Tom and I have an addiction to documentaries. The theme of most of the ones we see revolve around the food industry and the environment. Here are some of our favorites that we think everyone should see:
Food, Inc.
The quintessential movie about the food industry. A must see in my opinion.
No Impact Man
Food, Inc and No Impact Man both were the inspiration for going a year without groceries. That said, we’re not as radical as No Impact Man as we are still using toilet paper…
Dirt! The Movie
A great movie that discusses the health of the earth’s soil and how dependent we truly are on it.
King Corn
Discusses just how prevelant corn is in our diet. Two friends go out to grow an acre of corn in Iowa and what they find out along their journey.
I have seen "Food Inc" and agree that it's a classic. I'm glad many schools are starting to show it to students as part of their education. I will have to Netflix the other two films shown here. Thanks!
Though I have a lot of respect and sympathy for the corn growers and their plight, I thought King Corn was massively superficial. If you've read the Omnivore's Dilemma, or watched Food Inc, or ever done any research on your own about the commercial food industry, you already know everything in that movie.
That said, it's a good jumping-off point for folks who are just starting out.
I second Food Inc as a must-see.
I agree with your sentiment, but there are a lot of people that just aren't willing to trudge through Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma (because let's face it, it's not the easiests of reads).
I have to disagree with King Corn being superficial– it was educational and enlightening. It changed our household in so many ways- we now only buy locally raised, grass-fed – humanly maintained and killed animals– we have cut out any foods that have corn additives and that means we even bake our own bread. We are growing our own food and using local farms to supplement what we don't grow. Truly, just because King Corn had a satirical tone-it still educated us on every important point and showed us the truth of corn in our food chain and our economy. I also think they took a subject and made it palatable to people who may not normally want to see a documentary or may not be coming from a whole-food, earthy crunchy mind-set. There was nothing in this documentary that kept information on the surface. We got the point and it changed us.
I liked Food Inc, but I thought King Corn was a waste of time. It really didn't say much. I thought it spent way too much time with them just wandering around. So I have to agree with Jessa. I watch King Corn, Supersize Me, and Food Inc all in one week. And King Corn was the only one that I kept saying to myself "when are they going to say anything substantial?". I've put the other two on my queue.
All these movies are pretty sobering and I applaud your goals there at Dog Island Farm.
Last year, I tried eating a healthier diet, taking advantage of Farmer's Markets and eating less chicken and fish, no meat and no fast food.
I wanted to see how my body would change naturally, now that I'm over 50. 🙂 I lost thirty pounds and along with yoga became stronger, which was great for working out in the garden. Mostly I ate less, I guess.
I admire NoImpact Man and sympathize with his wife. What a great companion!
You can also check out the documentary Ingredients, which really focuses in on the plight of the local farmer and their journey to survive and thrive. I loved this documentary and all of the footage of the Portland area made my heart ache to get back up the Pacific Northwest. Check it out.
Hi Mary! We recently just saw that one too! It was really good.