The French documentary Food Beware is a bit like days-old whole wheat bread: it’s bland and dry, but it’s still good for you. That is, if you can bear to eat it. Originally titled Nos Enfants Nous Accuseront (’Our Children Will Accuse Us’), this film begins by stating statistics of the shockingly high, ever-growing cancer rates in Europe, a large number of which are attributed to the environment, food, and pollution. The mayor of a picturesque French village thinks he has found a solution: change the school cafeteria from the standard canned and frozen fare to organic food. The normal lunchroom offerings hide unwanted additives such as nitrites, pesticides, and lead, and the mayor and his citizens hope that the change will have a positive effect on the children’s health and future.

Food Beware transitions between chronicling the efforts of the school and the townspeople to focusing on evidence and anecdotes about the dangers of regular food. The village’s children are largely eager to make the change, and the switch soon moves beyond the cafeteria and into some of their homes. Though food preparation involves more work for the lunchroom workers, they demonstrate pride in making foods from scratch, instead of merely reheating prepackaged elements. Meanwhile, scientists discuss the widespread effects of nonorganic food, particularly on children. The personal stories of farmers who work with pesticides rank as the film’s most affecting, effective moments, revealing the perils for those who work closely with these chemicals.

The ideas that fuel this film are valuable, and Food Beware follows in the tradition of post-millennial, pro-organic opuses. Films such as No Impact Man and Food, Inc. have persuaded audiences to their causes, and In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan is a fixture on best-seller lists. Food Beware arrives at an integral time when organic eating and sustainable living are frequent conversation topics, but it’s a bit too long and lackluster to hold the audience’s attention.