Food film and documentary have become a popular and accessible way for the public to learn more about industrial agriculture, food, urban agriculture, and other issues in the food system. The following food films are definitely worth watching:
1. Food, Inc.: Robert Kenner’s film kicked open the factory-farm door and is, for many, the first glimpse into what is wrong with the food system, and where it could be headed.
2. Forks Over Knives: This film takes a look at degenerative diseases that are plaguing the United States, linking them to America’s consumption of processed food and animal products, and suggests eating a more plant-based diet.
3. Dive! The Film: Created by filmmaker Jeremy Selfert, this film explores the world of dumpster diving as a way to illustrate the enormous amount of food waste that comes from grocery stores.
4. The Garden: This Academy Award-nominated documentary tells the story of a South Central Los Angeles community of farmers and their urban garden that rose up, despite facing numerous obstacles, such as claims of eminent domain by the garden site’s previous owners.
5. FRESH, the Movie: Sustainable agriculture practices and solutions are explored in this movie featuring urban farmers and sustainable farmers. This film celebrates those who are innovating and re-inventing our food system by confronting issues such as pollution, obesity and depletion of natural resources.
6. King Corn: Two East Coast documentarians move to the American heartland and plant a one-acre crop of corn and discover how much of the American diet corn infiltrates.
7. Food Fight: Food Fight takes a look at the corporatization of the American food system and agriculture policy, and how a group of anti-corporate protesters have created a movement against big agriculture.
8. Our Daily Bread: Our Daily Bread offers a shocking look at how food is produced and how food production companies use technology to maximize efficiency and profit. Without using words, the film allows the viewer to form their own opinions on the subject through the use of sounds of machinery, the conveyor belts of a chicken factory, and the motor of a plane spraying pesticides.
9. Dirt: the Movie: Often overlooked, soil is alive and faces very real issues from climate change, erosion,and pollution. This film explores the world of dirt, the source of fertility and most of the world’s food. .
10. The Price of Sugar: A poignant film that examines the working conditions and treatment of Haitian sugarcane farmers and their fight for basic human rights as they work to bring us a ubiquitous kitchen staple.
