Our Favorite Documentaries

Sometimes the easiest way to expand your health and wellness knowledge is to cozy up on the couch and watch an inspiring movie or documentary. Documentaries can be challenging (and at times, even disheartening) but they can also activate change and passion within you. We have found that certain documentaries can inspire you to make those big changes and even help encourage those you love, better understand your perspective. No matter where you are in your health and wellness journey, we hope our favorite picks below will inspire you.

Stink!

Stink! takes on the chemical industry, exposing toxins legally hidden in everyday products. The film depicts how far manufacturers go to cover up exactly what is in their products by simply listing “fragrance” on labels. This is fully legal due to protection by the 1976 Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), resulting in toxic chemicals such as flame retardants, carcinogens and other alarming substances easily making their way into our homes. Toxic chemicals are a huge public health risk, which is a subject we are incredibly passionate about at Branch Basics – it’s why we are here!

The solution? Banning harmful chemicals altogether is a long shot, but transparency can be achieved through new legislation. If companies are held accountable to disclose all ingredients in products, individuals can make their own choices. Stink! is available on Amazon Prime.

Kiss the Ground

Kiss the Ground is an eye opening documentary on the leading solution to climate change: regenerative farming. Regenerative farming is a method of proper land management and agricultural practices that improve soil’s ability to store carbon. Years of industrialized agriculture have depleted the soil of its ability to absorb adequate amounts of carbon through excessive tilling, fertilizers, pesticide treatments and much more. Regenerative farming not only stops the rise of greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, but actually reverses negative effects. Kiss the Ground has an optimistic outlook on the future of our planet and demonstrates ways you can advocate today. The film is available on Netflix.

Food Inc.

Food, Inc. – perhaps the most popular documentary on this list – shows the underbelly of the food industry. It unveils health, environmental and social problems that come with the industrialization of our food system. Did you know that just a handful of mega-corporations actually produce all of the food in grocery stores? Those mega-corporations have taken over the entire food supply from farm to table, and are all about doing things faster, bigger and cheaper. This is a large reason food has become more artificial and less natural.

In the end, our very own voices are what will create change in the industry by demanding better. At Branch Basics, we believe in taking matters into our own hands and standing up for our own health and the health of the planet. Visit our Wellness Center’s designated Food section to learn more about how we navigate the current food space and fill our plates with nourishing, whole foods. Food Inc. is available on Amazon Prime.

Farmed Norwegian Salmon: World’s Most Toxic Food

This isn’t exactly a documentary, but it delivers like one. While wild salmon is a delicious and nutritious food source, desire for larger and faster production of salmon has led to a disturbing outcome. Millions of salmon are now farmed in crammed, tight spaces with waste, pesticides and other pollutants. Farmed Norwegian salmon in particular has polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), which are oil soluble, cancer causing chemicals that were banned in the United States in 1967 by the Environmental Protection Agency. This makes farmed Norwegian salmon arguably the world’s most toxic food.

The video is truly eye-opening and just one more reason to know how your food is produced and to eat organic. Want to know more about farmed Norwegian salmon? You can watch the full 50-minute video on YouTube.

Seeds of Death: Unveiling the Lies of GMOs

Seeds of Death is an award-winning documentary that dives into the world of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It illustrates big agriculture’s shift to industrialization of genetically modified crops. Instead of accommodating their agricultural model to what is natural for crops, big agriculture seeks to accommodate nature to the industrial model. In the film scientists, farmers, physicians and activists discuss the public-health dangers posed by genetically modified food, the harmful socio-economic effects and environmental devastation. The full movie is available on YouTube.

Dark Waters

Dark Waters is a 2019 Hollywood film that we recommend everyone should watch. The movie follows the true story of a corporate lawyer’s case against the chemical company DuPont in West Virginia. The corporation was knowingly poisoning the surrounding community and residents for decades by dumping toxic chemicals into the water supply. The film shows the complicated legal battle and intimidation tactics of DuPont that ensued after the truth was discovered. Dark Waters is available on Hulu Premium and Prime Video.

Ground water contamination is extensive in the United States. It occurs when man-made products/chemicals soak into the soil into the water table. It is important to make sure your family has good quality drinking water. See How to Choose the Best Water Filter for Every Home and Budget to ensure your water supply is safe.

Heal

Heal is an emotional documentary on the power of belief. Heal features the stories of individuals with chronic illnesses and diseases that have embarked on a journey to believe in their body’s capability to heal itself. Oftentimes, modern healthcare seeks to treat symptoms rather than causes. If you’ve read our founding story, we do believe each of us has the ability to cure with natural means that have far less concern of dangerous side effects. We must take charge of our own health journey as we all require individualistic care. Heal is available on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

What are your favorite documentaries? Message us on social media @branchbasics. We are always looking to learn more!