Claire Danes

World-renowned journalist, executive producer and narrator, Katie Couric together with Stephanie Soechtig (director) and Laurie David (executive producer) all attended the New York premiere of their new documentary “Fed Up” on May 6, 2014. They brought many influencers to the MoMA. The evening was presented by Aloha.

It’s been almost 30 years since the obesity epidemic started in this country, and if Americans continue on this path, we may just eat ourselves to death. “Fed Up” is more than just a film, but a movement with a powerful message. The film goes beyond the conversation of the effects of fast food, but weighs heavily in on the actual miscreants behind the contagion, and how the food industry has knowingly used these secret weapons to manipulate what we eat for private profit and special interests.

Ninety-two minutes of video diaries, interviews and some undisclosed legislative doctrines was enough to enlist a brilliant army, and remove every sugary, starched, and processed food item out of your pantry. Sugar is equated to a drug six times more addictive than cocaine, a poison to the liver, and a major ingredient to most American food regimens. We have been bamboozled, misled, taken for complete imbeciles. The film says that instead of strategizing on how to handle issues overseas, we ought to be planning the war against our own food industry right here in the US.

With kids as a target, this generation of Americans will face more sicknesses and die younger than our parents, while the food industry just gets richer and richer. There is a whole business behind the fattening of America, even down to the marketing of diet products, the funding of food health research programs by these corporations, and a product placement system in line to entice further bad eating behaviors.

Notables who attended last night’s screening included Jodi Applegate, Jon Cryer, Yaya Dacosta, Claire Danes, Shep Gordon, Adrien Grenier, Dorothy Hamilton, Bridget Moynahan, Arizona Muse, Norah O’Donnell, Suze Orman, Chuck Scarborough, Mary Alice Stephenson, Susan Ungaro and Naomi Wolf. Afterwards guests headed to Venus over Manhattan for a sugar free supper. The menu was inspired by Laurie David’s cookbook entitled “The Family Cooks.”

Catering was done by Mary Giuliani Catering & Events. Light bites included chicken sausage with caramelized onions on cheesy grit cakes, black bean burgers topped with guacamole with wweet potato fries, miso-glazed black cod lettuce wraps, whole grain quesadillas with crunchy cabbage, quinoa cakes with green Goddess aioli, salmon cakes with cucumber yogurt sauce, kale sesame seed salad summer rolls and for dessert guests enjoyed mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and mini almond cake.

In theaters this Friday May 9, “Fed Up” is an important source to uncovering the facts surrounding our food intake. Tell a friend to tell a friend until the truth is bigger than this widespread.