Nourish: Short Films

Nourish: Short Films contains 54 bite-size takes (1–3 minutes each) illustrating the themes of good nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and simple cooking that were explored in more depth in the PBS documentary Nourish: Food + Community (VL-3/10)—in fact, several of these shorts can be found as bonuses on that earlier DVD. Food experts, nutritionists, environmentalists, and chefs discuss everything from fast food to school lunches, as well as how we grow, harvest, transport, cook, and eat food. The overall content varies from lean to meaty as author Anna Lappé speaks about hunger and diversity; chefs Bryant Terry and Jamie Oliver touch on growing and preparing food; pediatrician Nadine Burke talks about exercise and health; Australian farmer Nigel Walker explains his agricultural practices; and journalist Michael Pollan examines the business of food production. The producers envision these short takes being useful to teachers, health professionals, and nonprofits (helpful menus allow sorting of the episodes by theme or speaker, and the order of the segments can be shuffled). Watching the individual pieces in “play all” order, however, may seem disjointed to those who haven't seen the original film. Still, this is recommended, overall, as a companion to Food + Community. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)