A wake up call for everyone who eats

“It’s time to get real about food,” say the producers of the critically acclaimed documentary FED UP. The Huffington Post says it’s “A wake-up call for everyone who eats.”

UNITE for Platteville, a group of engaged citizens working together for positive change in our communities, organized a public showing on Saturday of the movie to help open eyes and stir local thinking about food (read below how you can still see FED UP).

The movie tells us that the tired old mantra “eat less, exercise more” simply doesn’t work. It’s an impossible goal. The real culprit, say Katie Kouric and the shows producers, is sweet, sweet sugar… as well as other highly refined grain products, like white bread and white rice.

The film is well-researched and makes a compelling case in a sufficiently entertaining, if not shocking, way. Based on testimony from sources like Robert Lustig, an outspoken food researcher and pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, FED UP shows us that the scientific evidence is convincing. So are the interviews of Michael Pollan, Mark Bittman, former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, and others. Real food, not processed packaged food, is the solution to the terrible chronic health problems or our age.

An excellent summary of FED UP is available here on NPR.

FED UP can also be viewed in its entirety on Netflix. And, UNITE for Platteville is donating a copy of the DVD to the Platteville Public Library where it may be checked out for viewing.

Also of note is a documentary to be aired this Wednesday, March 16^th on Wisconsin Public Television: Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” that’s described as a “fascinating journey to answer the question: what should I eat to be healthy.”

Both these important films may change your thinking about food. And that, in turn, may change your life. What have you got to lose?