Fed Up
Courtesy of Radius-TWC and Atlas Films
Food documentaries aren't anything new, especially within the last ten years of cautionary films warning of the dangers of unhealthy eating. Unlike many films that warn you of your own wrongdoing and ignorance, this Katie Couric produced documentary puts the blame on the actual culprit: food processers.
Childhood obesity and diabetes has been on the rise for the past thirty years. The same numbers can be seen in the increase in yo-yo dieting, fat free foods, and dietary aids. The documentary points out how these two cyclical events has resulted in former processors veering away from using fats and oils in products, and instead using vast amounts of sugar, which has led to "Big Sugar" corrupting many products without our knowledge.
A month or so ago I personally went off sugar for ten days, a challenge that the film advocates for in the end credits. Almost everything that I tried to eat had some kind of sugar, including ketchup, salad dressing, and bread. The documentary does a great job of pointing out the hardship in trying to stay away from sugar, and how it is affecting our children. It also points to the subsidization of school lunches through fast food, and the lack of governmental impetus in taking sugary or overly processed foods off the market
Besides the actual health issues connected to current foods on the market, the film shows how corporate interests linked to Big Sugar have battled against everyone from parents, lawmakers, and the very children they harm, to win out in the end. One point that the film doesn't address is how racism forms an aspect of unhealthy eating, because these business target poverty stricken individuals who can't afford healthy foods. The film swipes this away as a miscalculation, saying you can afford these things, but when you look at the food stamps system in this country, and the various food deserts, healthy is not always the best or easiest option. Overall it's a film that shows a true corollary between big business and our health, a frightening thing to finally understand.
