Fast Forward Health Film Fest Oct 30, Celebrate Food Day 2012

Oct 24, 2012 Food Day 2012!

“I don’t need any finger-wagging salad munchers scolding me about junk food” —no worries, not happening.

But if you’d like to be more informed about the reason for the movement to “eat real” and celebrate Food Day.org then follow #FoodDayConf today on Twitter for great tips on label lingo, decoding kids aisle food claims, not to mention confusing labels on eggs, milk, and staple fare…(here’s a great informational link list to learn more about sustainable eating and why)

In honor of Food Day 2012, I’m reprising my Food Day round up of resources and deep dive into ‘why to buy’ into the healthy eating movement in the first place. For starters, if your kids think a Blackberry is a device and not a fruit…it’s time to EAT REAL.

What can media do to change the food landscape? Plenty! Check out Shaping Youth’s “Food for Thought: Media to Digest for Healthier Kids” and continue the conversation on Oct 30 in SF at the Fast Forward Health Film Fest chock full of Bay Area health innovation pros. I’ll be there and hope you will too! Here’s the full line-up of films and luminaries at Fast Forward Health.org and you can find out who else is coming on the Fast Forward Health Facebook page, including Dr. Lisa Ganjhu from Super Size Me!

For the cost of a fancy latte it will be an evening of food, fun and film sure to serve up some convos on sustainable eating, GMOs and why it all matters to families and the planet. $5 Tix here For more on sustainable eating, food security, and why it all matters to families and to our planet see Food .

“Everyone already knows what they should eat, they just don’t”—Not always true.

See the latest crusade in CA for the Right to Know what is in our food, and how much money is being spent by large corporations to thwart the effort.

Then there are the constantly changing nutrition rating/food labels confusing consumers to the tune of 17,000 new “edible foodlike substances” on store shelves each year, even those TRYING to ‘eat real’ have a hard time making sense of the mumbo jumbo.

“No one wants food police body shaming folks to feel bad about themselves.”

Not remotely close to the 6 core Food Day principles/goals put forth for life-changing, pleasurably joyful food practices…As Food Day sponsor (CSPI) imparts, it’s all about connecting the dots between the choices we make, the foods we grow, the policies we form, and the impact we have.

Here are a few media clips via video to give you a feel for how media can play a huge role using storytelling and influence building. And here’s news you can use from food policy advocate and author of Appetite for Profit, Michele Simon to debrief yourself on the food issues confronting out society today, as she writes in her newsletter:

“…I’ve been writing about the food industry’s dirty tactics in the fight over California’s Proposition 37, which would require GMO foods to be labeled. As Election Day nears, the fight is getting even dirtier, while the No on 37 campaign’s millions of dollars in deceptive ads are starting to pay off. But with 61 other nations requiring GMO labels, why are Monsanto and friends fighting so hard to keep Americans in the dark?”

Highly recommend you check out her site Eat. Drink. Politics. Countering Industry Harm to Improve Public Health.

It’s quite a bracer in health literacy, vested interests, and often how media is being used to undermine our health with misinformation. Fascinating. Here’s a glimpse of upcoming, related events:

October 24: Food Summit at Stanford University

October 30: Fast Forward Health.org Film Fest, San Francisco: Tix here

October 27-31: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco
Panel 1: Monday, October 29, 2012: 10:30 – 12:00
Case study of industry lobbying on junk food marketing to children
(Additional panelists include Marion Nestle and Jennifer Pomeranz from the Rudd Center.)
Panel 2: Monday, October 29, 2012: 12:30 -2:00
Food stamps, follow the money: Are corporations profiting from hungry Americans?
Panel 3: Wednesday, October 31, 2012: 12:30 -2:00
Understanding food industry lobbying and countering corporate tactics

Heart Wrenching Factoids From CSPI, Sponsor of Food Day.org

Alex Bogusky’s “the real bears” for CSPI from MediaCat TV on Vimeo.

CA Right to Know is a BI-partisan initiative which has had close to 90% universal support, until the media obfuscation and misinformation paid for by lobbyists/special interest groups, particularly Monsanto corporation. Red state or blue state, food safety and the right to know what’s in our food is a NONpartisan issue. And with all the ad blitzes on the air, it’s clear media matters.