Watch Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread is a documentary film that explores the complex process of food production in the modern world. Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, the film takes a stark, unflinching look at the industrialization of agriculture and the systematization of food production that has become the norm in the 21st century. The film is shot in a particular style, with long, unbroken shots of the different stages of food production. From factory farms to industrial bakeries, we see the machinery that grinds, mixes, packages and distributes the food that we consume on a daily basis.

The filmmakers adopt a strictly observational approach, choosing not to include any voiceover narration or interviews with the people involved in the food production process. Instead, we see the machinery working, the workers going about their daily tasks, and the various stages of food production unfolding before our eyes.

What emerges from this approach is a damning critique of the modern food industry, which is shown to be a depersonalized, mechanized process that is more concerned with efficiency than with the health and wellbeing of the people who consume the food it produces.

One sequence, for example, shows the production of chicken nuggets in an industrial poultry farm. We see the chickens being kept in cramped, windowless conditions, with no access to natural light or fresh air. They are then slaughtered en masse, their carcasses processed and turned into nuggets, which are then frozen and packaged for shipping.

The contrast between the living, breathing chickens and the dead, processed meat is stark, and the industrial machinery that produces the nuggets seems almost grotesque in its brutality.

Another sequence shows the production of bread in a large-scale bakery. We see the flour being mixed with water and yeast, the dough being kneaded by conveyor belts, and the loaves being automatically cut and packaged for shipping. Again, there is a sense of detachment and dehumanization that pervades the process, as the film shows us how bread is no longer an artisanal product made by human hands, but rather a mass-produced commodity that is churned out by machines.

Throughout the film, there are also moments of dark humor, such as a scene showing a machine that automatically peels and cuts potatoes, producing perfectly uniform fries. The camera lingers on the machine, which seems to have a life of its own, as if it were a malevolent force that is slowly erasing all traces of individuality and imperfection from the world.

Despite its bleak vision of modern food production, Our Daily Bread is not without hope. There are glimpses of small-scale, organic farming operations, where the animals are treated humanely and the plants are grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. These scenes offer a glimmer of hope that another, more sustainable and humane form of food production is possible.

In the end, Our Daily Bread is a sobering reminder of the hidden costs of the food we consume. It shows us how our desire for cheap, convenient food has led to a system that is both destructive to the environment and dehumanizing to the people and animals involved in its production. But it also reminds us that we have the power to change this system, to demand food that is healthy, sustainable, and ethically produced.

Overall, Our Daily Bread is a powerful and thought-provoking documentary that is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who watches it.

Our Daily Bread is a 2005 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 32 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.6 and a MetaScore of 86.