Food, Inc. 2 follows the Oscar-nominated Food Inc., which painted a grim picture of the food industry in the US. Robert Kenner not only shows the appalling conditions in which animals in the food industry exist, he also shows the harm inflicted on consumers and workers. 

Food Inc. 2 continues where Food Inc. ends. The conditions in which food industry workers need to function reach a low in Covid times. In Iowa, the number of fatal Covid cases rises exponentially as a result of conditions at a meatpacking plant. Fastfood clerks in establishments like McDonalds or Taco Bell are fighting - pandemic or not - to survive. The mostly female staff must work in almost impossible conditions, ironically even as "essential workers" during the pandemic.

The so-called processed foods lose credit as well, even if they serve as an alternative to meat. After all, do products like the "impossible burger" provide the relief expected of them? They may not be a result of the meat industry, but their production price remains high and their nutritional value unclear.

Will innovative farmers, forward-thinking food producers, workers' rights activists and visionary legislators provide the necessary perspective for a more sustainable and healthy future?