9 top influential food videos of all time
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Arguably the first documentary that exposed fast food evils on a broad scale, this 2004-produced film by Morgan Spurlock provides an alarming depiction of how food can affect your health. Throughout his 30-day journey of subsisting only on McDonalds, Spurlock gained 24.5 pounds and experienced health issues like heart palpitations. In some ways a horror movie, "Super Size Me" had a stellar response, and is often credited for sparking healthier changes in fast food menus. Watch Super Size Me on Hulu
This 2008 movie by director Robert Kenner explored the ties between the food industry, politics and lobbyist groups. The film also played a pivotal role in bringing awareness to GMOs, and biotech's sketchy practices. Food Inc.'s description of American meat production also brought to light animal mistreatment (and subsequently a surge of vegetarianism). Watch the Food Inc. opening credits
This 2009 presentation by endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, has garnered over 4,773,660 views on Youtube. Many believe that his research spurred the anti-sugar movement of today. Dubbing sugar as "toxic," Lustig convincingly connects sugar consumption to nearly every disease. Watch Lustig's presentation
Featuring Willie Nelson's rendition of Coldplay's song "The Scientist," this animated 2-plus minute commercial gently broaches the subject of inhumane animal treatments. Rather than present a permanently bleak outlook of the food future, the video shows that producing food with integrity can be achieved. Though it started as an online video in 2011, the video gained so much attention that Chipotle aired it as their first national TV ad during the Grammys. Watch "Back to the Start" on Youtube
The 2013 film by Jeremy Seifert is made for those who live outside the natural foods industry. Beautifully shot and approachable, "GMO OMG" highlights both the ubiquity of genetic engineering and the widespread lack of awareness. Watch the "GMO OMG" trailer
Michael Moss, a New York Times reporter who writes about the intersection of food and marketing, recently launched a series of videos that reveal not just how junk food marketers entice us, but also why. In this video, Moss talks of Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco: "The reason Doritos Locos have been so successful ... is because they are engineered to target taste buds using the most powerful features known to manufacturers," he says. Watch the New York Times video here
A video series created by Organic Voices, an organization supported by organic industry players like Annie's, Happy Family and Late July, this video uses humor and satire to educate about the meaningless term "natural." One scene even shows a "rubber stamp" conveyor line for food manufacturers who hope to attain the natural label. Though the video had a slow start, it's obtained overone million Youtube views. Watch "The Natural Effect"
Okay, so this commercial isn't necessarily the most influential food video of all time. It was made to sell a car, after all. But the video is important because it symbolizes the spirit of the food movement. Created in response to Cadillac's ad, which features an unlikeable, workaholic character who adores his "stuff" (pool, house, car), the protagonist in Ford's ad isn't an actor—she's Pashon Murray, founder of Detroit Dirt, who turns collected food scraps into compost. The commercial is a social pulse on popular thought about coolness. Do you want to be a materialistic suburban square or a food-focused "crazy entrepreneur trying to make the world better"? First watch Cadillac's ad Now watch Ford's ad
Fed Up, the brand new (2014) documentary featuring Katie Couric as the narrator, focuses on the food and beverage industry's involvement in rising obesity rates. With an eye toward debunking the phrase "a calorie is a calorie," Fed Up pulls back the curtain on corporations and government bodies that may be wrecking havoc on health. As the New York Times accurately describes it, "It’s a call to action that pinpoints the problems, identifies the players and stresses that obese people aren’t to blame..." Watch the Fed Up trailer
Fed Up, the brand new (2014) documentary featuring Katie Couric as the narrator, focuses on the food and beverage industry's involvement in rising obesity rates. With an eye toward debunking the phrase "a calorie is a calorie," Fed Up pulls back the curtain on corporations and government bodies that may be wrecking havoc on health. As the New York Times accurately describes it, "It’s a call to action that pinpoints the problems, identifies the players and stresses that obese people aren’t to blame..." Watch the Fed Up trailer
When examining food trends, it's important to explore where these ideas originated. Books like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Marion Nestle's Food Politics certainly come into play, as do manufacturer and retailer education initiatives. But let us not forget the documentaries, presentations and even commercials that sparked modern food ideologies—videos that are vital because they measure popular societal values and interests.
These top influential videos, organized in chronological order, are largely to thank for the modern food movement that lauds healthy eating and conscious sourcing.
Are we missing any? Share which food videos we should include in the comments below.
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