Erin Barnett | music = Gil Talmi<br>Macklemore | studio = | distributor = Screen Media | released = {{Film date|2014|02||Berlinale}} | runtime = 83 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''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.<ref name="Beard">James Beard Foundation, [http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2015-book-broadcast-and-journalism-awards-complete-winner-recap / The 2015 Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards: Complete Winner Recap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020043259/https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2015-book-broadcast-and-journalism-awards-complete-winner-recap |date=2020-10-20 }}, ''James Beard Foundation'', April 24, 2015</ref>
==Summary== In Immokalee, Florida, migrant farmworkers pick fruits and vegetables that are sold to large US food wholesalers.<ref name="distribution">Dave McNary, [https://variety.com/2014/film/news/eva-longorias-food-chains-documentary-getting-u-s-distribution-1201150552/ Eva Longoria’s ‘Food Chains’ Documentary Getting U.S. Distribution], ''Variety'', March 31, 2014</ref> However, their working conditions are shown to be less than favorable.<ref name="distribution"/> As a result, they form the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to raise awareness and improve their circumstances.<ref name="hollywoodreporter">Frank Scheck, [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/food-chains-film-review-751479 'Food Chains': Film Review], ''The Hollywood Reporter'', November 24, 2014</ref> 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.<ref name="hollywoodreporter"/> Meanwhile, the documentary also shows farmworkers in the vineyards of the Napa Valley.<ref name="taraduggan">Tara Duggan, [http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Food-Chains-that-those-who-pick-our-food-get-5911886.php Documentary shows how those who pick our food get a raw deal], ''San Francisco Chronicle'', November 25, 2014</ref>
==Production== The film was produced by actress and Democratic fundraiser Eva Longoria, ''Fast Food Nation'' author Eric Schlosser, and heiress Abigail Disney, among others.<ref name="taraduggan"/>
It was presented at the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Napa Valley Film Festival.<ref name="distribution"/><ref name="taraduggan"/> Shortly after, Screen Media purchased the distribution rights for North America.<ref name="distribution"/> A Spanish version, narrated by actor Demián Bichir was released.<ref name="hollywoodreporter"/>
==Critical reception== 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.<ref name="hollywoodreporter"/> He concluded that ''Food Chains'' was 'simultaneously inspirational and deeply depressing.'<ref name="hollywoodreporter"/> Writing for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', Tara Duggan added that there were 'many chilling moments' in the documentary.<ref name="taraduggan"/> 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.'.<ref name="dailynews">Elizabeth Weitzman, [http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/food-chains-movie-review-article-1.2017981 'Food Chains': Movie Review], ''The New York Daily News'', November 20, 2014</ref> Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times called the film 'rousing' and 'emphatic and empathetic.'.<ref name="nytimes">Jeannette Catsoulis, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/movies/food-chains-on-tomato-pickers-efforts-to-break-free.html?_r=0 In for a Penny, in for a Pound, and Better Work Conditions], ''The New York Times'', November 20, 2014</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|url=https://www.foodchainsfilm.com/}} *{{IMDb title|2141739}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Food Chains}} Category:2014 films Category:American documentary films Category:2014 documentary films Category:Documentary films about agriculture in the United States Category:James Beard Foundation Award winners Category:2014 English-language films Category:2014 American films Category:English-language documentary films