We all eat every day. 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 are really safe for us. We are increasingly considering how ethically our food reaches 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.
So people are speaking up and speaking out, because the state of our health, environment, and society as a whole is at stake. And these assets are worth more than any money in the world.
To help us learn about current food issues, expand our awareness, and raise our consciousness, there are numerous books and videos available. In this article, I will share 9 documentaries about food that anyone who eats out there and at least somewhat cares about their health, our environment, and the future of our world should watch.
1. Food, Inc.
You May Never Look At Dinner The Same Way
This is the first movie that I recommend people see when getting to know the real story behind their food. Released in 2009, this documentary 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 depend on it.
You can watch Food, Inc. on Netflix and YouTube.
2. Fresh
New Thinking About What We’re Eating
I recommend seeing this after Food Inc., as the two movies complement each other well. They address the same issues: where our food really comes from and the price it takes on our health and the 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 anymore for many reasons.
Like Food Inc., this movie is a wake-up call to each of us to examine what we eat and how it impacts our health, environment, and farmers . Unlike Food Inc., this movie tackles the same topic, but from the perspective of a new vision and movement to change our paradigms and habits for the future. It is suitable for most of the whole family from early teens on.
Fresh is available on Apple TV and Tubi.
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 serious topic, it 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 by 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.
To learn more or watch The Future of Food documentary film, visit the official film website.
4. Fast Food Nation
Do You Want Lies With That?
This is another movie that I recommend we watch when getting to know the real story of the food they eat. Fast Food Nation gets more specific and focuses on a particular part of the food industry – the fast food and meat industry.
Released in 2006, this movie isn’t quite a documentary; it is classified as a drama and stars several 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 in 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 us our food.
It will make you morally consider what you are going to choose to support from that moment on, when it comes to certain food choices.
Fast Food Nation is available on Netflix and Tubi.
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.
You can watch Processed People on YouTube for free.
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.
7. Hungry for Change
Your Health Is In Your Hands
This has quickly become one of my top recommendations to people who are serious about taking accountability for their health and making positive changes. It is revolutionary in terms of the information it shares, and very empowering to get each of us to take action.
This movie was released in 2012 and produced by the makers of Food Matters (see above). It is very well put together to be both highly educational and entertaining. It features a woman in her 30s who leads the typical mainstream life of high stress, low self-esteem, and poor dietary habits as the main character. The film then follows her choices and changes, as numerous leading-edge health experts interject their wisdom, guidance, and knowledge to us as the viewer.
The film features numerous world-renowned authors, teachers, and doctors today, like Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Alejandro Junger, David Wolfe, Kris Carr, Mike Adams, and many more. It is provocative, awakening, and highly valuable for each of us to take in so that we can make better connections between our dietary and lifestyle choices and the state of our health and happiness.
To learn more or view Hungry for Change, visit the film’s website.
8. Forks Over Knives
A film that can save your life.
This is one of the most instrumental films to watch of our time. For those of you familiar with the work of the China Study, it takes the research from decades of that work and puts it into one life-changing documentary. Director Lee Fulkerson appears in the film as he explores the links between diet and disease, given his personal health challenges and habits.
The film was released in 2011 and is a very important and empowering resource to have at home and watch as often as you need a reminder and inspiration. Along with top medical experts, it features real people and their transformational stories of change through adopting dietary changes towards a plant-based diet.
It features various world-renowned authors, teachers, and doctors today, including the author of the China Study himself, Dr. Colin Campbell, as well as Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Pam Popper, and many more. The info from the experts is timely and superb, and what makes this film so valuable is how much information it provides to teach people about what it takes to have excellent health, heal disease, and prevent future ones.
This is one of my top recommendations for health and nutrition films, and it is one that I would gladly enjoy watching any day again.
You can learn more or watch Forks Over Knives for free on the film’s website.
9. Vegucated
We’re digging more graves with our fork than anything else.
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Vegucated is a great documentary for those who are either interested in, or skeptical about, the vegan lifestyle. It is a low-budget film that follows 3 New Yorkers of different ages and races, who love eating typical animal products like meat and dairy. Over a period of 6 weeks, they learn about and personally try out the vegan lifestyle. Their challenges and struggles along the way are noted as they discover a whole new world of possibilities and a reality that is often hidden from the mainstream way of life.
This movie was released in 2010 and is a quick, funny, but to-the-point resource about why veganism is a valid solution for our health, environment, and the future of our planet. Vegucated makes us get honest and face what the fate of animals that are used for food and our common everyday products is really like.
It features some nutrition and health information from the renowned Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Colin Campbell. It also features short commentaries from other experts like “Mad Cowboy” Howard Lyman. It is, however, not a film that will provide lots of information on healthy vegan eating, but is geared to doing exactly as its title suggests - educating people about veganism. Today, this is highly beneficial whether one becomes a vegan or not, to reduce the ignorance and misinformation that is present in our society about this lifestyle choice.
To learn more or view Vegucated, visit the Vegucated main website.
10. Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
Reboot Your Life
Chronic diseases are at an all-time high, and many of us just don’t seem to be getting it and connecting the dots between our lifestyle habits and the state of our health. However, an increasing number of people are sick and tired of being “sick and tired” and taking things into their own hands. One such person was Joe Cross, who is the featured character in this film. An Australian-born, successful businessman, Joe may have looked like he had it all, except for one big thing - his health.
This movie was released in 2010, and it continues to draw in audiences from all over the world who are seeking ways to improve their health and get serious about weight loss. Joe was severely overweight and had numerous health issues, including an autoimmune disorder. He decides to go on a Juice Fast, and the film chronicles his journey that takes place over 60 days. What happens at the end is remarkable and nothing short of a miracle in how Joe transforms his health and the health of others along the way.
The film features information and health guidance from the renowned Dr. Joel Fuhrman. It also provides information about the concept of juicing and how it can transform people’s health and weight. In the end, Joe invites each person to “reboot their life”, which is what he did to gain back his life.
To learn more or view Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, visit the film’s website.
Conclusion
To strengthen your sense of knowing and increase your awareness about the food you eat and how it impacts your body and health, and our world, these documentaries provide a great starting point. Yes, many truths are inconvenient and usually mean some kind of change. Too many of us would rather bury our heads in the sand than make changes, especially given life’s already stressful demands. However, positive changes towards healthier eating and living have huge benefits for us, our families, the environment, and our world. Change is worth it when it moves us in the right direction.
I invite you to set aside fears and inconveniences and take responsibility for your health and life choices. Liberate yourself. Open your mind. Open your heart and awaken to your higher state of being. The benefits are endless!
