National Geographic Home Entertainment Serves Up EAT: the Story of Food on -Disc DVD Set

WASHINGTON (Dec. 16, 2014)-No matter our nationality, food is the one common language we all share, yet it's one of the most overlooked influences on human history. The six-part National Geographic Channel miniseries EAT: The Story of Food, which aired Nov. 21-23, tells how food led us to plant and settle and build civilizations; how it spurred exploration; and how it caused us to alter the planet in remarkable ways. National Geographic Home Entertainment is releasing a special two-disc DVD set of the miniseries today, Dec. 16, on sale for $34.95 to foodies everywhere through http://www.natgeostore.com. The DVD set will be available in wider release at retail on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.

The miniseries features original interviews with nearly 70 chefs, food experts and food scientists, including Jos Andr s, Rachael Ray, Masahuru Morimoto, Marcus Samuelsson, Padma Lakshmi, Eric Ripert and National Geographic Fellow and author Barton Seaver. Their unique opinions and personal stories appear throughout the six themed episodes.

Food Revolutionaries: Christopher Columbus didn't cross the oceans just for adventure - he did it in search of spice. More than 400 years later, Julia Child brought the flair of French cuisine to American cooks, chef Hector Boiardi's mass-produced spaghetti sauce made weeknight dinners a breeze, and dozens of other personalities have revolutionized our palates and our tastes in both pivotal and surprisingly overlooked ways.

Carnivores: The story of meat is the story of mankind. When humans first started heating their food to unlock its potential energy, populations increased and people began to live longer. Salting and preservation helped us take our food on the road and allowed us to explore new areas. Today, the food supply can barely keep up with the demand for meat.

Sugar Rushes: Sugar cane was first farmed some 10,000 years ago in India, and, since then, our appetites for the sweeter things in life have not diminished. Chocolate from the New World, coffee from the Middle East and tea from the Far East were all sweetened by Europeans, and the demand for sugar sparked a global slave trade of unprecedented scale. With new ways to produce cheap refined sugar, we also face new challenges of how to control our consumption of it.

Sea Changes: Seafood saved our species from its first threat of extinction, drove the Viking hordes and funded the American Revolution, but unsustainable fishing practices threaten the future of our seafood supply. In order to meet demand, scientists are developing new methods of farming oysters, mussels and sea kelp to feed humanity and heal the oceans.

Guilty Pleasures: Sixty years ago, a novel processed meat called Spam helped fuel the soldiers who defeated Hitler, and now processed foods are a fast and convenient part of everyday life. When the interstate highway system literally paved the way for fast food restaurants, Americans became hooked on fast food. Today, people grapple with how to balance their increasingly hectic schedules with eating food that isn't loaded with sugar, fat and salt.

Staffs of Life: Grains, more than any other foods, are emblematic of the struggle between the haves and have-nots, as evidenced by the French Revolution, and ancient versus modern, exemplified through the development of packaged sliced bread. In the past 80 years, attempts to refine this once-perfect food have resulted in some bread lacking in nutrition and gluten becoming the newest enemy among food warriors. Today, grains in their purest form have risen again as bakers, craft brewers and gourmet pizza makers embrace the natural and artisanal.

The DVD set also contains special bonus content, including additional interviews with food experts and celebrity chefs such as Graham Elliot, Eric Ripert, Nigella Lawson and Jos Andr s, as well as tips from National Geographic Books' Foods for Health.

In addition to the DVD release of EAT: The Story of Food, the National Geographic Channel and National Geographic Society are exploring the future of food and celebrating our connection to food through a major, multiyear, cross-platform initiative. The initiative grows out of an eight-month series this year in National Geographic magazine, looking at how we can feed our growing world population. The magazine's coverage is now available as a free iPad app at natgeofoodapp.com. The initiative has also spawned two new books, a website at natgeofood.com, education curriculum, events and exhibitions.

About the National Geographic Society

With a mission to inspire, illuminate and teach, the National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. The member-supported Society, which believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world, reaches over 600 million people each month through its media platforms, products and events. National Geographic has funded more than 11,000 research, conservation and exploration projects, and its education programs promote geographic literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com, and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest.

EAT: The Story of Food 2-Disc Set

Available through http://www.natgeostore.com: 12/16/2014

Available at Retail: 1/13/2015

TRT: 270 Mins.

SRP: $34.95

Format: DVD

NOTE: Contact Eric Tunell at etunell@ngs.org or (202) 862-8278 for images or review copies.

LINK:	http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/16/home-entertainment-eat-...
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