Carolina cornfield
Premiere of Hungry for Green: Feeding the World Sustainably
The latest documentary from the Unheard Voices Project, produced in collaboration with Dakota Wesleyan University
Introduced by Senator George McGovern
January 27, 2010, 7 pm
Elliott University Center, UNC-Greensboro
You need to see “Hungry for Green if you want to explore these questions:
- What is agroecology?
- What size farm is the most efficient?
- How can we feed the world’s growing population with dwindling resources such as water and fossil fuels?
- Who has a better solution to feeding the world, family farmers or agroindustrial conglomerates?
You can probably guess where I stand on some of these issues, but note I said “explore”! ;>)
In our new documentary, “Hungry for Green,” prominent agricultural experts like Fred Kirchenmann of the Stone Barns Center and Ivette Perfecto of the University of Michigan argue that organic agriculture and an agroecological approach to farming offer a healthier, more responsive and ultimately more sustainable way to feed the world’s population. The doc grew out of the 2008 McGovern Conference, held in Mitchell, South Dakota, which brought Kirchenmann, Perfecto, and a number of other agriculture experts, economists and others together. After the conference we filmed with South Dakota farmers, ranchers, Lakota Sioux, and local officials who are trying to balance South Dakota’s rich resources in sustainable ways.
When we did the interviews for the documentary, one thing that I found very refreshing was how South Dakotans from across the political spectrum were open to alternative energy, including wind power, which South Dakota has in abundance. Part of this is looking to the future, but in part looks back at the past when, in living memory, isolated farmhouses used windmills to generate electricity for wells, washing machines, and lights.
Another “innovation” from the past is the reintroduction of buffalo on private ranches and Sioux reservations. As if mindful of the fragility of their traditional habitat, the buffalo graze in a way that doesn’t destroy the prairie. They also require less care than cattle do.
I’ll post on the première at UNC-Greensboro and on Senator George McGovern soon!
