My Father's Garden
MAY 4,
2 PM at
The Upcountry History Museum
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"Deeply sympathetic to all farmers and to rural culture." Making a Difference
56 minutes--Directed by Miranda Smith-Produced by Miranda Productions.
Explores sustainable agriculture and the contrast between chemical and organic farming.
An emotionally charged documentary about the use and misuse of technology on the American farm. In less than fifty years the face of agriculture has been utterly transformed by synthetic chemicals which have had a serious impact on the environment and on the health of farm families. This film tells the story of two farmers, different in all details, yet united by their common goal of producing healthy food.
One of the farmers is the father of the filmmaker. Herbert Smith was a hero of his age: dedicated, innovative, a champion of the new miracle sprays of the 50s. His fate is the heart of this film. The other, Fred Kirschenmann of North Dakota, is a hero for our age. Faced with a shattered economy and the devastating environmental effects of conventional chemical farming, Fred steered his land through the transition to organic farming. Twenty years later, the Kirschenmann farm is a thriving testament to ingenuity, hard work, and a reverent understanding of nature.
Fred proves that sustainable agriculture is a viable alternative on any sized farm and that we can bring health and beauty back to the Garden.
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Deconstructing Supper: Is Your Food Safe?
JUNE 1st, 2 PM at The Upcountry History Museum
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"A fascinating...primer on the subject of genetically modified food." Toronto Star
48 minutes--Directed by Marianne Kaplan-Produced by Leonard Terhoch & Marianne Kaplan for MSK Productions, Inc. Host: John Bishop
A leading chef investigates food safety in the age of GMOs and industrial agriculture.
Ripe tomato salad. Creamy chicken soup. Grilled West-coast salmon. Dinner is served!
But what's in our food and how is it grown?
Renowned chef John Bishop leads viewers on an eye-opening and engaging journey into the billion-dollar battle to control global food production. Starting with a gourmet meal in his five-star restaurant, Bishop travels the world -- from farmer's fields to biotech laboratories to supermarket aisles -- on a personal quest to find out what our food choices are.
With a hearty appetite for food and information, chef Bishop explores the politics and ethics of food. He discovers that 70% of processed foods on supermarket shelves in North America contain genetically modified ingredients. The handful of biotech companies who control genetically modified seeds claim this is the only way to feed the world's growing population. But are these foods safe? Are there other, less risky ways to feed ourselves? Our chef finds answers to these compelling questions and more.
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Food
JULY 6,
2 PM at The Upcountry History
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Devising a sustainable food system -- one that is healthy, accessible, and affordable."Examine(s) big issues and visionary options in pithy, bite-size, easy-to-digest servings." Islander
49 minutes-Directed by David Springbett & Heather MacAndrew-Produced by Asterisk Productions, Ltd. Host & Narrator: Des Kennedy-Produced in association with Vision TV
Food is a local issue, a global issue, a development, health, political and economic issue. This program asks: how can we design a food system that ensures health, accessibility and affordability for everyone: urban and rural, North and South?
Frances Moore Lappé, Joan Gussow, Brewster Kneen, FoodShare Toronto, organic farmer Alyson Chisholm, and participants in an innovative food program in Brazil are among those who offer ideas on how to make food systems more equitable.
Broken Limbs
Apples, Agriculture, and the New American Farmer
AUGUST 3, 2 PM at The Upcountry History Museum
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"Broken Limbs is a very accurate and moving description of what is happening to agriculture in America." - Fred Kirschenmann, Director, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, organic farmer
57 minutes-Produced by Jamie Howell and Guy Evans
Looks at the plight of apple growers in the age of globalization, and points the way to sustainable US agriculture
Wenatchee, Washington, the "Apple Capital of the World"; this pastoral valley in the heart of the Northwest prospered for nearly a century as home to the famed Washington apple. But the good times have vanished. Apple orchardists by the thousands are going out of business and thousands more await the dreaded letter from the bank, announcing the end of their livelihoods and a uniquely American way of life.
After his own father receives just such a letter, filmmaker Guy Evans sets out on a journey to find out what went wrong here in this natural Garden of Eden. Over the course of filming, Evans witnesses small farmers struggling to compete against the Goliaths that populate today's global economy, only to be ultimately forced off their land. The future looks grim for the Apple Capital until Evans happens upon an entirely new breed of farmer, practitioners of a new model called "sustainable agriculture".
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