The film doesn't teach us much more than we already know. Deep down, we all know what we should eat, but we're not given much of a chance in the commercial food environment. The film could have done a better job finding a positive message, and showing how cooking would solve a lot of problems in this country. And while they do deliver the most important message of the film, "personal responsibility doesn't work in the face of addiction", it's lost under a bad, scattered narrative.
The first third of the film quotes David Lustig ("sugar is bad") and Gary Taubes ("carbs are bad"), and seems to want to absolve the obese public of their guilt in the matter, and demonize certain food types.
Then there's a lot of footage of kids and their parents, all with junk food problems, which sounds like a lot of excuses. They also seem to blame George McGovern's 1977 dietary recommendations (always the punching bag; just like his '72 humiliating loss to Nixon).
The movie wants to say these people are addicted pawns of the food industry, and their hyper-palatable products, which is true. They all sound like heroin addicts, manipulating you, telling you it's not their fault, and how they're going to clean up their lives. But then they're out again looking for their next fix.
The movie doesn't compare well to the standard "Forks Over Knives". That movie presented a positive message, and a solution (eat real, whole foods, that make you feel better, and breaks the Pleasure Trap of food addiction). Fed Up calls for government regulation, akin to the tobacco industry, with warning labels, taxes, tort liabilities, and the like. It might work, like WWII rationing improved health in Europe, but it'll be a big fight. There's a simpler solution: cook whole foods, break the addiction. It's what we'll all have to do anyways.
The first third of the film quotes David Lustig ("sugar is bad") and Gary Taubes ("carbs are bad"), and seems to want to absolve the obese public of their guilt in the matter, and demonize certain food types.
Then there's a lot of footage of kids and their parents, all with junk food problems, which sounds like a lot of excuses. They also seem to blame George McGovern's 1977 dietary recommendations (always the punching bag; just like his '72 humiliating loss to Nixon).
The movie wants to say these people are addicted pawns of the food industry, and their hyper-palatable products, which is true. They all sound like heroin addicts, manipulating you, telling you it's not their fault, and how they're going to clean up their lives. But then they're out again looking for their next fix.
The movie doesn't compare well to the standard "Forks Over Knives". That movie presented a positive message, and a solution (eat real, whole foods, that make you feel better, and breaks the Pleasure Trap of food addiction). Fed Up calls for government regulation, akin to the tobacco industry, with warning labels, taxes, tort liabilities, and the like. It might work, like WWII rationing improved health in Europe, but it'll be a big fight. There's a simpler solution: cook whole foods, break the addiction. It's what we'll all have to do anyways.