Food for Thought is 2025's first vegan documentary to hit our screens
"Food for Thought" is a feature-length documentary that takes a look at veganism from different angles. From vegan food markets, to cars, meat substitutes and the activist movement, it covers many areas of vegan living. Directed by actor and Born Free Foundation patron Dan Richardson, alongside filmmaker Giles Alderson, the film aims to provide a positive and uplifting perspective on plant-based living while not the usual meat is cruel, meat is bad perspective.
Interviews and Insights
The documentary features insightful interviews with a diverse line up of individuals, including:
Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming
Ethan Brown, founder of Beyond Meat
Mate Rimac of Rimac Automobili
Katie Cleary of World Animal News
Musician Tanya O’Callaghan
Derrick Green, lead singer of Sepultura
Content creator Jim Chapman
Actor Harry Jarvis
These interviews explore the ethical, environmental and health motivations behind adopting a vegan lifestyle. But, as a great addition, the film documents the journey of a group of volunteers taking a 30 day plant-based challenge. Their experiences, captured through personal video diaries, offer relatable insights into the challenges and rewards of transitioning to veganism. As the film follows their experience you find yourself hoping that they will find the positive, while worrying that they will find the journey too hard.
The film also visits animal sanctuaries, highlighting the freedom and joy of rescued animals, showing the natural behaviours of animals that is missing in farmed animals. In this portion, animals are shown to be loving, to be curious, to have personality and friendship groups; that they are sentient.
"Food for Thought" premiered at the Royal Geographical Society in London on January 24, 2025 and, since then, the filmmakers have made the documentary available for free worldwide on YouTube.
Critics have noted the film's light-hearted approach to the subject matter, suggesting that the film lacks the gravitas that is so often present in vegan films. They have also written that it effectively promotes the vegan lifestyle and may inspire new adherents.
My Opinion
At this point we don't need another vegan film with statistics about how many animals are killed everyday. We don't need images of slaughterhouses and people kicking piglets around the floor. Is there space for that? Yes. Do we have films showing these parts of animal agriculture? Yes, in graphic detail. It is also possible to take your pick of vegan films that lay out the health benefits of not eating animals, from Forks Over Knives to Game Changers. This documentary fills a space that I hadn't realised was there, not the animal story, but the vegan story. It takes the animals and meat substitutes, the activists and innovators and manages to turn that into the everyday lives of vegans going to get something to eat and having the option of only one thing. It shows trying new foods and finding that they are amazing. It also shows that beans on toast can be a vegan's best friend in times of trouble.
Overall, "Food for Thought" is a great film, clearly made with love, it serves as an engaging introduction to veganism. Aiming to inspire viewers to consider the impact of their dietary choices on their health, the animals and the planet, it shows that veganism isn't a scary thing and it is something that we can do.
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