The feature-length vegan health documentary, “Eating You Alive”, is set to screen at 500 cinemas across America later this week. The film’s producers and director Paul David Kennamer and Merrilee Jacobs spoke to LIVEKINDLY about their motivation behind the film.
After adopting a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet, and experiencing firsthand the benefits that come from making this lifestyle change, Kennamer and Jacobs were inspired to create the film. Health is not wholly inherited, the pair wanted to show viewers; we all have the power to take control and shape our lives – for better or for worse. “Eating You Alive” showcases how our lives tend to revolve around the foods we eat. To strengthen its message, the film uses examples of people who have found success with WFPB lifestyles.
The filmmakers believe America was the most at-risk nation with regard to health problems associated with fast-food intake.
“Fast food really blew up quickly,” they said. “Americans fell into the trap of thinking they needed fast and quick food, losing track of how generations before them ate.”
Food producers, “especially fast food companies” have changed how Americans see food and made them overlook the impact these supposedly delicious foods have upon their health.
“Convenience foods are made to taste appealing, and keep customers coming back for more and more because of the bad ingredients these foods contain. Even someone eating strictly animal-free foods isn’t immune to an unhealthy body. “
The filmmakers note that the US has a huge influence on the rest of the world, “especially the global food market,” which is rapidly accelerating the rate of animals consumed for food, greenhouse gas emissions, and depletion of natural resources.
Chronic diseases are everywhere, the filmmakers add, and they contend that the best way to avoid and treat these is with a WFPB diet. However, this is simply not widely known, the pair maintains. That is where “Eating You Alive” steps in.
The knowledge that others have been inspired to make the same positive lifestyle changes they did, is motivational to the filmmakers. As Paul added, there is “nothing more inspiring than a great success story.” After releasing the documentary and hearing feedback from many on their own health success stories, the filmmakers are considering making a sequel or episodic, in order to reach as many people as possible with their WFPB message.
At the end of it all, Kennamer and Jacobs say they have definitely become “more convicted in the [WFPB] lifestyle.”
Image Credit: Eating You Alive | Times Free Press
