The Food Bubble

The Food Bubble - Frederick Kaufman - 2010

How to view: http://www.archive.org/details/TheFoodBubble-FrederickKaufman-2010


Viewer: Zhenxi

Produced: 2010 |  
Country: USA
Run time: 14:04 | 
Language: English

Synopsis: 
Harper's contributing editor Frederick Kaufman on how Wall Street caused and profited on the "food crisis". interviwed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

Kaufman claims that the statistical data suggests that the increase in wheat price is not because of the insufficiency in supply but the financial transactions in the virtual market. Bankers and speculators used wheat and agricultural products as a means of investment for financial gains without considering its damaging effect to the agricultural sector. The market has become so corrupt that the federal regulations cannot keep up, and even outlawing the transaction will not be able to save the market. He's solution to the problem is to prepare a real wheat reserve, so that by the time a crisis hits the US, we can bring out the reserve to hold the price.

Opinion:
It explains the economic side of the rise in agricultural prices and the loopholes in domestic agricultural market. Good for those who are interested in finance and economics. Not directly linked to our targets in GROW campaign.

Recommendation:
Not suitable for showing at public events;
good for internal use;
insufficient link to the current campaign

La Via Campesina in Movement... Food Sovereignty Now!

La Via Campesina in Movement



Viewer: Zhenxi


How to view: http://vimeo.com/27473286; downloadable version available

Director: | Producer: La Via Campesina

Run Time: | Language: 20 min/ English

Synopsis: La Via Campesina is a social movement started in 1993 that advocates for small-scale farming and local consumption. This video shows the reality of the food production and the organization's effort in the movement.

Opinion: Not directly relevant to GROW campaign but good to learn about the movement.

Blue Gold: World Water Wars

How to View: Stream for free via Amazon Prime or Netflix; pay to watch on iTunes; buy DVD for $19.95 http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/store.html

About:
Director: Sam Bozzo | Producer: 
Produced: 2008 | Country: 
Run time: 90 minutes | Language: 

Synopsis: Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the sources of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena.  Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive.  Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management.  Can the human race survive?


Opinion:

Recommendation: 

Silent Killer: The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger

How to view:  Purchase DVD through http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/silk.html

About:
Producer: Hana Jindrova and John de Graaf
Produced: 2005 
Run time: 57 minutes 

Synopsis: Can we end hunger or will it always be with us? Why should we try? What will it take? What are we doing now? How do U.S. efforts to end hunger compare with those of other developed countries? Can biotechnology play a role, and if so, how? Is hunger just a problem of distribution or do we still need to produce more and better crops? These are the questions addressed in SILENT KILLER.


Compelling stories and characters raise and answer these questions in a powerful, exquisitely photographed documentary that will get people talking again about an international crisis that keeps haunting the world.

At a glance:

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Appropriate audience: 

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Shortcomings:

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Recommendation:

Fresh

Viewer: Brittany Collins

Stream for free: http://www.thefutureoffood.com/onlinevideo.html


Director: Deborah Koons Garcia | Producer: Catherine Butler and Koons Garcia
Produced: 2004 | Country: United States
Run time: 1:29:00 | Language: English

Synopsis: The Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Opinion:

• Starts off with background information about how the food system has changed over the past couple of centuries
• Quickly transitions into how the Green Revolution became the Gene Revolution, setting the tone for a narrow focus on genetic engineering
• Lots of anti-GMO, especially anti-Monsanto segments, as well as explanations of how companies have patented living organisms 
• Interviews with farmers who have been sued by Monsanto for violating their patent
• Big focus on biotech revolution
• Mentions it is cheaper for Mexico to import corn from the U.S. than to grow its own because of U.S. subsidies
• U.S. subsidizes crops, Europe subsidizes farmers, Canada and Mexico subsidize neither
• University research can't challenge conventional wisdom (corporate control of genetic research)
• Mentions dangers of multinational companies continuing to consolidate the food system
• At around 1:10:00, states that world hunger is not about the amount of food (the people starving today used to be farmers themselves)
• Talks about local food, CSAs at the end

• Very heavily focused on issues of GMOs and patents
• Does not focus so much on the future as the title would suggest
• Much more problem-oriented than solution-oriented
• Outdated (7 years old)

Recommendation:

• Some segments may or may not be worth showing to Oxfam supporters
• Would have to update such figures as "800 million malnourished" (to 925 million)
• Not really the most appropriate film for Oxfam events
• Appropriate audience
• Easily understandable for anyone interested in the issues of GMOs and U.S. patents
• Does not align with Oxfam/GROW

Food, Inc.

Viewer: Brittany Collins

Stream for free: http://www.thefutureoffood.com/onlinevideo.html

About: 
Director: Deborah Koons Garcia | Producer: Catherine Butler and Koons Garcia
Produced: 2004 | Country: United States
Run time: 1:29:00 | Language: English

Synopsis: The Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Opinion:

• Starts off with background information about how the food system has changed over the past couple of centuries
• Quickly transitions into how the Green Revolution became the Gene Revolution, setting the tone for a narrow focus on genetic engineering
• Lots of anti-GMO, especially anti-Monsanto segments, as well as explanations of how companies have patented living organisms 
• Interviews with farmers who have been sued by Monsanto for violating their patent
• Big focus on biotech revolution
• Mentions it is cheaper for Mexico to import corn from the U.S. than to grow its own because of U.S. subsidies
• U.S. subsidizes crops, Europe subsidizes farmers, Canada and Mexico subsidize neither
• University research can't challenge conventional wisdom (corporate control of genetic research)
• Mentions dangers of multinational companies continuing to consolidate the food system
• At around 1:10:00, states that world hunger is not about the amount of food (the people starving today used to be farmers themselves)
• Talks about local food, CSAs at the end

• Very heavily focused on issues of GMOs and patents
• Does not focus so much on the future as the title would suggest
• Much more problem-oriented than solution-oriented
• Outdated (7 years old)

Recommendation:

• Some segments may or may not be worth showing to Oxfam supporters
• Would have to update such figures as "800 million malnourished" (to 925 million)
• Not really the most appropriate film for Oxfam events
• Appropriate audience
• Easily understandable for anyone interested in the issues of GMOs and U.S. patents
• Does not align with Oxfam/GROW

King Corn

Viewer: Clara Herrero

Stream for free:  Available to watch on Netflix through “instant play”

About:
Director: Aaron Woolf | Producer: Aaron Woolf
Produced: 2007 | Country: USA 
Run time: 88 minutes | Language: English

Synopsis: Here in the US corn is definitely King, it's practically in everything we eat. This is a documentary about two guys exploring the world of corn in the US, from production to consumption and all the subsidies in between. Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis rent a 1acre plot in Greene, Iowa where they grow corn for a year. The film provides a history of how corn has become America’s most productive and most subsidized grain.

Opinion: 

• The film starts out with a scientist informing Curt and Ian that corn was discovered in their hair molecules. As weird as that sounds it makes sense because corn is in tons of food that Americans are consuming. 
• In your grocery store it’s hard to find products that don’t have some type of corn component. When you go to fast food restaurants the meat you are eating was mostly likely raised on a corn diet and the French fries were fried with corn oil. 
• Ian and Curt in the quest to find out more about corn and its path to our food system decide to grow the commodity on a 1 acre plot in Greene, Iowa. 
• Through this process they discover that no matter what, the more corn you grow the more money you get from the US government. 
• Sadly, many small farmers are getting hurt and many homesteads are gone because of larger corporations coming in and buying up land to add to their ever increasing lots. Subsidy payments reward the production of corn, bottom line.
• Michael Pollan makes appearances in the film and says, “If you're standing in a field in Iowa, there's an immense amount of food being grown, none of it edible. The commodity corn... nobody can eat it. It must be processed before we can eat it. It's a raw material, it's a feed-stock for all these other processes. And the irony is that an Iowa farmer can no longer feed himself.” 

• What the film doesn’t cover is the effects of this over produced commodity on the rest of the world. There is no mention of food price spikes as a result of many farmers switching over to corn or that corn is often shipped to developing countries as part of US aid.

Recommendation: 

• This film isn’t ideal to create an Oxfam event around but it is a good reference tool  if you want more knowledge about  corn production here in the US.  
• If you want to come away with a greater understanding of the history of corn production here in the US then this documentary is a good place to find that information.  The film also touches on the various places where corn makes an appearance in our food system

The Future of Food

Viewer: Brittany Collins

Stream for free: http://www.thefutureoffood.com/onlinevideo.html

About: 
Director: Deborah Koons Garcia | Producer: Catherine Butler and Koons Garcia
Produced: 2004 | Country: United States
Run time: 1:29:00 | Language: English

Synopsis: The Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

Opinion:

• Starts off with background information about how the food system has changed over the past couple of centuries
• Quickly transitions into how the Green Revolution became the Gene Revolution, setting the tone for a narrow focus on genetic engineering
• Lots of anti-GMO, especially anti-Monsanto segments, as well as explanations of how companies have patented living organisms 
• Interviews with farmers who have been sued by Monsanto for violating their patent
• Big focus on biotech revolution
• Mentions it is cheaper for Mexico to import corn from the U.S. than to grow its own because of U.S. subsidies
• U.S. subsidizes crops, Europe subsidizes farmers, Canada and Mexico subsidize neither
• University research can't challenge conventional wisdom (corporate control of genetic research)
• Mentions dangers of multinational companies continuing to consolidate the food system
• At around 1:10:00, states that world hunger is not about the amount of food (the people starving today used to be farmers themselves)
• Talks about local food, CSAs at the end

• Very heavily focused on issues of GMOs and patents
• Does not focus so much on the future as the title would suggest
• Much more problem-oriented than solution-oriented
• Outdated (7 years old)

Recommendation:

• Some segments may or may not be worth showing to Oxfam supporters
• Would have to update such figures as "800 million malnourished" (to 925 million)
• Not really the most appropriate film for Oxfam events
• Appropriate audience
• Easily understandable for anyone interested in the issues of GMOs and U.S. patents
• Does not align with Oxfam/GROW

Africa's Last Famine

Viewers: Brittany Collins, Will Fenton, and Clara Herrero

Stream for free: http://www.viewchange.org/videos/viewchange-africas-last-famine

About: 
Director:  | Producer: 
Produced: 2011 Country: 
Run time: 25:16 | Language: English

Synopsis: This World Food Day is marked by one of the worst famines in recent history.  But, with the right planning a few new ideas, it could be the last.  Get the latest from the Horn of Africa and beyond in this special report from Oxfam America and ViewChange.org.

Opinion:

• Great introduction to Oxfam (at least our international work)
• Could be perceived as an advertisement for Oxfam
• Effectively addresses small-scale farmers, work for insurance, managing risk, Rural Resilience Initiative

• No consistent narrator/titles
• Jumps from famine to Vietnam-- slightly disjointed

Recommendation: 

• Show for: People not yet familiar with Oxfam's work
• Use as auxiliary component to events
• Break down the video into parts
• Perhaps end with "Is microinsurance the silver bullet..." to lead into a discussion of how it is not a silver bullet

I Eat Therefore I Am

Viewers: Brittany Collins and Brian Rawson

Stream for free: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/6243/I-Eat-Therefore-I-Am

About:

Director: Vincent Bruno | Producer: Alexandra Pons

Produced: 2010 | Country: Belgium

Run time: 28:10 | Language: French (English subtitles)

Synopsis: Of the 870 million people who suffer daily from hunger, 75 percent are farmers.  "I Eat Therefore I Am" sheds light on many of the problems surrounding agriculture around the world, and questions the ineffectiveness of the system to assure the food sovereignty of all people--especially those who are cultivating food for the rest of the population.

Opinion:

• Well-organized around thesis (Who will feed the world?)
• Subtitles distracting at times
• Does not really align with GROW
• In a post-2008 food crisis economy, the film's framing seems more 2005-ish
• Animated segments do a good job of making certain topics more digestible 

• Focuses on liberalized foreign trade
• Discusses problem of selling food for the lowest price to remain competitive-- could be confusing when we talk about rising food prices
• Proposed solutions include food sovereignty, imposing tariffs, opting out of the system (not solutions proposed by GROW)
• Does not address plural focus of GROW or the current myriad of problems

Recommendation: 

• Use for background context only
• Good for showing for:
• People looking for background context
• Not appropriate for first exposure to GROW campaign

Seeds of Hunger

Viewers: Brittany Collins and Brian Rawson

Stream for free: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/5856/Seeds-of-Hunger (Must request individual viewing link)

About:

Director: Yves Billy & Richard Prost | Producer: Auteurs Associes

Produced: 2008 | Country: France
Run time: 52:26 | Language: English

Synopsis: The threat of famine and increasing food shortages is not going to go away; rather it is to the contrary.  Above and beyond the stock market phenomenon lies the problem of the decline in food production that now has a structural basis.  The demonstration is overwhelming, and forces on us the question: are we capable of avoiding the impending crash?

Opinion:

• Good film with great information
• Does a decent job of at least touching on most of the GROW campaign aspects

• Focuses too exclusively on problems rather than solutions (we want viewers to feel energized rather than defeated from the start)
• Underlying message is the issue of the globalization and industrialization of agriculture (not a focus of GROW)

Recommendation: 

• Show the first 15 minutes to lead into a discussion about the GROW campaign
• Good for showing for:
• People already involved in and aware of these issues (OAC organizers and committed volunteers rather than the general public)
• Raises lots of various questions only marginally related to or outside of GROW
• Does not explore the small-scale food producer perspective.