Our Daily Poison

This earnest documentary from filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin explores timely questions about food. How do pesticides, chemicals, and additives in food affect our bodies? Why is relevant research so difficult to access? And why are rates of cancers and autoimmune diseases rising? A French production, Our Daily Poison approaches its subjects—which includes farmers sickened by pesticide exposure, acceptable body intake and maximum residue levels, the controversial sweetener aspartame, endocrine disrupters (including BPA), the “cocktail effect” (when disparate substances interact in the body), and nutrition's role in cancer—from a Eurocentric view, although much of the research and several of the interviews were conducted in America. English-language narration plays over archival and contemporary footage/stills interwoven with talking-head commentary, as Robin doggedly pursues the facts in the face of opposition from both industry and government (in one case, a conflict-of-interest notation disappears from the European Food Safety Authority's website after Robin raises questions about a member working for a company that makes aspartame). Our Daily Poison makes a strong case that corporate interests have trumped truth at the expense of consumers' health, offering a sobering exposé of industries intent on profit over safety—and governments asleep at the helm. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)