A good documentary on healthy eating has a lot of obstacles to overcome. A condescending movie, for example, will instantly turn viewers off. It also has to be engaging, which frankly isn't easy when talking about vegetables. Most importantly, it has to be convincing, a tough task in an entire culture based on fast, cheap food.
"Ingredients," Indigo Bridge Book's third and final movie in its "Tread Lightly" film series, effectively balances these challenges. It offers a thorough and smartly made look into how we could be eating. The film argues that buying locally isn't merely a drop-in-the-bucket movement by a tiny subset. It's the way we've eaten for almost all of human history and the way our bodies are conditioned to live.
The year 2000 was the first year in history that the amount of farmland decreased, and with no sign of reversing, a return to sustainable farming may be the only way to support our ever-expanding population.
Of course, positivity is much more convincing than negativity, and the film smartly focuses much more on why this way of eating is an attractive choice in the short term.
Most simply, it tastes better. We've grown accustomed to having all kinds of food readily and always available, which forces us to ignore when ingredients are best picked. The film highlighted restaurants that have started working directly with farmers. The restaurants can then update their menus and specials on a daily basis to reflect what was at peak picking point that very morning. The result is succulence as well as variety, and customers often seemed amazed at the quality of what they were eating.
Most interesting is how this can be taken out of restaurants and into daily eating habits. Year-round farmers markets end the tedium of eating simply for nourishment, and re-establish a lost community connection. Having direct communication with farmers at these markets ensures quality feedback, and a relationship that goes beyond environmental concerns.
One farmer talked about how he can locate the exact spot where he picked mushrooms in a forest even years later. It's a vital memory tool, subconsciously triggered, that our ancestors relied on to keep their minds properly active. It's a process we've simply forgotten about, and it's strange to think how our lives would differ if we still had that.
The film also includes an amazing amount of interviews from consumers, farmers, chefs and experts of all kinds. The quality of all the footage throughout its 70-minute running time must have necessitated an inordinate amount of investigation.
Everything from the landscapes to berries to sheep is beautifully shot as well. The vibrancy alone puts "Ingredients" on the level of more famous movies like "Food, Inc." My only gripe would be that the movie is quite short, and could have benefited from research and statistics along with the interviews. For a humane and easily digestible introduction, however, it did its job.
Like the other two screenings, local experts were there to offer their input and delectable organic samples, and to connect the film to what is going on in the Lincoln area. This week's featured speaker was Ingrid Kirst, who has served as director of Community Crops since 2005. Community Crops is a Lincoln organization whose mission is "combining resources, opportunities and people for sustainability."
Kirst also had good things to say about the way "Ingredients" portrayed sustainable farming.
"I've seen a lot of different local food-themed movies, and there's a lot of similarities between them," she said. "But what I really liked about this one was it told the story really well, and it told a lot of different stories from a lot of different perspectives."
Kirst also pointed out some of the misconceptions that paint healthy eating as an expensive inconvenience. She suggested supplementing a diet with growing what you can on your own.
"There's a lot of things you can grow way cheaper than getting it at the store," she said.
Margaret Milligan was also present on behalf of Community Farms, and offered ways for consumers to get started on the path to better choices.
"Come out to a place like community crops or get involved with a local farm, where they can meet farmers and establish a relationship," she said. "Local farmers are more than willing to help people, and they do every day. You just have to seek them out."
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