Just who鈥檚 to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic? Over the years, the finger has been pointed at parents, video games and vending machines, to name a few.
To the makers of the new activist documentary, 鈥淔ed Up,鈥� the bottom line of blame lies with a simple substance poured into our diets every day: sugar. And the pushers of what this film calls a drug and 鈥渢he new tobacco鈥� are the food industry and our own government.
鈥淲hat if our whole approach to this epidemic has been dead wrong?鈥� the film鈥檚 narrator, TV journalist Katie Couric, says in the film鈥檚 open.
鈥淔ed Up鈥� is the latest in a string of activist documentaries about food that are sending their messages to the mainstream via the multi-plex. Whether it鈥檚 the organic movement or the traditional food production advocates, the goal is to capture the culture war with a mix of public relations, pop music and personal appeals.
鈥淔ed Up鈥� fights the directive of personal responsibility as failing American children. The mantra of 鈥渆at less, move more鈥� is impossible for kids who have no way to circumvent the onslaught of marketing that has made them into junk-food junkies, the film says.
Hoping to do for childhood obesity what 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth鈥� did for climate change, 鈥溾€� takes on the USDA, First Lady Michelle Obama鈥檚 鈥淟et鈥檚 Move鈥� campaign and Big Food: Coca Cola, Nestle, Kraft, and Kellogg, to name a few. Laurie David, who produced the Oscar-winning 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth,鈥� serves with Couric as an executive producer, while (鈥淭apped鈥� and 鈥淕MO OMG鈥�) directs.
At times the film comes off as a bit sensational, but the message is backed up with sobering statistics and the political history that got us here. have grown exponentially in the past 30 years, aided by the added sugar food processors threw into products to make it 鈥渉yper-palatable,鈥� as one scientist says, during the low-fat and lean craze of the 1980s and 1990s. All the while, the food and beverage lobby spent millions winning battle after battle, a .
Scientists, doctors and clean food advocates like Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle and Mark Bittman are quoted extensively. Couric also takes Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to task, as well as former President Bill Clinton, for failing to do anything during their time in Washington.
But the film鈥檚 true stars are several overweight children who are trying 鈥� and failing 鈥� to lose weight. Even the children understand that the 鈥渆at less, move more鈥� plan offered by doctors, parents and , is not working.
鈥淚 want people to know that childhood obesity isn鈥檛 as simple as TV and press make it seem鈥nd even Mrs. Obama,鈥� says a tearful Maggie Valentine, a 12-year-old Oklahoma City girl who weighs more than 200 pounds.
The food industry, which learned from the backlash generated by films such as 鈥淔ood, Inc.,鈥� and 鈥淔ast Food Nation, which vilified industrial agriculture and convenience food, is fighting the message of 鈥淔ed Up.鈥�
The loudest retort is coming from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has launched a website called 鈥溾€� that mimics the plate-and-menu graphics of the 鈥淔ed Up鈥� website. A spokeswoman for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which is also the lead in efforts, didn鈥檛 return a phone call and email seeking comment.
The , a Kansas City-based non-profit funded by from commodity groups (dairy, soybean, poultry, pork) and companies like ConAgra, Monsanto and Tyson, is also prepared for 鈥淔ed Up.鈥� The group鈥檚 urge farmers and 鈥渓eaders in the food system鈥� to engage in what it calls 鈥渧alues-based discussions about today鈥檚 food system.鈥�
Terry Fleck, executive director of the Center for Food Integrity, said in an interview that sugar is not the only reason kids are obese. Many companies are reformulating ingredients, he said, pointing to Nestle and General Mills, both members of his organization, as reducing sugar in their breakfast cereals.
鈥淥besity is this reality that we are consuming more calories than we are burning off and that鈥檚 easy to do in our society,鈥� Fleck said. 鈥淭he reality is we are a society that鈥檚 busy. We want convenience foods. We drive everywhere. We don鈥檛 walk like others in other cultures.鈥�
, a public health lawyer who appears in 鈥淔ed Up,鈥� said it鈥檚 becoming increasingly common for companies to create 鈥渇ront groups鈥� to try to help shape the public discourse. the Center for Food Integrity as one such group.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on here is that the food industry as a credibility problem,鈥� Simon said. 鈥淪o they funnel their money into these front groups that can look like they鈥檙e doing this with the sheen of credibility -- and sometimes even scientists -- that are bringing the industry messages into the public discourse.鈥�
The ag industry is also taking a page from the activist documentary book, recently releasing a mainstream movie called 鈥�.鈥� It was produced by the , which is funded by companies like Monsanto and ag interests like the egg and pork boards.
The lush pictures, authentic voices and soaring music in 鈥淔armland鈥� is intended to lull the backlash created by the documentaries, or the even more popular video created by Chipotle, the Mexican fast food chain. Called 鈥�,鈥� the video has a soundtrack by Fiona Apple and portrays farming as a factory that spits out little boxes of beef. It鈥檚 been viewed more than 12.6 million times.
That public discourse 鈥� or at least the PR -- shouldn't include the agricultural community, said , a Wellesley College political science professor and author of the book 鈥淔ood Politics.鈥� He鈥檇 like to see the ag community do what he calls 鈥渃onscious distancing鈥� from food companies.
鈥淚 think the food industry sometimes maneuvers farmers into joining with them shoulder-to-shoulder in defense of the status quo,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd I don鈥檛 see what farmers get out of that.鈥�
