Fed Up: the Movie

I just spent the last few hours watching the documentary Fed Up. And by the last few hours, I mean that I watched some - went to cook dinner - watched some more - moved laundry - watched more - played with Peeps - finally saw the ending.

Fed Up is a Katie Couric film that is basically about the food industry, sugar, and the obesity epidemic. According to the tag line, it will "change the way you eat forever." Honestly, I was hoping to gain some insights on how to live a refined sugar-free lifestyle when I rented it on Amazon. Instead, I encountered a group of very upset experts calling for governmental action on food regulations. They even went so far as to compare the tobacco company's denial 50 years ago to the denial of the food industry today.

I'm all sort of jazzed about being sugar free...but does that really mean everyone should be?

Isn't it sort of our Constitutional right to choose the types of food we put into our bodies, be it good or bad? If I am in the middle of a major craving, and the only thing that will calm me down is a bucket of cheese dip at the local Mexican joint but Uncle Sam has decided they may only sell bowls of it...watch out Uncle Sam!

But I am an adult. I buy or prepare all of my foods. What about the kids in schools (80% of them) which are sponsored by a soft drink or fast food company? That is where I start to think some regulations may be a necessary step toward a more healthful population.

Is there a happy medium? A place where the food industry is still allowed to produce anything their hearts desired, but they are required to put a daily percentage next to sugar on nutritional labels...a place where students are only offered the healthy choices and pizza is no longer considered a vegetable...a place where foods of all varieties are available, yet somehow (I haven't figured this one out) eating real foods are just as popular in the fight against obesity as stocking up on 100 calories snack packs.

While I am in no way telling you to run out (or to your Roku) and rent Fed Up, and I am not completely on board with the concept of letting the government into every inch of the food industry, it sure got the wheels turning in my mind. I wonder if we will look back on this time in history and wonder, "How on Earth did we let them get away with that?" Or will it still be, "Goodness, I sure do love me some cheese dip!"

I honestly don't know. What do you think?