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Diet for a New
America
by John Robbins
In Diet for a New America, John
Robbins, son of the founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire, presents his
theories about how an animal-based diet is killing Americans. Abandoning the
wealthy lifestyle of his family, Robbins lived in a log cabin while subsisting
on a simple diet of grains, and he eventually realized his calling as a dietary
evangelist. He is not without a sense of humor; at one point he describes how he
broke with his family by
“walking
away from our ice-cream-cone-shaped swimming pool.”
But Robbins takes his mission seriously, buttressing his strong opinions about
how America must reform its diet with commentary from physicians and academics,
including some experts from Cornell University who appear on camera. Robbins
himself visits farms where pigs, cattle, and chicken are raised in hellish
conditions to make the point that modern meat production is inhumane. Much of
this video comes across as being commonsense dietary advice, though some of the
more extreme statements by experts are no doubt debatable. And there's no
denying that footage of heart surgeries and animals cramped into filthy cages
could serve as strong reinforcement to those seeking a healthier diet.
—Robert
J. McNamara
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Super Size Me
by Morgan Spurlock
From a reviewer on Amazon.com
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, rejected
five times by the USC film school, won the best director award at the 2004
Sundance Film Festival for this alarmingly personal investigation into the
health hazards wreaked by our fast food nation. Under extensive medical
supervision, Spurlock subjects himself to a steady diet of McDonald's
cuisine for 30 days just to see what happens. n less than a week, his
ordinarily fit body and equilibrium undergo dark and ugly changes: Spurlock
grows fat, his cholesterol rockets north, his organs take a beating, and he
becomes subject to headaches, mood swings, symptoms of addiction, and
lessened sexual energy. The gimmick is too obvious to sustain a feature
documentary; Spurlock actually spends most of the film probing insidious
ways that fast food companies worm their way into school lunchrooms and the
hearts of young children who spend hours in McDonald's playrooms. French
fries never looked more nauseating.
—Tom
Keogh
DVD Features
Fans of Morgan Spurlock's engaging
documentary Super Size Me won't want to miss almost an hour of extra footage
on the DVD. Best of all is a 25-minute one-on-one interview with Eric
Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, but other interesting moments are a
chat with a couple who collects McDonald's memorabilia; an analysis of a
supermarket's layout; further conversation with Big Mac fan Eric Gorske and
his wife; a look at the deep-fried Twinkie; and a disgusting but funny piece
on how McDonald's food rots (or doesn't). Spurlock also provides a
commentary track along with his girlfriend Alex Jamieson (you know, the
vegan chef) in which they discuss why he included certain scenes, how many
times he ate McDonald's salads, and his recommendations for books to read
and action to take. And because he and Jamieson received so many inquiries
about the "last supper" he ate on film before embarking on his special diet,
an insert contains the recipes, including the highly sought-after tofu and
vegetable phyllo tart.
—David
Horiuchi. |
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