Netflix Picks: Docs to Watch This Winter

Finally the bitterly cold winter weather has us in its icy grip, and families- especially Texans -turn inward for some much-needed hibernation under the couch blankets. If you find yourself nestled in front of the television for several hours with no clue what to watch, the Purple Fig encourages you to switch on Netflix and enjoy your holiday break with our top rated social documentaries!

Prepare to swan dive into the Netflix documentary olympics! Chosen contenders received gold stars for their promotion of eco-friendly products and practices, organic and whole food dieting, and alternative methods for generally toxic habits. Grab your snuggies and get comfy, because we’re about to evaluate the most binge-worthy Netflix picks!

Category: Food, Organic Living, Local Produce

Health-conscious is the buzzword for this category, serving up the most recommended (and controversial) documentaries that aim to study our well-being’s connection to our gut:

Food Inc. (2008)

The Netflix titan of agricultural documentaries, Food Inc. pulls the curtain back on the reality of big agro-business in America and reveals the disturbing truth behind the products on your grocery shelf.

Forks Over Knives (2011)

Putting a magnifying glass over the history of global diet and America’s strong association with disease and cancer, Forks Over Knives explores the chronic cycle of medicated sickness versus plant-based lifestyles, questioning the necessity of animal products within the food pyramid.

Farmageddon (2010)

Some of the most disturbing and diabolical threats against local farmers and their fresh produce are unveiled in this controversial documentary, chronicling the violation and abuse that various local food-makers endure under the aggressively watchful (and consistently corrupted) eye of agro-business.

King Corn (2007)

“Everything on your plate is corn.” That’s the motivation for these two young documentarians to research and hunt down the facts about what Americans are actually being fed, discovering some horrifically corny truths in the process. Those yellow carbohydrates are far more prevalent in your diet than you’re led to believe…

Food Matters (2008)

Provocative and eye-opening, this documentary challenges its viewer to stare reality in the face in terms of the “processed, nutrient-depleted” factory foods fed to Americans every day, tackling agro-business from toxin-enriched seed to artificially-flavored finished product. The resulting national obesity and the ethics of Big Pharma (the drug industry) is also called into question.

Fed Up (2012)

Food education, government stagnancy, and general ignorance about genuinely healthy habits are the main subjects of this documentary as it observes the country’s lack of understanding when faced with the nutrition label.

Honorable Mentions: Food Chains, SuperSize Me, Vegucated, Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead, Chew On This: Ted Talks

Category: Non-Toxic Living, Eco-Friendly Alternatives, Sustainability 

You don’t have to be a social rights activist to enjoy these thought-provoking documentaries! Watch and listen as several citizens speak up against injustices done to our environment and our bodies in the name of irresponsible greed:

The Human Experiment (2015)

In a world where consumers are bombarded with cheap, chemically-ridden, and not-so-secretly toxic products, how much will we destroy our health for the sake of convenience? And how many sick generations will pass before the government turns its head?

Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (2013)

The unsettling expansiveness of plastic waste is reigned in with Plastic Paradise, beginning with the more obvious pollution that clogs our world’s oceans and animals before delving deeper into how the chemical composition of plastic products affects, and ultimately pollutes, our bodies as well.

Cowspiracy (2014)

Species extinction. Over-farming of land and sea. Deforestation on a massive scale. Pair that with waste production, excessive water use, and climate change, and you’ve got a controversial documentary that dares to challenge the lack of sustainability tied to large agro-business — and cows are only the beginning.

Pump (2014)

Who says gasoline is the end-all, be-all of fuels? Take a ride with Pump as it explains the poisonous monopoly of crude oil, the rise of American-made alternative fuels, and the potential future of fuel distribution.

Honorable Mentions: Bottled Life

Remember to get some exercise this winter, and enjoy Netflix binging responsibly!