I’m kind of obsessed with food documentaries. Honestly, I love documentaries in general, so when I find one that’s about food, I can’t resist! It’s fascinating to learn about the food industry, food policies, health, nutrition, and the environment. A great documentary has the power to educate our society on the importance of healthy, sustainable food, and some of these might even inspire you to eat a little healthier! I’ve seen some great ones and some not so great ones, so to spare you from the not so great ones, here’s my round-up of the best health food documentaries on Netflix!

The Best Food Documentaries on Netflix

Curious about industrial farming? Skeptical about food marketing? Then you need to watch the best food documentaries on Netflix!

Food Inc.

best food documentary on netflix

Ok, this is an obvious one, but I have to start with this one. This is like the gateway documentary into all the others. Food, Inc. shows the impact that corporate farming has on the environment, animals, and people. It looks at the whole process, from where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and grocery stores where it’s sold. Warning: there are some scenes inside a meat processing plant that could be a bit difficult to watch if you’re a meat eater. While it might not leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, it does interview some folks on the positive side of the industry, like Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin. It’ll make you think twice about eating conventionally raised meat.

Fed Up

best food documentary on netflix

Fed Up is focused on the causes of obesity, largely focusing on sugar. This documentary actually motivated us to go sugar-free for 30 days. Aside from the negative effects of sugar, this film also points out some major flaws in the U.S. nutritional guidelines which are pretty eye opening. If you’re like me, it’ll make you think twice about sugar… and school lunches.

Forks Over Knives

best food documentary on netflix

Forks Over Knives is focused on the benefits of a plant-based diet. This one was less about government regulations and more about the importance of eating better foods for your individual health. Forks over Knives also shares a lot of data from The China Study, so it was interesting here some of the statistics and research that have been done on a plant based diet. I went vegan for 6 months back in 2009 and that experience taught me a lot about plant-based living. I found that I was personally able to eat a little healthier on a vegetarian diet, but I think the overall idea of eating more plants and less meat and dairy is a great concept.

Sugar Coated
best food documentary on netflix

Sugar Coated was sort of similar to Fed Up but it touches a little bit more of the food industry and not quite as much on the health impacts. It’s actually a little bit scary when they pull back the curtain on the politics behind the sugar industry. It’s definitely eye-opening and it’ll make you a little more skeptical about food marketing and regulations.

I have a whole laundry list of food documentaries on Netflix that I’ve watched but these are definitely the ones I’d recommend you watch first! What we put into our body is so important. Whether you’re vegan, paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, or just a regular omnivore, we should all know what’s in our food, how it’s made, and how it impacts the environment. I think each of these documentaries gives you a different perspective on some of the most important issues in our food systems. If you’ve seen any of these, I’d love to hear what you think!

What are your favorite health food documentaries on Netflix?

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