Film

Earth Day tip: Stop Food Waste!

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Movie review: “Just Eat It”

Did you know that about 40% of food produced globally goes to waste? That before it even makes it to market, 20-70% of fruit gets discarded just because of aesthetics? And that households, not restaurants or grocery stores, are the largest source of food waste?

All food contains embodied energy and resources – for example, a 1/3-pound burger requires 660 gallons of water.[1] In addition to the ethical issue, 97% of the food wasted goes to landfills, where it ends up creating methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. People often think that the “sell by” or even “best by” dates are the date by which it must be consumed- this is not the case. Food is often good for days or weeks after that. All of this is highlighted in the recent film, Just Eat It, which follows an American couple who lived off food waste for 6 months — not buying any food, only eating what was discarded. Seeing them find trash bins full of fresh food was depressing and eye-opening.

So what can we do?

  • Take stock before shopping so you only buy what you need
  • Prioritize perishables in your fridge, and store them in Green bags that keep food fresher longer (debbiemeyer.com/products)
  • Freeze and label leftovers
  • Support groups like Community Solidarity which rescues food and gives it to those in need right here on LI
  • Help raise awareness; that’s what led to legislation like the Good Samaritan Act of 1996 which encourages food donation to nonprofit groups

For more tips on not wasting see:      foodwastemovie.com

Books on Food Waste:

  • American Wasteland, by Jonathan Bloom
  • Waste, by Tristram Stuart

[1] http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-story.html

Film Review: “Seed”

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A key message of the new documentary Seed is that though the human race depends on a few main crops, the biodiversity of the earth is vast and there are many varieties of plants that we have not endeavored to cultivate. This not only dulls our palate, but is also a cause for species and biodiversity loss. Currently, 90% of the world’s seeds are sold by chemical companies like Monsanto. Many are genetically engineered and patented, placing genes from one species into other species, to encourage desirable traits such as increased growth and weather tolerance. But this doesn’t mean they are infallible. In fact, 1.4 billion lbs of pesticides are used globally each year. The film showed a community in Hawaii suffering health effects from pesticide drift on Monsanto test fields. Renowned activist & author Vandana Shiva pointed out that spliced genes may carry viruses with them, and that genetic engineering takes place throughout the food supply though nobody has actually voted for it. The film features a Canadian farmer who was sued by Monsanto for patent infringement, because his field became cross-pollinated with their genetically altered seed. If a farmer buys a company’s seed believing the advertisements that it’s better than the seed he/she saved, and that crop fails, then the next year the farmer has to buy new seed again but may lack funds to do so. In India, 270,000 farmer suicides have been recorded due to debt.

This is why saving seeds of original, heirloom plants is so important. Large seed banks in New Mexico and Norway have been established. The international organization Slow Food maintains the “Arc of Taste” featuring numerous uncommon edible plants from around the world. On Long Island, the LI Regional Seed Consortium hosts an annual seed swap in Riverhead. See www.lirsc.org. The LI “cheese pumpkin” was almost eliminated in favor of other varieties, but several local farmers had saved the original seeds and the cheese pumpkin is making a comeback. One LI farmer, part of the consortium, raises 350 varieties of tomatoes. Many organizations are calling for GMO labelling in the U.S. which is already the law in over 60 other countries. See www.seedthemovie.com and @Seed_TheMovie

Thumbs Up on Permaculture Film “Inhabit”

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The film “Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective” (2015) directed by Costa Boutsikaris is an inspiring overview of the concept of permaculture which is deliberate design process that utilizes a set of principles to focus go beyond sustainability and work towards regeneration. As shared by experts across the U.S., some topics discussed in the film were resilience planning, composting toilets, rain gardens, no-till farming, and how there should be no such thing as waste. One interesting example was Michael Phillips’ holistic orchard where he forgoes pesticides in favor or a fermented microbial spray, with impressive yields. Instead of domination of nature, these efforts were described as orchestration, and “a symphony that comes together, and we just assemble the pieces.” Similarly, there was the example of Wellspring Forest Farm, a commercial mushroom operation that was functioning outdoors in a natural environment, rather than indoors as commercial mushrooms are typically produced. Charles Eisenstein, the author of Sacred Economics, was quoted as saying “the best business decision should be the best ecological decision.” For more on the film, see http://inhabitfilm.com

Earth-friendly Fashion: a Movement, and a Mission

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When I walk into my local mall looking for a last-minute eco-friendly gift for a friend’s birthday, a wave of dread washes over me. I wish I could find natural hemp leggings or cute pair of fair-trade sandals—but instead I find an overwhelming selection of human rights and environmental horrors.

In one store there are racks of chemically dyed shirts. In another there are stacks of sweatshop-sewn blue jeans. I vow to next time to order an eco-friendly gift online. Frustrated and saddened, I leave the mall and instead buy her a Visa gift card.

Finding Earth-friendly fashion shouldn’t be this difficult. Clothing also shouldn’t be thought of as “disposable.” That’s why I’ve made it part of my mission to make it easier for people to access fairly, sustainably and beautifully made clothing. For the past several years, I’ve been working on a book explaining about sustainable and ethical clothing and where to find it (due later this year!), so people can appreciate more about what goes into making their garments.

Just last week Green Inside and Out co-presented its first film screening, The True Cost, an eye-opening (and tear-jerking) documentary that gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look of the fashion industry. The film was shown at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY.[1] [Read more…] about Earth-friendly Fashion: a Movement, and a Mission

Film Review: The Human Experiment—Switch to Safer!

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The Human Experiment is a new documentary by California film-maker Dana Nachman and narrated by Sean Penn, and is the manifestation of a film that I believe has long needed to be made. It focuses on the chemicals people are exposed to on a daily basis from common products such as plastics and body care products, and shows the history and policy decisions that have led to the current situation. It also shares some moving true stories of what has happened to several people who suffered direct physical effects of chemicals including a couple who had trouble conceiving and even lost a child due to impacts on hormones from plastic chemicals, and a house-cleaner who experienced skin rashes and respiratory effects from toxic cleaners and who now works for a green cleaning company. Friday’s showing at Cinema Village, NYC was followed by a discussion featuring Ansje Miler of Center for Environmental Health, Maida Galvez of the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center, and Ashley Orgain from Seventh Generation, a Vermont-based company that has been providing eco-friendly cleaning products for years. The groups involved are opposing the adoption of a current bill that weakens the Toxic Substances Control Act. Take action here: Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. For more info on the film or to organize a screening, see thehumanexperimentmovie.com.

 

Tapped: The Case Against Bottled Water

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I thought I knew what I needed to know about bottled water, but I found out some new things from the documentary “Tapped,” shown this week at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Shelter Rock. Bottled water is usually filtered municipal water that is sold back within state at a much higher price than tap water. The plastic bottle is made in a petrochemical plant and though PET plastic #1 is usually considered safe, this film pointed out that it can sometimes be contaminated with benzene, a carcinogen. Plastic manufacturing is an environmental justice issue, causing health issues in communities surrounding the factories. One thing I hadn’t thought of was that bottled water companies have tried to bad-mouth municipal water (this is documented in the film), and yet expect municipalities to pick up the tab for recycling their bottles, and have usually fought against the bottle return bills that have now passed in only 6 U.S. States. Since many U.S. communities do not have curbside recycling, the rate of bottle recycling is still only at 20%, so many bottles end up being landfilled, incinerated, or unfortunately, as litter in our oceans and beaches. For more info see http://www.tappedthemovie.com/, or watch it free here: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tapped/.