Food documentaries and TV shows have become increasingly popular, aiming to educate the public about healthy eating and environmental sustainability. However, these programs often fall short of inspiring genuine change in dietary habits.
Basically, they spend so much time stating the obvious that we end up ignoring whatever positive messages there are in there.
As was recently highlighted in the New York Times, a good example of this is Netflix's "You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment." The docuseries uses identical twins to compare the effects of a vegan diet versus a healthy omnivorous diet. Despite the good intentions, the show, like many others, tends to patronise its audience with well-known advice: eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise regularly.
The sisters featured in the series, Wendy and Pam, receive typical health warnings and dietary advice, but their outcomes reflect a common reality—knowledge alone doesn't necessarily lead to lasting lifestyle changes. This raises a critical question: why are these shows and, more generally, food advice that is readily available in our culture, failing to make a significant impact, and what kind of food education do people actually need?
The Limitations of Current Food Documentaries
Have you ever repeated a word over and over again to the point where it just loses meaning? A similar thing can happen when you hear a piece of wisdom too many times. We are all so frequently reminded that eating fruits and vegetables is healthier than consuming processed foods and too much meat intake that we just start to gloss over it each time it comes up.
So the problem lies not in a lack of information but in the way it is presented and the failure to address deeper, more practical issues that influence eating habits.
The reality is that most people eat for many reasons and only one of those is health. Other factors include taste, convenience, and satisfaction. When you’re exhausted after a long day’s work and feel like treating yourself, the idea of preparing a healthy meal can seem unappealing.
Critically, economic reasons are important too. A TV show can criticise fast food for hours on end, but if the difference between eating anything at all and nothing is a trip to the local fast food restaurant, people are going to choose to eat.
Basically, there are emotional and psychological connections people have with food that the well-meaning “guidance” often overlooks.
The Real Barriers to Healthy Eating
To break this down further, and understand why people aren't "eating healthy," we need to consider the real barriers they face.
1. Taste and Satisfaction
Healthy foods are sometimes perceived as less tasty compared to their processed counterparts. This perception is reinforced by the food industry's marketing strategies, which promote highly palatable, sugar-laden, and salty foods. Once you get people hooked on those, their concept of taste can indeed change. So one thing that food advice shows should be grappling with is how to help people develop a new taste for fresh fruit and vegetables.
2. Convenience
In a fast-paced world, convenience is a major factor in food choices. Processed and fast foods are readily available, easy to prepare, and consume, making them an attractive option for busy individuals and families. To address this challenge, we need to see more guidance on how to eat well when short on time.
3. Affordability
Healthy eating is often viewed as expensive. Fresh produce, organic foods, and other healthy options can cost more than processed foods, making them less accessible to those on a tight budget. Providing guidance on how to find fresh food on a budget - such as through the Good & Fugly boxes - and then minimise food waste is a good example of this.
4. Cultural and Emotional Connections
Food is deeply tied to culture, tradition, and emotions. People develop eating habits based on their upbringing, cultural practices, and emotional associations with certain foods. These factors can be powerful influences that are not easily changed by mere information, and indeed being too negative and suggesting that these food traditions are a bad thing is a quick way to build up resistance in the audience.
A New Approach to Food Education
To make a meaningful impact on dietary habits, food education – including the TV shows that aim to encourage better eating – need to shift in another direction and focus on positive, rather than punitive, shifts in eating and lifestyle:
1. Culinary Education
Cooking shows should emphasise the joy of preparing and eating delicious, healthy meals can be far more effective than didactic documentaries. When people learn to cook and discover how tasty and satisfying healthy food can be, they are more likely to make lasting changes.
2. Practical Tips for Busy Lives
Educational content should offer practical advice on how to incorporate healthy eating into a busy lifestyle. This includes quick and easy recipes, meal prep ideas, and tips for making healthy choices on the go. Demonstrating how healthy eating can be convenient and time-efficient can help overcome the barrier of busy lives.
3. Budget-Friendly Healthy Eating
Addressing the misconception that healthy eating is expensive is crucial. Food education should provide strategies for eating well on a budget, such as choosing seasonal produce, buying in bulk, and finding alternatives to the supermarkets, where fresh produce comes at a premium (that often surprises people).
4. Emphasising Pleasure Over Health Metrics
While it's important to understand the health benefits of a good diet, the focus should shift towards the pleasure of eating. People are more likely to adopt healthy habits when they enjoy what they eat. Celebrating the sensory experiences of food—the aromas, flavours, and textures—can transform healthy eating from a chore into a delightful activity.
Food documentaries and people who write and present around food are driven by the best of intentions, and food and diets are becoming a critical social challenge. However, too often the information comes across as condescending and misses the reality of daily life. By addressing the real barriers to healthy eating and emphasising the joy of cooking and eating well, we can create a more effective and sustainable approach to food education.
