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Food

17th Jun 2020

5 foodie documentaries that will make you rethink your entire diet

Step away from the meat.

Niamh Maher

Do you ever get caught up in a wiki web?

It’s a simple thing to happen, one moment you’re googling how to correctly cut a pineapple the next thing you know you’re finding out where the pink Power Ranger studied dance, it happens to everyone.

Well, a similar thing happened to me over the weekend. I watched a simple documentary based on animal agriculture that was on my Netflix ‘list’, next thing I knew my entire belief system was shattered and I was vegan.

Ok, it wasn’t that extreme… but some serious questions have been raised and I would implore you to watch these documentaries if, for nothing else, to learn about what we’re all consuming on a daily basis:

The one that started it all: ‘Cowspiracy’

I’m not a big red meat eater so I watched this with the firm belief that I wouldn’t be rattled. Sweet Jesus, I was wrong.

This documentary will not only make you think, it will shake your core belief system of everything within the food industry. The filmmakers in this movie claim that animal agriculture is the LEADING cause of global warming, water depletion, deforestation, species extinction and ocean ‘dead’ zones, and they claim the very people who should be shouting about it are suppressing the information, a must watch.

The follow-up: ‘What The Health’

From the same award-winning filmmakers behind Cowspiracy, this documentary delves deeper into the burdening US health epidemic. The film examines the link between diet and disease, and the billions of dollars at stake in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries.

The educational one: ‘Vegucated’

At this point in my Netflix binge, I was pretty much in shock. While munching on sugar snaps I was offered up Vegucated by the Netflix wizards, who can always tell when you’ve fallen into the chasm (the documentary is no longer on Netflix, but is available to watch in full by this handy YouTube link).

The documentary follows three people as they go vegan for six weeks, it not only offers an insight into the struggles of living a completely plant based life, it shows some pretty graphic instances of deplorable behaviour on farms. A tough watch but you’ll learn a lot.

The inspiring one – ‘Fat Sick And Nearly Dead’

I’m currently in the midst of a juice fast because of this documentary. The film was made by Joe Cross as he embarks on a 60-day juice fast. Yes, 60 DAYS! I can barely make it through a 3 day one!

He travels across America spreading the word about his juicing lifestyle and encourages people to ‘reboot’. After the shock of some of the previous documentaries, this was a welcome uplifting film which gives you heaps of information on the benefits of a plant-based diet.

The follow-up inspiration: Fat Sick And Nearly Dead 2

Another Joe Cross film, this time round he wants to use his eating and lifestyle changes to help others, he also revisits old friends and we find out if the juicing craze is really sustainable.