We all eat everyday. At this point, very few in the world can escape this. In fact in the developed world, most of our lives revolve around food.We eat when we are happy. We eat when we are sad. We eat when we are bored. We just eat, and a lot.
Yet never in the history of time has food been such a controversial issue.
Today we wonder how natural our food really is. We cannot escape the issues of all the additives that are put in it, and whether they really are safe for us. We are starting to consider more and more how ethically it came to us and what the true cost of the food on our table really is. Today we even have to consider whether our food has been genetically modified or not. Can we still even call it food?
With this in mind, in our modern times more and more information is surfacing to teach us about our food. You may think – “it is food, how hard can it be” – but food today is not what food used to be 1000, 100 or even 50 years ago.
Thus people are speaking up and speaking out, for in the end the state of our health and our environment is at stake. And these two precious commodities are worth more than any money in the world.
Thus today, I would like to share with you and invite you to see 6 documentaries about food that every single person who eats out there and at least somewhat cares about their health should watch.
1. Food, Inc.
“You May Never Look At Dinner The Same Way”
This is the first movie that I recommend people to see, when getting to know better the real story behind their food. This documentary was released in 2009 and gives a wonderful breakdown of where our food really comes from.
How much this movie shocks you, depends on how well you have been keeping up with where your food really comes from.
This movie is highly educational and empowering. I would recommend it for families to watch with children as young as in the early teens to empower them as well, as this is part of their future too.
It gives you a look at all the foundations of where your food came from, how it was grown, prepared and what the cost of that food really was. This movie brilliantly covers what each of us should know today as an informed citizen, and respected human being. Your health, your family’s health, your money, our environment and the future economy depends on it.
Food, Inc. can be rented at most major movie rental stores across North America today. Food Inc. can also be viewed for free on Wide Eye Cinema or Documentary Wire here. It can also be purchased from Amazon.com for just under $10 here: Food, Inc.. Full review coming soon. You can watch the trailer below:
2. Fresh
“New Thinking About What We’re Eating”
I recommend seeing this after Food Inc. as both of these movies really complement each other well. They talk about the same issues of where our food really comes from and at what price to our health and our environment.
Fresh was released in 2009. Fresh will move you on many levels, including emotionally, morally, ethically and intellectually. Our present eating habits just don’t make sense any more for many reasons.
Like Food Inc., this movie is a wake up call to each of us to examine what we eat, where our health, environment and farmers are concerned. Unlike Food Inc., this movie is coming at the same topic, but from more of a perspective of a new vision and movement to make a change in our paradigms and habits for our future. It is suitable for most of the whole family from early teens on.
Fresh is currently being shown through group screenings all over North America, with individual DVD copies becoming available for purchase soon. Full review coming soon. You can watch the trailer below:
3. The Future of Food
“There’s a revolution happening…”
After you see the introductions to what the major issues with our food are today, I recommend seeing The Future of Food next. This documentary continues the theme of educating and empowering us, but now focuses solely on genetically modified food.
This movie was released in 2007 and is remarkable at showing us the detailed side of the genetically modified food industry. You will see it all, from the farm to the corporation to the store and finally your plate.
The Future of Food is suitable for younger audiences, but being a documentary covering a more of a serious topic, may not be fully understood by younger children or hold their attention.
This movie offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade. In fact it explains the whole concept of genetically modified food in common terms so that everyone understands what they are getting into consuming or promoting such products. You may laugh at times, you may even cry at times, and you will no doubt feel disbelief when you learn about our judicial and political systems when it comes to protecting us – the consumer and citizen.
The Future of Food can be rented at most major movie rental stores across North America today. It can be viewed for free on top documentary or documentary wire here. It can also be purchased from Amazon.com for just under $13 here: The Future of Food. Full review coming soon. You can watch the trailer below:
4. Fast Food Nation
“Do You Want Lies With That?”
This is the another movie that I recommend people to see, when getting to know the real story behind their food. Fast Food Nation gets more specific and focuses on a particular part of the food industry – the fast food and meat industry.
This movie was released in 2006 and is not quite a documentary, but classified as a drama and stars various well known actors. The characters are fictional, but the story is real – all too real in fact. It happens every day.
Fast Food nation may not be as educational as Food Inc. or the others above, but in many ways it is more graphic at showing us the truth. It is rated R for coarse language and other material that may not be suitable for viewers under 18.
This movie won’t have you excited for more, or necessarily always entertained, but it will show you the unspoken and often unknown dark side of the most popular “North American” meal – the burger and the corporations that make it thrive. In a theatrical way it exposes and really makes us consider what is going on behind the closed doors of the places that bring to us our food.
It will make you morally consider what you are going to choose to support from that moment on where certain food choices are concerned.
Fast Food Nation can be rented at most major movie rental stores across North America today. It can also be purchased from Amazon.com for just under $12 here: Fast Food Nation. Full review coming soon. You can watch the trailer below:
5. Processed People
“The Antidote To America’s Toxic Lifestyle”
Once you have seen at least some of the above mentioned movies, I recommend seeing Processed People. This is a fantastic documentary that is really well put together and entertaining enough even for young teens. This movie tells it like it is when it comes to our food and our health status today.
This movie was released in 2008 and is a phenomenal resource to have at home and watch as often as you need to hear the message that is offers. Processed People makes us confront the real truth behind what we are eating and how to get back to our natural state of perfect health.
It features various world renowned authors, teachers and doctors today, including the wonderful Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It guides us through the topics by asking us a series of questions we need to consider and ask ourselves. It starts with the question of “Why are we so fat?” and finishes off with the question “What happens if we don’t change?”
It will make you seriously consider your habits and the future of your health and your life.
Processed People is available from the “Processed People main web site” for an extremely well worth it, $24.95. It is also available from Amazon. com for a little bit less here: Processed People – The Documentary. Check out the full review of Processed People here. You can view the trailer below:
6. A Delicate Balance
“You never know what you’ve got…till it’s gone.”
Finally I save the best for last. A Delicate Balance is an extremely important and powerful movie, but what it presents, many people are not ready to hear or accept. This is why I recommend seeing this movie last. Once you have seen all of the above food documentaries, you should be open enough to accept and embrace this documentary.
This movie was released in 2008 and is just plain and simple mind blowing! It covers the aspect of our food and what we eat from mostly a health point of view and finishes off with the environmental impact. The message is strong and real, and will really make you consider what and where you priorities lie.
A Delicate Balance will be most embraced by people who are serious about their health and ready to make changes and move into a healthier lifestyle for themselves, their families and the planet. I suspect a lot of what the movie presents will be very new and extremely shocking to most of you out there, but that is why I recommend it to open up your mind and heart. It may just save your health, if not your life.
A Delicate Balance is available to be watched on a pay per view option on your computer, at a movie screening or purchased as a DVD from the movie’s official site here. Check out the full review of A Delicate Balance here. You can view the trailer below:
Conclusion
Well, that is the end of our journey. I hope you enjoy the above movies, and I have no doubt that should you consider watching them, they will awaken your sense of awareness to a whole new way of living and being, when it comes to food and your health.
The reason I find that most people don’t watch movies like this, is because they know that the truth is inconvenient and usually means some kind of a change. Too many of us would rather bury our heads in the sand, than make changes. Changes that have huge benefits for us, our families, the environment and our world.
And so today I invite you to step away from any fears and inconveniences, and face the greater truths that are present amongst us today. Liberate yourself. Open your mind. Open your heart and awaken to your higher state of being.
Your health and the health of our environment – Mother Earth and all of her creation depends on it.
*Photograph 1 provided by bsabarnowl
About the author:Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.
26 Comments to “Get To Know Your Food – 6 Must See Food and Health Documentaries”
Thanks Evita for the food documentary reccomendations. We have seen a few of the movies mentioned and will be sure to watch the others on your list when we return from the Appalachians in the Autumn months.
I can see another approach to choosing and eating particular foods in our daily lives. What is the energy and intent behind the food being delivered to market? Is the food being developed to make as much money as they can without looking at any other factors that effect people, cultures, and the environment that we live in? Is the food being produced with Love ~ That is, does the person or company want to distribute the product because they believe in it with all of their heart, and therefore, will produce an energetic and positive imprint with a specific intent attached to the food. Intent behind any physical product or manifestation will become a priority and will be all important to the minds of those who wish to digest the feelings asscoiated with such creations.
~
Hi Bern
My pleasure. There is so much great material out there today, and what I find is even more wonderful, is that it is generally speaking very accessible to all who seek it or interested in learning.
And you bring up a great point about the intent or energy behind it. I know that whenever I make anything these days, two things happen a) it turns out great, and b) tastes even better than similar versions perhaps from the past. And why? I credit nothing more than the fact that I prepare it with love and gratitude.
So how much of our food comes in this form? Mmmm, I would have to guess very little. Yes, I know some small business owners or chefs who really pride themselves in preparing something special, but for most it comes down to money. This is why it is interesting to even consider any meal at home may never be equal to that same type of meal at a restaurant. Who made it? What were their intentions? What kind of energy were they in? Some people may laugh, but these are all valid questions if we acknowledge we are energetic beings.
So anyhow, yes I encourage people to look deeper at what is on their table for many reasons today that can make a huge difference in benefiting the person, the animals, this planet and most definitely raising our collective consciousness.
Another angle at discussing energetic value is that products are mass produced with a strange sense of pride over the notion that every item is always the same…an exact energetic counterfeit of the previous product on the assembly line. Change comes screaming to a halt. One therefore digests the same energy over and over again which stifles one’s essence that was developed to perpetually change with one’s changing environment. Big Industry therefore controls the market place by not encouraging continuous and ongoing variations. When we take in energy from any source, whether it be food, scenery, or words, it provides vibrational content in the moment. If one therefore eats the same thing that doesn’t change over and over again, then one’s life becomes stagnated as well as their body, mind, and metabolism. One then becomes caught in a feedback loop re-experiencing and re-enforcing the status quo. Therefore, it is in everyone’s interest to constantly bring variation into one’s diet.
We are feeling machines that crave sustenance. And the sustenance comes with fresh perspectives, new ideas, and varying recipes….which are all the definitions to success.
Evita,
I really appreciate you sharing these suggestions. This is a topic of true passion for me. I am currently reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. This is an amazing book that is along the same lines as “Food Inc” and “The Future of Food”. I highly recomend this book to everyone!
Our society has moved to a place in which the cheapness of food far outweighs the importance of what goes into the food. This is a sad step in our history, because not only are we totally disrespecting the food itself, we are disrespecting the farmers who grow it, and ourselves! When we take the first step of respecting ourselves by caring what goes into our body, the trickle down effect leads us to respecting everything.
So thank you so much for sharing this information with everyone, its a wonderful resource. I have watched a couple of these, and look forward to checking out the other ones!
Hi Stacey
Thank you so much for your comment and feedback! I love to hear that we share the same passion :)
I heard that is a great book and really opened up a lot of people’s eyes and minds to what is going on with food. I recently picked up “The Way We Eat – Why Our Food Choices Matter” by Peter Singer and Jim Mason.
I only read a few pages here and there while at the book store before I bought it and I was hooked at how elegantly the authors present a case for a serious revamp where our food choices are concerned, and why going plant based makes so much sense in today’s society.
And yes, going that cheapness route may seem like the companies are winning in the short term, but everybody suffers in the long term. I really can’t believe that governments are not putting two and two together yet, but I guess short term greed overrides everything else…
Enjoy the new ones that you haven’t seen :)
Of these, only Food Inc is available in South Africa. I would really love to see A Delicate Balance!
Hi Hanlie
If you have a good internet connection, you can watch A Delicate Balance as a pay per view (it streams on demand for $5US). I have no doubt you would love it!
Some of the others are also available for free, but require a good internet connection.
I would add the “Eating” DVD by ravediet.com to the list as well. It’s the DVD that convinced my family to stop eating meat. Then we read several books by Dr. Fuhrman & became members of his site to further tweak our diet.
Hi Danara
Thank you so much for sharing that movie. I have not heard of it yet, but will gladly check it out. And I too love Dr. Fuhrman’s work. It is great to hear you have benefited with your family and are making so many wonderful changes for your health.
Humans do not have to stop eating beef or chicken. It is a natural food source for humans and always have been. Moderation is the key. It’s the processed stuff we have to worry about.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for adding your thoughts to this discussion.
You are right in that humans do not have to stop eating beef or chicken, it all depends on the quality and quantity of those products in one’s life, and what level of health one needs. All health is not equal. Some are only interested in average health, while I am only interested in optimal health, and in optimal health unfortunately the everything in moderation paradigm does not work, for when we examine it on a deeper, conscious level, it just does not make scientific or logical sense.
Beef or chicken, may have been naturally food sources in the past, and if one finds organic, pasture-raised, naturally grain-fed sources of these, then yes it can work. But a product that we call chicken or beef today, that is housed in massive, unnatural, unsanitary factory farms today, given drugs, antibiotics, hormones and fed unnatural food for it, and GMO food, raised under the worst of stress conditions which impacts its health, is in no way a natural food source for humans.
I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve been looking for a good resource for some of my clients. It was especially thoughtful for you to show people where they can watch these, sometimes for free. Thank you!
You are most welcome Pamela!
Nice list! I have not seen 5 and 6 but I am off to get them now. Thanks for the great recommendations!
Hi Jyoseph
Thank you and you are most welcome! They are great films with so much to offer – enjoy :)
Food Matters is another excellent documentary. Slightly different than Food Inc. It targets the medical profession and how little they are educated in nutrition. It’s very eyeopening. (and I come from a family of Dr’s) It’s respectful…but painfully truthful. Would be a good addition to your list. Thank you, by the way, for your list. There’s a couple I haven’t seen, so I look forward to checking them out!
Hi Laine,
Thank you so much for mentioning Food Matters! I am very aware of that film, as I have seen it when it first came out and you are so right, it is excellent! Come to think of it, I am not sure why I did not include it in this list… and so thank you for mentioning it and reminding me!
Also watch Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and What’s on Your Plate.
Hi Liz,
Oooh! Thank you, I have not looked into any of these yet, and look forward to doing so :)
Hey Evita,
I have watched almost everyone of these. Nice list.Great information.By the way I just recently watched “Fat Head” which is a film by Tom Naughton and tries to counter the film “Super Size me” by Morgan Spurlock.It was shocking and I had to question my long guarded beliefs about food.No doubt your list is amazing but I guess you should see “Fat Head” and think of including it in your list.It is awesome!
Hi SSU,
That is so awesome to hear! These movies bring about great awareness, get us educated and allow us to see the food, corporations, health and similar topics from a new perspective that can cause us to be more conscious and proactive in all of our choices.
I would love to see “Fat Head” – thank you for sharing about it and I will keep an eye out to see where or how I can watch this film.
Thanks and take care!
Hi SSU
I just looked into Fat Head and unfortunately it does not sound like a movie that tries to honestly help people. It is based on the notion that you can still eat fast food and lose weight? To me that is where my interest drops. There is nothing in fast food restaurants that come close to being optimally healthy, weight loss or gain related aside.
Health is not only about losing weight, but about putting, real, whole, organic, high quality foods into our system. Fast food restaurants do not provide any of that. I feel the film maker is trying to swing the pendulum in a direction that is only serving the corporations and not the people.
Good to know about this film either way, so I can help people make sense of it. Thank you.
Evita, I love your list, but don’t be so quick to judge Fat Head by it’s description. You can watch it for free on imdb or hulu…
http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi230135833/
http://www.hulu.com/watch/196879/fat-head
It’s intended to be a lighthearted look at a lot of the silly information that we have been feed over the years. He does go a little overboard at making fun of the silliness, but he does make some good points. The second half of the documentary is more informative than the first half.
I know a lot of people that have been convinced to eat healthier after watching Fat Head, and that’s a good enough reason for me to recommend it.
Thanks for your post. I have seen “Food, Inc.” and “The Future of Food” – both excellent and informative. I have heard of “Fast Food Nation” and “Processed People” and they were both on my list of ones to see. But I hadn’t heard of “Fresh” or “A Delicate Balance”. I really appreciate the information and plan on seeing the four I haven’t seen yet very soon.
I also posted on my blog about informative and inspiring documentaries on simliar subjects: http://genxgemini.com/2012/01/27/documentaries-planting-seeds-fueling-my-journey-to-health-and-transformation/
Since you are interested in this topic, I would also recommend the following documentaries to you:
Super Size Me
Killer at Large
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 days
Fork Over Knives
Food Matters
A Beautiful Truth
Maybe you have already seen some of these since you did this post. Just thought I’d share!
Thank you for this post! It’s refreshing every time I learn of someone who has the same beliefs as I do regarding this nation’s food. It’s rare I do, and most people think I’m ridiculous. I’ve seen all the films you’ve mentioned except for #5 and #6. Have you seen King Corn, or Earthlings? I highly recommend them.
I’m impressed and envious of your credentials. My passion is to spread the word about the importance of whole, organic, plant based food, as well as natural living. I’m a registered nurse who feels stuck and misunderstood in the traditional medical world. I’m contemplating obtaining a holistic nutrition degree, however I’m concerned about career potentials. Thanks again!
Hi Jen
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment and feedback!
I do share the feeling of being understood as the mainstream world is definitely conditioned one way, and a very rigid way, where anything slightly outside of their comfort zone is either ridiculed, feared or what have you…. Either way, my passion for doing this feels good for me within, and whoever is open to listening is always welcome to, and whoever doesn’t resonate with the info, no worries. Each has to find and learn through their own life experience sooner or later.
I have no doubt being a nurse in the mainstream medical world and thinking outside the box is not easy. There may be if you get lucky the right supportive environment, but more often than not, I suspect it is a struggle as you either have to silence your truth or risk various behaviour from others. What I know for sure though, is that it is never a good idea to silence the truth within. It sucks to live life for others, rather than for your passion and inner voice. So I wholeheartedly recommend following your truth, your heart and your passion. The natural and holistic health fields today are growing almost exponentially as more and more people awaken to the benefits of nutrition and natural health. More people understand that it is not about masking symptoms, but getting to root causes. More also are learning about how corrupt the system is to favour profit over people’s well being.
Whether you use your nursing in a different, perhaps some holistic environment setting, or whether you pursue a new career path in holistic nutrition, I can tell you from personal experience that when we follow our bliss, as Joseph Campbell once said, doors and windows of opportunity open for us where before there were none. When I left my formal teaching career almost 3 years ago, I jumped into no career, but just doing what I love. And 3 years later, I have not looked back since, am loving life, helping people and always have what I need. It just takes the leap of faith and courage, and conscious life creation along the way.
As for the movies, yes I have seen Earthlings and have done a review of it on the site too. I have not see King Corn, but I have read what it is about. I was meaning to see it and now you just reminded me about it – thank you!
All the best!