The Future of Food
USA, 2004, 35 mm, 89 min
Director: Deborah Koons Garcia (director in attendance)
Producers: Catherine Lynn Butler, Deborah Koons Garcia

Followed by public forum

As a farmer observes at the beginning of The Future of Food, most of us are so distanced from the sources of the food we eat, we have little idea what goes into its production. This may also explain the degree of public apathy regarding the operation of this most crucial industry. Deborah Koons Garcia’s gorgeously shot polemic deftly makes the case for the importance of current debates around food production.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, The Future of Food gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by the success of patented, genetically engineered foods. Though not the first film to turn over this territory, it compellingly illuminates the intimate linkages between seemingly disparate concerns. Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, The Future of Food examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world’s food system. While the film explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, proposing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today, it also draws attention to the need to address the democratic deficit in order to keep the door open to those alternate futures.

The Future of Food is cited as “the Fahrenheit 9/11 of the genetically engineered food battle.” Emotionally charged and thought-provoking, this film is a wake-up call for everyone who eats and a tribute to those growers who put our food and the environment first.

Followed by public forum.