FED UP plays Hot Docs 2014

Junk is still junk even if it’s “less junky”.

It feels as though every other week you hear another story about the world’s obesity epidemic. Another study about another angle about another panic. The numbers are scary and the percentages are high. After the fourteenth or fifteenth story, it may be enough for you to yell at the TV for those affected to just get off the couch and go for a jog. But what if it’s not so simple as calories consumed vs. calories burned. What if the food industry is playing games with our health, and the game is rigged?

FED UP takes a long hard look at what we’re eating in modern western civilization, and how it is affecting us. It raises the question as to how lifestyle choices like exercising and dieting could have skyrocketed since the early eighties, but so too has the obesity percentage in America. The documentary talks to doctors, cooks, politicians, and other such experts who are able to point a very precise arrow: It doesn’t matter how much we eat, it matters more what we eat. Unfortunately, far too often we are being duped into eating the wrong stuff.

The film does well to put personal politics aside and show how both sides of the American political system have failed people. Not just American people, but people the world over since many of these food manufacturers and restaurants have a global reach. Far too many politicians – from the American Congress to The World Health Organization are unable to publish findings or affect real change because of the powerful lobbyists behind these billion dollar companies. So what we get is the illusion of brands trying to give consumers options, when in fact all they are actually doing is taking one bad thing out of their product, putting another bad thing in, and selling it as a healthier alternative.

FED UP has the potential to be “that doc” in 2014. Every year or two, a piece of nonfiction comes along that burrows into the public consciousness and starts a broader conversation. In the past, this mantle has been taken by movies like BLACKFISH, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, and SUPER SIZE ME to name a few. With the way it is packaged and presented, FED UP feels like the sort of film that has reach, and could spur discussion for months to come. Considering the powers involved, it remains to be seen whether it can spark real change, but it’s possible some of the failings of manufacturers could be offset by consumers making smarter choices.

At the end of the day, the film doesn’t present a new breakthroughs in food science or diet research. What id does is present its data and ideas in a logical and eye-opening way that might convince many that a lifestyle change is urgently necessary.

For me personally, FED UP helped solidify a personal choice. For the last nine months, I have been trying to do something about my own body and have attacked it by taking a long hard look at my eating habits. Besides cutting out the usual suspects (chips, fried foods, baked goodies, candy), I also cut back on portion sizes, increased my fruits and vegetables, dropped sugar from my tea and coffee, and cut out pop & juice completely. I’ve seen a huge difference, and I’m not done yet. For me the answer seemed to be what I eat and how I eat it, and if FED UP can gain some traction, it’s possible that others might start looking at food the same way.

FED UP plays Hot Docs 2014 again at The Bloor on Thursday May 1st – 9pm, and finally at Hart House on Saturday May 3rd at 3:30pm (official website)