Film Review: ‘Fed Up’ is a Cautionary Story for All of Us

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CHICAGO – Here’s the deal, America. We’ve got some powerful mega-corporations who manufacture food to make a profit. What makes us buy food? Taste. The reason the obesity rates are skyrocketing has to do with the additives – mostly sugar – that these mega-corps are adding to give their food taste. It’s all exposed nicely in the new documentary, “Fed Up.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

It has been said that food is the most abused drug on earth, and the dealers are the food manufacturers. As mass marketing and manufacturing has gained a foothold in life from 1900 to 2000, the victims are the consumers. And don’t expect any help from the legislators, either at the state or federal level. Part of the massive profits that food companies make are neatly stuffed into the pockets of our bought and sold politicians. And as the documentary notes, even First Lady Michelle Obama is not immune – her “Let’s Move” program has backed off of food, and made it more about exercise. This is a exposé that will tell you the truth, what you want to do with that truth is your challenge.

Talk show host Katie Couric is the centerpiece of this documentary. Her journey with the subject began when she hosted “The Today Show,” and has followed her to a lifelong pursuit of what is true regarding our food and the food industry. The usual known culprits are highlighted, but with a twist. The addition of sugar to most of our foods – check the labels – is contributing to the fattening of ourselves and our kids.

You would think that such a health crisis would be call-to-arms for crusading government regulation. But like the cigarette industry for years, the mega-food corporations have been able to pay off the right politicians and the information regarding sugar additives is stifled in very creative ways. The food industry is like the tobacco industry in another way – they are getting a pass while our healthcare system is burdened through the use of their products by Americans.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Fed Up”

The Tale of the Scale in ‘Fed Up’
Photo credit: RADIUS-TWC

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Fed Up”