mcdonald's

Almost one-third of America’s children are obese. One-third. This shocking statistic is cited in President Obama’s proclamation naming September as National Childhood Obesity Month.

So, one out of every three children in the U.S. are at risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma and other obesity-associated illnesses. Bottom line: they will live shorter and sicklier lives than those of their parents.

Who is to blame? Director of FRESH the Movie, ana Sofia joanes, along with a team of FRESH activists are pointing their fingers at one man. And his name is…

Ronald McDonald.

In an e-mail message to FRESH fans, here’s what they said about the McDonald’s mascot who’s been hawking hamburgers to children since 1963:

My tomato seedlings are dying on the windowsill. In my absence, my husband put them outside on sunny, too hot days. It was more than their delicate leaves could take and the tips started to brown and wilt before I could return to rescue them. Maybe this is what made my reading of Arthur Allen's Ripe: The Search for the Perfect Tomato, so bittersweet.

I’m a firm believer in the power of the marketplace, that every dollar we spend on food is a binary vote: either FOR an agriculture system that makes our bodies, our communities, and our environment healthier, or AGAINST it.

A few alarming statistics:

I recently had the chance to sit down with a handful of sixth graders at Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis. The students had been complaining that the lunches they were being served tasted bad and made them feel sick, and their teacher asked me to come answer questions, provide context, and make suggestions.

For an hour, these thoughtful students and I discussed healthy food choices, growing a garden, being pressed for time (a 12 year old girl told me she didn't have time to put an apple in her backpack in the morning), eating on a budget, and how to affect change. I've been thinking about the discussion ever since.

With this morning’s announcement of 2009’s Academy Award nominees, it seems appropriate to look at food from the perspective of a movie goer. Last year, two broadly released movies featured food in a starring role: Food, Inc. and Julie and Julia. We’ll find out today if either of them garners any nominations.

In the meantime, I’d like to look back through the years and pick the films that most successfully incorporate food into the plot. I’ll include the most recent first, then continue moving backwards in time. Then on Thursday, I’ll select the most memorable food-related scenes from the history of cinema.

Today’s post is the final half of a two-part interview with Curt Ellis (the first part of our "Big River" article is here), who will be in Minneapolis this week showing “Big River,” a companion to his 2006 documentary “King Corn.” Both films will be screened at the Riverview Theater on Wednesday, November 18 at 7:00, with a panel discussion afterwards. Admission is $10.