10/14 Supersize Me
A few days ago when I read about “The Happy Meal Art Project,” I could not let it go or stop thinking about it (10/13 post). The conversation is so compelling that it lead us to want to learn more and rent Supersize Me.
If you are not familiar with the movie Supersize Me it is a documentary created by filmaker Morgan Spurlock. He is an ordinary New Yorker (with a vegan chef girlfriend) who decides to use his own body as an experimental subject to document the effects of eating an all fast food diet. Spurlock dedicates himself to eating McDonalds three meals a day for 30 days. His experiment is supervised by a team of medical professionals and is documented on film.
When the experiment begins he undergoes a regimen of tests that indicate he is in perfect health. As the experiment progresses, his health rapidly begins to deteriorate. His cholesterol sky rockets, his liver becomes dangerously fatty and he becomes depressed in a way he can not explain. He gains a significant amount of weight and begins to go through symptoms of addiction. He is emotionally affected as well, feeling down, lethargic and depressed until he gets his Mac Do fix, then he would experience a temporary euphoria just like heroine (their reference in the film) or any other addictive substance.
This immediate addiction to fast food was one of the elements that I found so fascinating. I certainly understand a craving, mostly for the french fries back in the day, but it never occurred to me that it could be addicting. I had never thought about it in those terms. Fast food is full of chemicals and ingredients that are addicting including but not limited to caffeine, sugar and salt.
Peppered throughout Spurlocks journey is a running commentary on how high fat, nutritionally barren foods are the mainstay in our school lunch programs.
The movie is enlightening, informative and empowering. It uses an extreme example to illustrate the message, but it shows some of the real dangers in consuming fast foods regularly. I believe we deserve more. Let’s try one less fast food meal a week, replace the soda with water or brown bag it. With all the money you save, you can buy yourself something special at the end of the week.
This is a must see movie for anyone interested in changing their world, one meal at a time. Here is a link to the Supersize Me Trailer.
Have a delicious day.
Tags: compassionate eating, dairy free, going veg, Happy Meal Art Project, McDonalds, Morgan Spurlock, Super Size Me, Supersize Me, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan experience, vegan wannabe
November 7th, 2010 at 8:50 am
I loved this movie- I thought it really illustrated how awful fast food is for you. And I really thought the part in the special features where they showed how quickly food made from fresh ingredients decayed and how the fast food just never showed any sign of going bad was repugnant, and made me never ever want to another french fry.
November 8th, 2010 at 10:27 am
We loved it too. It was well done without being too in your face or intimidating. I think that when you are too aggressive with your point than people dont want to listen and they shut down. Share the facts and let them choose.