The Reality of Food Aid: Bill Pritchard

The Reality of Food Aid: Bill Pritchard 

How to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJc0tYNGcWo

Director: TEDx | Producer: TED Talks

Produced | Country: Australia 

Run Time: 13.05 minutes | Language: English 

Synopsis: Bill Pritchard, human geographer, challenges our views on what it takes to create a food-secure world. Bill is an Associate Professor in Geography at the University of Sydney, where he teaches and researches on food, agriculture and rural and regional development. He embraces a geographer's passion to understand the world, believing that the best way to understand an issue is to see it first hand and talk directly to the people involved.

Opinion: Interesting insight into food aid from a geographical perspective.  

Common Ground: Urban Farmers Nourish their Communities

Common Ground: Urban Farmers Nourish their Communities 

How to view: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/multimedia/video/common-ground-urban-farmers-nourish-their-communities/

Director: | Producer: Oxfam America
Produced | Country: Global 
Run Time: 4.38 minutes | Language: English

Synopsis:Innovative small-scale urban farmers all over the world are helping to ensure access to local, healthy food. From Harriet's backyard plot in Kampaala, Uganda to Amanda's community farm in Waltham, Massachusetts, farmers share the desire to nourish the world. Oxfam is thankful for small-scale farmers whose work feeds billions of people around the world

Opinion:

Recommendation: Oxfam America 

U.S Food Aid Reform

U.S Food Aid Reform 101

How to view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Gv-o8BE44

Director: | Producer: Lisa Ferrell 
Produced | Country: United States
Run Time: 2.45minutes | Language: English 

Synopsis: Food aid reform can feed 4 million more people without costing the U.S. an extra dollar. Here's everything you need to know about food aid reform in just under 3 minutes. 

Opinion: U.S food aid has been critical in saving lives and addressing chronic poverty and malnutrition. But the current system, which requires shipping food from the U.S to hungry people in need, is outdated, inefficient and slow, risking lives when every moment counts. 


Recommendation:
Good introductory video for people who are new to the foreign aid reform. 

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