Watch the Exclusive Trailer for the GMO Thriller ‘Consumed’
Not everyone may be familiar with the debate surrounding genetically modified food, but the new movie Consumed could inspire harder thinking on the topic.
So hope the movie’s co-writers, married couple Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, who also currently star in the CBS sitcom, Life in Pieces. Their new film depicts the intertwined dilemmas of a small town organic farmer, a big farming corporation profiting from GMOs, and single mother as she tries to find the root cause of a mysterious rash on her son’s arm.
“We wanted to raise questions around the film and get people thinking,” said Wein, who along with his wife spent seven years producing the film.
Consumed stars Lister-Jones as the main character Sophie, a mother of a young son who launches an investigation into her son’s mysterious skin problem. The film delves into the issues surrounding GMOs in food, and how they’re all connected.
“It’s a dramatic thriller that touches on a lot of real world issues and drama,” said Wein, who also directed the film. “But it’s entertaining, and that was our main goal. I wanted people to not know anything about this issue and go into the movie and have a fun time and be intrigued and interested.”
Consumed co-writer Zoe Lister-Jones plays Sophie, a single mother who suspects GMOs are linked to her son’s mysterious illness. (Photo credit: Consumed/Mister Lister)
The movie also stars Victor Garber as the CEO of a corporate farming company; Danny Glover as a small town organic farmer; and ER actor Anthony Edwards and The Big Bang Theory actor Kunal Nayyar as two university scientists researching GMOs.
Wein and Lister-Jones stress that they are not choosing sides in the debate for or against GMOs, nor does the movie say that GMOs conclusively have any adverse health effects.
“We were really careful to not vilify corporations,” Lister-Jones said, pointing to the humanity depicted in Garber’s CEO character. “We tried hard to show both sides of the argument. There are positive elements to this idea of feeding the world or helping farmers. We were careful to give a voice to the corporations who make those claims, but in our research, we were aware that those claims have not manifested yet.”
Consumed was filmed in rural Illinois and premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. Next month, it will roll out to theaters via Gathr, which allows moviegoers to sign up for or host screenings in their area.
For more on GMOs, check out these stories:
Big Food is Spending Millions to Lobby for Less Transparency
Chipotle Sued for Using GMOs After Declaring Its Food GMO-Free
