Earth Month is just around the corner and we are celebrating by hosting our very first company-wide film series! We’ll be featuring films that show the connection between the food we eat and its impact on the environment. Our food choices matter and each of us should feel empowered to make informed decisions. Different cities are doing things a bit differently, so to find info on a film series near you, check out Let’s Retake Our Plate Film Series. Giveaway Alert: Starting next Thursday and continuing throughout Earth Month (that means April!), we’ll be featuring team member reviews of select films that are part of the film series. Readers, we’d love to hear what you have to say about these films too! Check back each Thursday in April to share your film review with us in the comments for a chance to win a $25 gift card. (Not on this post, though. The contest starts on April 1st!) To whet your palate, here are a couple of encore film reviews posted by team members in the last few months. Both of these films are part of our film series. Team Member Rachael Gruver wrote this in her full review of Food, Inc.:

FOOD, Inc. takes a peek into the supply chain of much of the food we eat and talks about the consequences of the way food is currently grown, raised and processed. Consequences like deadly new strains of E.coli, epidemic obesity, type II diabetes, pollution from pesticides and feedlots, and the effect this system has on people in the industry. Although this subject matter sounds both complicated and mind-numbing, FOOD, Inc. presents the information in an engaging and interesting way.

Watch the trailer: Team Member and seafood quality standards coordinator Carrie Brownstein had this to say in her full review of The End of the Line.

The film begins with beautiful footage of marine life and quickly (and graphically) moves toward its key message: The oceans are overfished and fish populations are in trouble. Some of the most well-known and well-respected marine scientists are interviewed in the film to confirm these bleak trends. I appreciate the filmmaker’s intention to tell this important story about the oceans. Our oceans are under incredible pressure and overfishing is a HUGE problem.

Don't forget to check out one of our film series near you at Let’s Retake Our Plate Film Series. Join us throughout April for review from our esteemed Team Member film reviewers who will be giving you their thoughts on films in our series in the coming weeks: Ashley Gibbons is the Marketing Supervisor at our Arroyo store in Pasadena and loves eating food other people have cooked at home. When left to her own devices however, a monstrous salad and Murphy’s Stout usually hit the spot. David Lannon is the President of the Northern California Region of Whole Foods Market. He is a film buff and can help you win your Oscar Pool. Lauren Craig is the Associate Marketing Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain region.  A chef at heart, she loves to read about food, eat from her garden and experiment with new and exciting flavors. Robin Rogosin is SoPac’s regional Supplement and Body Care Buyer.  For over 30 years, she has been an advocate for eating more green vegetables.