Benefit Screening of Food, Inc. at Cinema 21

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Slow Food Portland
Quick info:

Screening of Food, Inc. to benefit Slow Food Portland
Where: Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave.
When: June 23rd at 7:00 PM
Mention “Slow Food” and Cinema 21 will donate $2 of the ticket sale to Slow Food Portland.

In case you have not seen my hearty, hungry-jack face at your table lately asking you leading questions like, “Umm, are you gonna’ eat that WHOLE thing?”, let me just be clear: I like food. I like it a lot. And although I do occasionally throw caution to the wind and jump in feet first, eating a thing for the sake of trying something new (as I did with Whiffies Fried Pies – which worked out amazingly well), in general I try to make somewhat informed choices about what enters my upper pie hole. Unless it is deep-fried, in which case I seem to consistently save the decision for post-ingestion analysis.

Like many of my fellow food-minded grass-fed seasonally-obsessive omnivores here in Portland, when I go to a restaurant I’m one of those people who gaze endlessly at the menu, seemingly seeking spiritual clarity and personal validation in what I’m about to swallow.

For example, I might ask you, my cow-eyed server friend, straightforward questions like where you source your beef (it’s not a hygiene question, sir, so please un-bunch your, ahem, panties), or if the salmon is farm-raised. If the fish is farm-raised or the beef is a McDonald’s factory second, I may stand up and rudely subject you to a loud stream of hideous obscenities that address your upbringing, your choice of vehicle, and the angular nature of your teeth; vulgarities which were previously reserved only for the laziest of miscreant Seamen in my imaginary days as a Navy Chief.

OR, I may just quietly order a lonely salad.

But if you’ve seen my ample, subdued rotundness, it’s fair to say that I don’t order “just a salad” quite often enough. (Apparently by “salad”, I mean “dessert”.) Regardless, despite appearances, I actually do care about what I eat. Mostly because I’d like to be around long enough to see my kids grow into adulthood. After that, all bets are off.

Food, Inc.

If you are interested in the impact of what we eat on both a personal and global level, there is a new film which many of us garish eating-types have been anticipating for quite some time. Food, Inc. is a new documentary from filmmaker Robert Kenner that addresses some of the reasons why eating a steady stream of industrially produced food over the last 60 years might not have been our smartest move. The film has been well-received in other cities since it’s opening on June 12, and now it’s Portland’s turn to check it out. (Specifics after the jump.)

Slow Food Portland Benefit Screening

I subscribe to Slow Food Portland’s email list, and received this note last week:

Pack the Theater for Slow Food: Film Screening of Food, Inc.

Food, Inc., a new documentary about our nation’s food industry, is coming to Portland. The film features Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, and explores the realities of and alternatives to our broken food system.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 23rd at 7:00 pm for a special screening of Food, Inc. to benefit Slow Food. For one showing only, Cinema 21 has generously offered to donate $2 of every regular admission ticket price to Slow Food Portland.

The evening will also include a presentation by our special guest, the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation. Tell your friends and family – let’s pack the theater for good, clean and fair food!

Buy Tickets

Make sure to mention Slow Food!

Online: buy your tickets here , select Tuesday June 23rd @ 7 PM, and enter Slow Food in the coupon box.

Box Office: Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., Portland. Mention “Slow Food” at the door to make sure your ticket benefits Slow Food Portland.

Note: This event is 21 and over only – Cinema 21 recently added beer to the menu for its evening showings. UPDATE: This will be an all-ages showing.

A special thank you to our marketing partner, Livingscape Nursery, for all of their support.

[email reprinted with permission]

In case you’re not convinced, here’s a little more information:

Is the film right for me? Fortunately, Grist magazine has put together a quiz (of sorts) that will help you to determine if watching Food, Inc. is right for you: Quiz: Should I see the critically acclaimed documentary, ‘Food, Inc.’?
Food, Inc. Web site: http://www.foodincmovie.com/
And here’s the official trailer:
Food, Inc. official trailer

Come on out – I’ll be there, soaking it in, probably eating something. But when am I not?

A little disclosure: I am a card-carrying member of Slow Food Portland – a group of folks who like to talk a lot about, surprise surprise, good food. My objective with Slow Food is simple: I am one of those crazy people who believes that eating well does not require a huge budget. In other words, (standing on my soapbox for a second) I think it’s less of an economic issue and more of a cultural problem that we generally think eating well is too expensive for most of us. Translation? I’m a cheap bastard who likes to eat good things, and I wanna find affordable ways to do it. But that’s just me (end soapbox).

For more information about the Slow Food movement, see Slow Food Portland’s Web site.