Food Matters: Are You Fed Up?Heather Callaghan The movie documentary FED UP may not have played at theaters near you but very recently, it was made available on DVD and online. The tagline is: Its time to get real about food. But will viewers really be empowered to do that when they watch? Are you interested in seeing it? The trailer is below. This writer cannot align herself completely with the views and messages of the movie since it hasnt been viewed yet. (And I have suspicions about its ultimate message) Heres what Im afraid it will do: Ive said this once and Ill say it again children cannot get into cars and drive up to McDonalds in the middle of the night. Nor are they the shoppers in the household. This is not to place blame merely on individuals its to point out that deflecting harsh truths about food system corruption will lead to a solution that fizzles out and ultimately disempower people. Its true that big marketing dollars does play a role in influencing food choice and children are impressionable to early home habits. And to be sure, the junk-food SAD severely affects the DNA of future generations. But McDonalds (which isnt the only processed food source) has focused on and tried to regain its millennial market without success. Many franchises, like Taco Bell, have abandoned the kid market altogether to put more energy into being buds with millennials. So, is marketing to children really the biggest problem we face when it comes to obesity and chronic disease? As food monopolies and big agribusinesses supersede small, natural farms and people simply cannot afford other options (or those options are not in their area because theyve been shuttered), parents are more confined to use what theyve got and what theyve got is a lot of damaging additives, nutrient-void foods, and industrial chemical exposure in air, food and water. But knowledge of that doesnt necessarily lessen the amount of obstacles. Will FED UPstrike the root or will it do nothing more than pull a leaf? If you have seen the movie please let me know your thoughts! PS Does this title sound familiar to you? Thats because in 2002, a documentary of the same name came out that delved deeply into the politics and history of genetic engineering, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and more. You can watch that one for free right here. Was the titling of the new documentary just an accident? More examples of symptom swatting: Recent posts byHeather Callaghan: The interesting part about the nutrition problem in the USA, for me, is this: In the late 1970s I was the publisher at my own publishing house dedicated to educational materials in natural nutrition for children and adults. We didnt promote sugar foods, snacks and junk foods. We produced books like A Childs ABCs for Nutrition Coloring Book; Kids Cooking Naturally; Nutrition Workbook for Children, plus numerous other titles including games and duplicating masters, since photocopy machines were not in schools as yet, and other specialty items, including a pamphlet I was commissioned to design for a Penna. school district called, Brown Bagging It. Furthermore, I approached one of the largest health insurance companies with the idea of promoting our books, pamphlets, information in conjunction with their outreach programs to get children to be healthy and eat nutritiously. Literally, I was laughed at! One hospital administrator MD told me, Catherine, dont you think if there was something to nutrition, wed know about it? Furthermore, I was considered a quack! The ironic part in the movie FED UP for me is Dr. David Kesslers remarks. After I was drafted into being a consumer health activist, his FDA was in my sights and they received many letters about food and drug problems. One, in particular, was about getting rid of TRANS FATS in processed foodsway back when Dr. Kessler was FDA Commissioner. I was after the FDA to do that. When did FDA finally do that? In November 2013 the FDA took steps to further reduce trans fats in foods http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm373939.htm Wow Catherine thats amazing! I knew you would have a deep perspective of the people and messages in the preview! 