I wanted to share with you my top 10 favorite documentaries, all related to food in one way or another. This was an extremely hard task….to pick only 10 that is. Watching these documentaries with my spouse has forever changed the way we look at food, health and “the system” that is severely corrupt; focusing on money over health, no matter the cost. WE have a choice, WE can vote with our dollar, WE can be the change.
Here is my top 10:
Farmageddon
Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under attack. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies, and seeks to figure out why.
Evoking both sympathy and anger for those farmers violently shut down by overzealous government policy and regulators, Farmageddon stresses the urgency of food freedom. Though the film deals with intense scenes and dramatic situations, the overall tone is optimistic, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods.
Watch for free here Available on Netflix
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
A documentary seen by over 8 million people worldwide, Joe was 100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe’s personal mission to regain his health.
With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long- term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body’s ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.
What emerges is nothing short of amazing – an inspiring tale of healing and human connection.
Food Inc.
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
This was the very first documentary that I watched over 7 years ago, and still the one that has had the most impact in the changes I have made in my life to this day.
Food Matters
In this 90-minute research-backed, stunning documentary DVD you’ll discover:
- Why all the so-called ‘cures’ for everyday health issues aren’t working, regardless of the billions spent in research and development.
- The true cause of disease and how to treat it — what works, what doesn’t, and what’s killing you.
- How to use the right kinds of foods and supplements to help treat chronic and serious illnesses — even deadly cancer.
- Why even lightly steaming your food can be detrimental to your health and what to do instead.
- How to disease-proof your body and enjoy optimum health and longevity.
- Natural and effective remedies for treating mental illness — including depression.
- How to use raw foods and detoxification for rapid and permanent weight loss.
- How to actually reverse heart disease without drugs and surgery –Dr. Mercola
Watch here for free Available on Netflix
Forks Over Knives
Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments—while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.
Fresh
This film is really a celebration of farmers, thinkers and businesses striving to re-invent America’s food system. Among the people profiled are urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award, and farmer Joel Salatin.
Unable to locate a free version but it is available on Netflix
Hungry for Change
HUNGRY FOR CHANGE exposes shocking secrets the diet, weight loss and food industry don’t want you to know about; deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more. Find out what’s keeping you from having the body and health you deserve and how to escape the diet trap forever.
King Corn
When two college friends move to Iowa to grow an acre of corn, they discover just how big a role corn plays in American life. They discover how corn winds up in just about every processed food that is on the supermarket shelves. They also hit on big issues like government subsidies and public health.
Watch here for free Available on Netflix
Tapped
Tapped looks into the bottled water industry and its long term effects socially, economically and ecologically. The filmmakers focused on industry giants such as PepsiCo and Nestlé Waters, visiting a town that Nestlé contains a factory in as well as running tests on the bottles the company uses for its products. Their results came back showing “several potentially harmful chemicals, some known carcinogens”.The documentary also focused on the amount of bottles that are recycled, noting that “Forty percent of bottled water is really just filtered tap water, and every day we throw away 30 million single-served bottles of water.”
Watch here for free Available on Netflix
Vanishing of the Bees
Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives.
Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables.
Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth.
Watch here for free Available on Netflix
I would love to hear your thoughts on any or all of these documentaries. If you have any others to suggest I would love to hear them. In my eyes, knowledge is power.
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