Short Videos
Over the last hundred years, countless funny, satirical, and serious movies and videos, perhaps starting with Charlie Chaplin’s 1925 silent film, The Gold Rush, have focused on food, or “food.” Lucille Ball, in the heyday of TV, created hilarious sketches around food. Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me brought food to the big screen and had McDonald’s reeling. In the same vein, activists have used videos to lampoon factory farming, the fake fat olestra, and any number of other food and agriculture problems. In addition, quick searches on YouTube, Google, and government, industry, and nonprofits’ websites will turn up serious, thoughtful, totally silly, comical, and self-promoting videos and lectures on just about every aspect of food. If you want to learn something important or just have a good belly laugh, dip into some of our arsenal of shorts (some longer movies are listed elsewhere). And do let us know of videos that we missed.
The National Food Museum does not necessarily endorse the content of these videos.
Animal Welfare
A drone reveals animal cruelty
A drone captured a shocking video of massive, crowded factory farms
Exposing conditions on factory farms
Undercover footage reveals how most farm animals are raised on factory farms (Humane Society of the United States)
The Animated “Meatrix” skewers factory farming
The Animated “Meatrix” skewers factory farming
Environment
Climate Solutions from USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s programs to fight the climate crisis
Food Waste Prevention
Getting food that would otherwise be wasted to needy people (The Farmlink Project, 5’)
Meet the People Getting Paid to Kill the Planet
14-minute video on pollution/lobbying power of animal agriculture (New York Times)
See the True Cost of Your Cheap Chicken
12-minute video on 2/10/22: the true cost to chickens & farmers of cheap chicken (New York Times)
Selling “Ugly” Produce
French supermarket sells “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables” to reduce food waste and cut food costs (2’30”)
What is a Foodprint?
Foodprint’s short video on foods’ “foodprint.” (FoodPrint is a project of Grace Communications.)
Farming
Chickens, Produced the Industrial Way
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2015; 18’; HBO; contains vulgarities)
Dairy Industry Counters “Misinformation” on Sustainability
A message from the industry’s promotional arm (3’)
Industry’s view on raising hogs
The National Pork Producers Council’s portrayal of its industry (1’20”)
Kipster’s Egg Farm video and webcam – a model for sustainable large farms
Kipster’s Carbon neutral farm in Indiana; more info here
One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts
Will Harris, who farms 2,000 acres in Bluffton, Georgia, explains his switch from chemical farming to regenerative methods. (15’)
Sen. Corey Booker (NJ) on farm policy, diet, animal agriculture, and Big Ag
Sen. Cory Booker on being a vegan and the environmental impact of factory-farmed meat.
TEDx talk about living near a CAFO
Epidemiologist Steve Wing talks about living near a factory hog farm (his work is also discussed in Wastelands)
Food Ads
All You Can Eat Dining
Restaurants’ contribution to obesity (from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 2015; 20”)
Butterfinger TV Commercial
A typical junk-food ad aimed at children, this one featuring Bart Simpson.
Chiquita Banana
Educational, beautiful song, funny and a bit sexy (1940s, United Fruit Company)
Junk food ads on Charlie Brown TV show
Dolly Madison and Coca-Cola Sponsors 1966 Intro and 1980s Ads
Sex Sells Bacon 3-Way Burgers – at Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s
Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s ad (2016; 1’)
Sunbeam bread ads (2)
“Delicious” (but nutrient-deficient) pure white bread (1940s and 1950s)
Wegmans “Love Your Veggies”
Wegmans supermarket touts its vegetables, TV Commercial 2012.
Food, Health, and Nutrition
A Closer Look at the Digestive Tract
The Digestive System and an animated description of how it works. (Professor Dave Explains, 9’)
Change the Tune
Anti-Coke “Change the Tune” based on Coke’s famous “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” ad — And see the original Hilltop ad for Coke.
Death by the Bottle in Mexico
When Mexico’s love affair with sugary drinks turns deadly, public health advocates battle the beverage industry to protect the nation’s health.
Dr. Dean to Preventing heart disease
Two videos with diet-disease researcher Dr. Dean Ornish. Dr. Dean Ornish discusses the high-quality evidence that a more-plant-based diet can prevent or even reverse heart
Farming in Our Climate Changed Future
The holistic approach needed to feed the world (animated Ted-Ed video, 2020; 7’)
Global Food Kitchen: a beautiful video covering issues from culture to agriculture
American Museum of Natural History
Infamous Ad Warning of Olestra’s Dangers
Center for Science in the Public Interest (1996)
Is a Plant-Based Diet Right for You?
Introduction to plant-based diets, from the Scripps Clinic
Market Junk Food to Kids
Anna Lappé advocates protecting kids from junk-food marketers. (6’; Food MythBusters)
Meet Meat of the Future
Cultivated meat or fish finished by a 3D printer (CNN, 2023; 1’)
Pot Pie Confidential
Reporter Michael Moss and Investigations Editor Christine Kay find that cooking a pot pie safely isn’t easy or convenient.
Taxing Alcoholic Beverages—a Forgotten Public Health & Revenue Tool
New York Times video (2023, 4’)
The Real Bears
Jason Mraz provides the original soundtrack for “The Real Bears” anti-soda video (yes, Coca-Cola uses bears in its advertising)
What is gene editing and how does it work?
Gene editing’s (CRISPr) potential benefits and risks, from the UK’s Royal Society (4’)
You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
Stanford study compared the effect of healthy vegan and omnivore diets in pairs of identical twins (four-part Netflix series; subscription required)
Kids (and others)
Real Fruit vs. Fake Fruit Snacks
The Juggling Nutrition Magician Show (4’; FoodPlay Productions).
The Food Chain – from the Sun to Your Stomach
Two dozen brief videos on gardening and farming produced by FreshFarm’s FoodPrint’s student-education division
TKSST (The Kid Should See This)
TKSST (The Kid Should See This): This collection of hundreds of fascinating, informative videos (2’-10’) explores topics ranging from the amazing microbiome to a Rube
Potpourri
3D Printing of Food
Will a 3D printer supplement stoves, microwave ovens, and refrigerators in our kitchens and restaurants? Watch a printer in action.
Cultured Meat
Meat of the future? Kimbal and Christiana Musk explain. (CNN conference, 2023, 25’)
Future Food From Fungi?
Farming” fungal mycelia to replace meat (Paul Shapiro, Good Meat Co., 12’, 2023)
Kick Big Soda Out of Sports
The Olympic Games represents optimal health and performance, but some food and restaurant sponsors undermine health.
Profile of Sean Sherman — Sioux Chef
Indigenous cooking at its best (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018, 4’)
USDA Fruit Paintings
A beautiful video about an extraordinarily ambitious government project that created 7,500 exquisitely accurate watercolors of every cultivar of every fruit. (5’; 1886)
What’s Cooking Uncle Sam?
Renowned chef José Andrés explains a 2011 exhibit at the National Archives (3’). For more about the exhibit, click here. https://youtu.be/gIBphl67RYo?si=dlLT6iO0eno2WP1x
TV Shows, Movies, Stand-up Comedians
“Cheeburger, Cheeburger” – John Belushi, SNL
Frustrated patrons are annoyed that they can only get cheeseburgers, chips and Pepsi at The Olympia Restaurant. A featured patron (Robert Klein) really wants eggs and argues with the staff including Pete (John Belushi). [Season 3, 1978]
Charlie Chaplin in two hilarious movies, The Gold Rush and Modern Times
This scene from Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” is not about food, except that it inspired hilarious knock-offs featuring food.
Factory Life with Charlie Chaplin, Lucille Ball, and Josh & Drake
Enjoy classic factory laughs that starts with Charlie Chaplin on the assembly line, which inspired Lucille Ball’s Chocolate Factory bit, and Drake & Josh’s sushi disaster.
Spoofing Julia Child
Saturday Night Live spoofs Julia Child, as she explains why it’s so important to save the (chicken) liver
Three classic videos with Lucille Ball
In The Chocolate Factory, Vitameatavegamin Potion, and National Cheese Day
Three videos starring “Chef” and “food technologist” Marshall Efron on PBS’s Great American Dream Machine (1971–1972)
The Crazy World Of Olive Sizes, The Chemical Feast In Processed Food, and Recreating A “Lemon Cream” Pie
