Entry 7: F R E S H 

Hey guys, welcome back :) 

So I recently watched a documentary called "Fresh," and it was SO interesting. There was so much information on food sustainability, the cost of food, food production, farmer's markets, the economic connection, and so much more. I'm not going to lie, a lot of the information in the documentary was already known to me.  My dad's a Muslim, and before he and my mom got divorced, he had all these rules about what my siblings and I were and weren't allowed to eat. I remember growing up, we weren't allowed to eat pork, Takis/Hot Cheetos, dark sodas, Lunchables, marshmallows, gummy candy, skittles, starburst, rice kripsy treats, some peanut-butters/jellies, pop tarts, shrimp, the list goes on. Even certain cereals were prohibited in my house. Honestly, anything containing gelatin, high levels of high fructose corn syrup, or pork was immediately banned in my household. We weren't allowed to use the microwave because "radiation wreaks havoc on the body," and I've never actually eaten anything from McDonalds in my entire life. McDonalds was always so heavily frowned upon where I grew up, and now that I'm older and could simply go grab some if I wanted to, I don't know, I just never gave it shot. 

On top of my dad already being a health-nut for religious reasons, my mom is kind of a spiritual hippie, so she was pretty particular about what my siblings and I ate as well. She would only buy wheat bread and fruits with seeds in them, we would eat Sun butter (made with sunflower seeds) instead of Peanut butter, and she even took my siblings and I to volunteer at our community garden every Friday, where we learned about lots of the topics mentioned in the documentary. 

My point is, the topic of food has been taught to me pretty much all my life. I remember my mom forcing my siblings and I sit down and watch documentaries like What the Health, Eating You Alive, GMO OMG, Super Size Me, and some more too (but those are the only ones I can pull from memory right now). My dad made us read How To Eat To Live, The Case Against Sugar, The Diet Myth, etc. I'm honestly surprised this is my first time watching Fresh, but I'm still very glad I did.

Even though I already knew most of the information in the documentary, I still found it to be incredibly insightful. The purpose was to acknowledge and celebrate all the people across the US who witnessed the change of agriculture, and challenged it. I don't think the documentary was created with one specific audience in mind, I think it was made for any/everyone who wants to learn. And what surprised me most about the film, was definitely the part when the audience was introduced to man who looked no older than 70, but it turned out that he was actually 95. That was insane to me because it really highlighted one of the effects of putting certain types of food in your body. 

Overall, I definitely think this film matters. I think it's important for people to understand their role in the environment, and the effect they have on the ecosystem. I believe people should be fully aware of what they're putting into their bodies, and should recognize the people who work to hard to get it there. Of course I also think people should care more about the subject of food-health; it's because a lot of people don't care, that we allowed the problem to get as bad as it is. Unfortunately, we live in a world where most people just want to cater to their cravings, simply eat whatever makes them happy regardless of the consequences. But I wholeheartedly believe that if the world changes their eating habits, their eating habits would change the world. 

Welp, once again, that's all I got. Until next time, bye :)