Directors' Statement
We were introduced to Jim May by a friend of ours. She said he had a story we might find interesting.
We didn't really believe what we heard when Jim first shared his tale.
He described an herb that was 30X sweeter than sugar. An herb with no calories, no carbs and no effect on blood sugar. An herb that has been used for centuries, and used as a sweetener in countries other than the USA, without a single consumer complaint. An herb that could radically improve America's diet and overall health. The herb was Stevia.
He also described a series of ‘coincidences' that kept this miracle herb out of the US. There were issues with the FDA. The giant drug companies that make artificial sweeteners were implicated. Governmental interference and prejudice at the highest level was at work. Huge multinationals were strategizing to get a stranglehold on the herb for their own exploitation.
If Jim's claims were even partly true, it would be an incredible story. So, we agreed to do a film about Stevia.
The project took us to Paraguay, home of the Stevia plant. We went to Japan, where Stevia has been an alternative to sugar since the 70s . We went across the USA. We read research, interviewed doctors, lawyers, scientists and policy makers. And eventually, a story did indeed emerge from all we learned.
PINK, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN is that story.
As directors, we feel we need to say something else about this film. Jim's company offered to partially fund the production costs. This put us in an awkward situation. Would we have to pander to his company's wishes? Would the film really just be an infomercial for his brand, SweetLeaf?
Fortunately, Jim and his company were hands off. They were not present at the interviews (except for their own, of course). They were not involved in the editing. In fact, no one from his company saw the film until it was nearly completed. Their only input was the correction of a few facts and insistence that graphics and names could be easily read.
Jim just wanted the story of Stevia's remarkable history to be told, and that by doing so, people will learn of a healthy option to sugar and artificial sweeteners. He hopes folks will choose his option, SweetLeaf, but as long as Stevia makes its way to America's tables, his dream, and our reason for making the film, will be achieved.
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