Planet Food: Lebanon

For centuries, the ports of Lebanon dominated the trade routes between Europe, the Middle East, China and India. In this documentary, our intrepid gastronaut Merrilees Parker finds a world of heavily spiced lamb, cooling salads, deliciously strong wines from and sweet pastries filled with pistachios and honey.

Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story

We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of it in the trash? Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping and survive only on discarded food. What they find is truly shocking.

Horizon: Eat, Fast and Live Longer

British journalist and physician Michael Mosley sets an ambitious goal: to become healthier and lose weight while making as few changes as possible to his life. In working toward these goals, Mosley discovers a powerful new science behind the old idea of fasting, a program that still allows him to enjoy his favorite foods. He takes a road trip across the U.S. to investigate how a little hunger can turn on the body’s “repair genes” and, of course, tries the new science himself. Mosley learns that a diet based on feast and famine has powerful effects on the body, reducing the risks of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. The diet seems to pack the anti-aging clout of calorie restriction while still allowing for a taste of the good life. And it turns out to be not only good for the body; it may also be good for the brain.

The Search for General Tso

From New York City to the farmlands of the Midwest, there are 50,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., yet one dish in particular has conquered the American culinary landscape with a force befitting its military moniker—“General Tso’s Chicken.” But who was General Tso and how did this dish become so ubiquitous? Ian Cheney’s delightfully insightful documentary charts the history of Chinese Americans through the surprising origins of this sticky, sweet, just-spicy-enough dish that we’ve adopted as our own.

Planet Food: Scandinavia

Sweden and Denmark are as much renowned for their Viking warriors as they for the Midnight Sun and, long, cold, dark winters. From the dregs of Viking feasts, to the finest restaurants in Copenhagen, these 2 countries have evolved a totally unique cuisine. In this exciting documentary with roving chef Merrilees Parker, she travels to Scandinavia to find out if there's more on the menu than smorgasbord and smelly fish. In Sweden she enjoys the Midsummer festival, tries some aquavit and samples some sausages. Across the border she tries Danish pastry, tours the Carlsberg factory and watches herring being fermented and smoked.

Planet Food: Spice Trails

In this remarkable journey, Planet Food travels the world to see how control of the spice trails, over the last five millennia, has made great cities and destroyed ancient civilizations. Our guides travel from the Molucca Islands of Indonesia, the original home of cloves and nutmeg, to the Indian province of Kerala, with its native pepper and cardamom. Additional stops include Venice, Beirut, Cairo and other significant places in the spice trade that created and toppled empires.

Planet Food: Thailand

The Golden Kingdom of Thailand is home to some of the most pungent and spicy fresh ingredients in the world. Regarded as the world's fourth most popular cuisine, Thailand is valued for its low fat content and health enhancing properties. Join Merrilees as she visits paddy fields and aircraft-hangar sized rice barges, shops in the floating markets of Bangkok and the night market in Chiang Mai and discovers beautiful fresh fruit and the notoriously smelly durian fruit.

The New Green Giants

The last ten years have seen a phenomenal explosion in the organic food movement as it has moved from niche market to mainstream. Today, it is the fastest growing segment of the food industry attracting all of the major food corporations. THE NEW GREEN GIANTS looks at a number of these new and old organic corporations and shows how they are managing, or in some cases, failing to live up to the idealistic dreams first espoused by the back-to-the land folk of the late sixties and early seventies. The documentary also looks at some of the bigger questions surrounding organic food. Is it really healthier? Is it truly organic? Is it possible to grow from a mom-and-pop operation to become a huge supplier of major grocery chains? Is it actually sustainable? Is it realistic to think the world can be fed organically?

Super Size Me

Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.

Gluten, l'ennemi public ?

Why wheat, one of the staple food of humanity, is becoming a poison for a growing number of people today ? An investigation on the emergence of a new gluten-free products market. And yet, the real cause of this sudden tsunami of grain intolerance remains a mystery. How come all of a sudden, many of us no longer support cereal, highly nutritious in protein? Have recent changes in our eating habits triggered the epidemic? Is wheat not the good old grain we've been eating for 10,000 years? Scientists, activists and committed farmers are trying to uncover the truth on the real qualities of industrial foods.

Planet Food: Goa and Manila

Roving foodies Angela May and Bobby Chinn embark on two culinary journeys across Asia. Angela travels to the western coast of India to sample the cuisine and culture of the thriving melting pot that is Goa. Meanwhile, Bobby travels to Manila where he discovers a passionate and humorous people, and their love of food.

I Want Abs

After looking at countless "before and after" photos on the web, Sergei Boutenko became curious to see if he, too, could achieve his dream fitness goals by following a no-gimmick exercise and diet protocol. At age 30, Boutenko noticed his metabolism slowing down, his weight increasing, and the temptation to get caught in life’s bad habits (eating out, drinking, and living sedentary lifestyle). Instead of yielding to these pressures, Boutenko hired a film crew and decided to use himself as a guinea pig.

State of Bacon

State of Bacon tells the kinda real but mostly fake tale of an oddball group of characters leading up to the annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Bacon-enthusiasts, Governor Branstad, a bacon queen, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, members of PETA, and an envoy of Icelanders are not excluded from this bacon party and during the course of the film become intertwined with the organizers of the festival to show that bacon diplomacy is not dead.

We Feed the World

A documentary that exposes the shocking truths behind industrial food production and food wastage, focusing on fishing, livestock and crop farming. A must-see for anyone interested in the true cost of the food on their plate.

How Do They Make Oatmeal Cookies?

This short film reveals the story behind oatmeal cookies, from the farmer's field to fresh from the oven. Without words.

Merci Bocuse

A young and ambitious team of chefs face the life-changing challenges of competing in the world's most prestigious culinary competition.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.

Soul

Soul explores the secrets of gastronomy where two cuisines apparently so opposite in their philosophy, conception and experience, have both earned the highest culinary recognition, three Michelin stars.

拉一碗面

The Fall Of M&S: Food To The Rescue?

Fiona Phillips investigates the fortunes of M&S.