Eating Alaska: A "wry" search for the right thing to eat

Eating Alaska is a wry film about making sense of what we eat. The 56 minute documentary includes sixth graders enthusiastically comparing food labels at the grocery store, teens gathering traditional foods, vegans give cooking lessons and women climbing mountains as they hunt for deer. Eating Alaska shows natives and non-natives trying to balance buying industrial processed foods with growing their own and living off the land in the 21st century. Made by a former urban vegetarian now living on an island in Alaska, it is a journey into regional food traditions, our connection to where we live and what we put on our plates. It is intended to provoke thought and action about the way we relate to food, our bodies and the environment. We started to show the film at the end of 2008 and have partnered with a variety of groups, public libraries and schools from Nome to New York City on screenings and events, such as health fairs, local food potlucks and panel discussions. This includes collaborating with programs concerned with health, sustainable and local foods and the environment. Our goal has been to use this film to generate discussion and action across cultures about healthy habits, physical exercise, nutrition and thinking about what's on your plate and where it comes from. There is also a downloadable discussion and user's guide available at www.eatingalaska.com.