Morgan Spurlock, creator of documentaries about the fast-food and chicken industries, has died of complications related to cancer. He was 53.
He became famous for producing a documentary about going on a 30-day diet during which he ate every item on the McDonald’s menu, gained 20 pounds and felt terrible.
Then he made a documentary about going into the chicken business, opening a fast-food restaurant and partnering with a contract chicken producer to raise the birds.
That farmer went from top-notch ratings by his client chicken-processing company to bottom-rung classification when the company learned of his co-operation to produce the documentary. Compensation was based on the company ratings.
More recently, the big companies have been accused of collusion by sharing their producer ratings and not taking on farmers leaving another company.
Spurlock’s entry into the chicken business failed, but he was able to give viewers an inside look at the people and corporations that are involved in the fast-food restaurant business – from menu-planning advisors to store location and equipment suppliers.
