Food Documentaries

I’ve caught up on a lot of food documentaries, and this entry will be devoted to those I recommend. 

Botany of Desire (2009). I really enjoyed this documentary.  It’s based on Michael Pollan’s novel with the same name.  He narrates the evolution, history and future of four plants/crops: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes.  With the help of biologists and historians, he dives into how these plants have evolved with humans.  He also probes into the problem of monocultures, only growing one variety of a particular plant.  With the advent of GMO, genetically modified organism, he highlights the problem of these plants, and how they can affect our future.  

To further delve into GMOs, check out The Future of Food (2004).  A few years older, this film explains what GMOs are and the problems they can create.   It’s a documentary of the little guy (the farmers) versus the machine (our government and biotech companies).  I was quite angry to see how our government is in bed with these companies, and the choices that we make can change the future of our food. 

On the flip side of GMOs, there are several documentaries that highlight our nation’s farmer’s markets.  To Market to Buy a Fat Pig (2007) is a PBS film that travels coast to coast showcasing local farmers and their communities.  I’m particularly partial, because one of the markets is Lancaster, PA’s Central Market, and this is a must go to stop when in Lancaster County.  The narrators try to find a “fat pig” to purchase, it’s a running joke that’s somewhat lost in the film, but it’s still a decent documentary, and it also gave me a few ideas for future road trips!

A different type of documentary is Pressure Cooker (2008).  Unlike most of the reality TV shows that film in high schools, this features the lives of several Philadelphia high school students that participate in a culinary arts class their senior year.  With the help of their teacher, these students participate in a citywide cooking competition in hopes to gain college scholarships.  It’s an aspiring movie, and I highly recommend it.

So now that you have a few movies to put on your queue, let me know what you think about my picks!