Fed Up Documentary Analysis

Fed up is a film that reveals how sugar in all its natural sounding forms i.e. “pure” cane sugar is the main culprit in the obesity epidemic that has been ravaging the nation. According to the documentary there is an intimate relationship between the food industries, large corporations as well as the media that not only influences choices made by customers in the grocery store, but also blindly jeopardizes their health. The average American person is led to believe by the media that obese Americans are in critical health due to their own voracious appetite and sedentary lifestyle. The film further demonstrates how the close-knit relationship between the three the multi-billion dollar food industry and the government have come together to push sugar-laden junk food into our every diets by engineering their labels and deceiving the
public into believing they are purchasing nutritious products.
We see this deceit played out in an interview of a mother struggling to find healthy food choices for her obese child.
During the interview she reveals that she has substituted the regular Hot Pockets to “lean” Hot Pockets.
The percentage of carbohydrates, fat, protein etc. for every processed product including Hot Pockets are mandated by the federal government to be on the finished product however the percentage for sugar is nowhere to be found in the nutrient facts. . The main reason behind omitting the sugar percentage from the daily value is due to that most foods that are considered “wholesome” contain more sugar than the FDA considers healthy. As described by the documentary when removing the fat from the product, you are also removing the flavor, thus sugar is added to give the public another reason to crave it.
Although sugar may be the villain the main obstacle isn’t sugar itself rather sugar education. If costumers where made aware of not just its addictive properties they would possibly make healthier selections at the checkout counter. One of the film’s experts even referred to sugar as “chronic, dose- dependent” liver
toxin.
Sadly the multi-billion corporations control such a enormous percentage of the food industry that it confers them too much power and influence over the regulations of the food supply. Since the majority of large companies are motivated by profit, and untroubled about the well-being of the community, results in health complications such as childhood obesity. Fed Up” argues that these transnational food corporations accumulate more influence of food that than the public consuming the food.
Overall the documentary is overly simplistic however it has brought to light many overlooked food subjects. Consciousness is our best protection against the industry; education is needed not only in nutrition content but also hot to better incorporate well rounded food products. Truly acclaim the documentary for the information provided however one should keep an open mind when viewing the film.