#7 Fresh Doc. Review

One of many DVD covers

    Most people these days people are trying to choose healthy options when it comes to eating food. But how much thought goes into producing that food? The documentary "Fresh," focuses on sustainable and organic farming. This post will be a quick look at this documentary and what they had to say about farming.

    "Fresh" supports organic farming and is anti-processed food. Organic foods are food raised without pesticides (chemicals that not only keep pests away but also make food bigger), and without being fed corn or even the same animal. Processed food is not just the opposite, but also has preservatives and additives. Preservatives are spices (such as salt) and chemicals (such as potassium) that are put into food to keep food from spoiling. Additives such as Monosodium Glutamate (flavoring that comes from a Japanese broth called umami) are used to enhance the flavors of food. Corn is fed to animals as a sort of cheap filler food to keep animals full during feeding times. Sometimes animals are fed the same species of the animal because they are cheaper than buying plants to feed them. These matters often happen in farms known as industrial farms.

    The documentary describes industrial farms as plantations for animals. Animals are either in cages or are put in small pins where they are close together with no room to walk. Animals on these farms also do not graze, so plants do not grow. Not that it matters because the way they are fed makes the manure they produce useless and unable to help plants grow anyways. The point of these farms is to mass-produce plants and animals so they can be sold to consumers at a quick pace.

Cows from the documentery "Fresh"

    The film then shows organic farmers and a farmer that owns a 3 achar farm in a city. This shows that organic is not just possible, but also profitable. An interesting solution that might be possible for the average person to do, or at least learn more about how food is produced. The 3 achar farmer allows visitors in his farm in order to teach them about farming. What I enjoyed learning about was his filtration system for his cod fish pond. The water gets filtered threw the plants and then makes its way back to the fish to complete the cycle. This idea shows what nature and technology can accomplish when working as a team.

    "Fresh" has given me plenty to think about when it comes to how my food is prepared. There are more documenteries on this topic and thanks to "Fresh" I will be taking a look at those as well. I would recommend this film to those who are curious about how food is farmed and the benefits of organic farming.