Watch Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story

Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story is a documentary film released in 2014 directed and produced by Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustemeyer. The film takes a critical look at the issue of food waste, exploring the magnitude of the problem, its socioeconomic and environmental impact, and the causes that drive this phenomenon. Through interviews with industry experts, policymakers, and average consumers, the film exposes the hidden side of food production, distribution, and consumption that contributes to the waste of millions of tons of edible food every year.

The movie follows the experience of the Canadian couple Grant and Jenny, who decided to conduct an experiment on food waste for six months. The premise of their experiment is to survive only on food that is discarded by supermarkets or restaurants, without buying new food from stores. The film starts with the couple's visit to a local bakery, where they pick up a pile of unsold bread that would have been thrown away otherwise. From this moment on, the audience follows Grant and Jenny's journey into dumpsters, garbage cans, and back gates, showing the ample amounts of food that are thrown away by businesses and consumers every day.

As Grant and Jenny's experiment progresses, they discover that the waste problem goes far beyond what they initially perceived. They find mountains of discarded produce, dairy products, meat, and packaged food that looks relatively fresh, and explain that businesses discard any food with blemishes or nearing expiry dates to maintain their appearance and prevent any safety hazards. The film highlights the irony of this system as millions of people worldwide face food insecurity or struggle with food poverty, while corporations and consumers waste significant amounts of edible food.

Moreover, the movie explores how this waste harms the environment, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation, and water depletion. The audience witnesses how cartloads of food transported to landfills are left to rot and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat. For instance, the film mentions how Americans throw out around 40% of their food production, equivalent to 160 billion pounds of waste per year, which translates into 33 million cars' greenhouse gas emissions.

The film also showcases some of the innovative solutions that businesses and individuals are creating to address the food waste crisis. For instance, it features a food bank in Vancouver that collects unsold food from supermarkets and redistributes it to those in need. Similarly, the movie profiles individuals and organizations that salvage food waste and turn it into compost or animal feed. The audience learns that every food product has value and that diverting it from the landfill can create green jobs, save resources, and reduce carbon footprint.

Throughout the movie, the audience is presented with various statistics and facts that underline the severity and scope of the food waste issue. For example, the average American wastes 225-290 pounds of food per year, while one-third of global food production goes to waste, enough to feed the world's hungry four times over. The film asserts that food waste is not just a socioeconomic or environmental issue but a moral one, as it violates the basic principle of using resources efficiently and ethically.

Overall, Just Eat it: A Food Waste Story is a thought-provoking and informative film that sheds light on one of the most urgent and overlooked issues of our times. It delivers a powerful message that individuals, businesses, and governments can make tangible changes to tackle food waste and promote sustainable food systems. By the end of the movie, the audience sees the gravity of the problem and understands that waste is not an inevitability, but a choice.

Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story is a 2015 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 13 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.3.