Rotten

The concept for this show is really quite brilliant. Looking at the shady underbelly of food manufacturing, and trade is a compelling idea. The first episode dips into this potential by looking at how Chinese honey exporters dilute their honey with various syrups made from rice, corn, and other food products. The fourth episode about garlic taps into part of the concept as well by looking at how Chinese garlic producers use prison labor to peel garlic that they then sell to the U.S.

However, despite moments of thoughtprovoking brilliance, this series only scratches the surface of most topics, and is increadibly unfocused in several of the episodes. The episode about chicken for instance deals more with a series of chicken coup attacks in the Southern U.S., then it does looking at the payment structure for farmers and the globalized scale of ownership with chicken companies.

So while the core idea is terrific, the execution of the series leaves a lot to be desired. They should've dug deeper into the issues, focused their episodes a lot more, and ensured that the finished product is just as engaging and thoughtprovoking as the idea itself.

Each story is a deep dive into a narrow industry segment like poultry in America. It is educational and informative. I like programs like this that are presented honestly and without an agenda.

"Rotten" is, at times, a very interesting and worthwhile television series. And, at others, it seems directionless and confusing. In other words, some episodes are well worth seeing...and others not. The problem is that the underlying philosophy of the program seems difficult to determine.

Episode one, about honey production and the adulteration of honey coming from China is the best of the six shows. It presents a strong case and is quite compelling. But, this isn't the case with other shows...which often seem to contradict themselves. For example, in the episode about garlic, the show spends much of the time attacking one particular mega-corporation....and then, in a big switcheroo, then attacks its competitors and makes you wonder WHO is the bad guy. Another example is the show about the poultry industry. The first half of the show is about some local chicken producers who were attacked by an unknown culpret and their chickens killed....but then, suddenly, it becomes an attack on a Brazilian mega-corporation! To make matters worse, after spending all that time attacking the Brazilian corporation, the show admits that there was a huge shakeup in the industry and this same Brazilian corporation had to divest of many of its companies around the world! Talk about a lack of focus!!

I wish the show had chosen to simply dealt with food adulteration like the first episode. And, oddly, one of the most famous adulterated products, olive oil, is never even mentioned in the series.

Overall, some good, some very bad....a series that can be compelling and frustrating.

The second season of this show was similar to the first, focusing on the industrial processes and environmental harms of so much of what we consume. The first had episodes on honey, peanuts, garlic, chicken, milk, and fish, while the second season covered avocados, chocolate, water, sugar, wine, and marijuana edibles. It's a really good show, well produced and thought provoking, and made me think twice about the products I buy in the supermarket. I do take umbrage, however, with the tone of the last episode of S02, on pot edibles in Amsterdam and in the U.S. While I'm sure they were aiming for impartiality, too much of the episode ended up being like "Reefer Madness", using scare tactics to convince viewers that pot legalization is moving too fast. That's balderdash and one quote alone shows the fallacy of the "war on drugs":

"...enforcement of federal and state marijuana laws costs eight billion dollars a year..."

It's pure insanity that we waste so much money, and incarcerate way too many black and brown people, for something that should never have been illegal in the first place. All the money that's spent fighting a plant that is patently less harmful than alcohol is asinine. Soapbox rant aside, I'd definitely recommend watching S02; all the episodes are illuminating and interesting (and infuriating and frustrating).

Some episodes are better/more interesting than others, but overall it's a good docu. It has some major focuses and unlike other wannabe docus out there lately doesn't try to create a false image of the world and what YOU should do to follow their idea of fairness. It informs and does so well as it should be. Not some highly biased individual experience based "idea" of a docu. Good stuff and worth/enjoyable to watch.