The Food and Climate Connection: From Heating the Planet to Healing It, an excellent new short film produced by WHY Hunger and Anna Lappé, highlights how climate change is affecting farmers around the world (rural and urban), and how our industrial food system is itself one of the greatest contributors to climate change.  Farmers, especially in the developing world,  are being challenged by heavy rains, extreme drought/desertification, and unpredictable weather. As Monsanto and the like co-opt the sustainability message and present technological solutions to mitigating extreme weather—”change the seeds, that’ll do it!”–the experts in this film (including Lappé, Rodale Institute’s  Timothy LaSalle, Molly Anderson of Food Systems Integrity and various community farmers) urge us to examine biological solutions instead. Responsible farming practices can be part of a path forward.

Right now, no one seems to be acknowledging what a huge role the food system plays in the emissions game (responsible for up to 1/3 of total emissions), and how much can be gained by phasing out fossil fuel-dependent agriculture. The film’s producers hope it will be a useful educational tool for communities and policy makers alike.  Watch it, forward it on to your friends and colleagues.  The movie will have its theatrical premiere in NYC at Lincoln Center’s Green Screens on July 29, along with a film called Climate Refugees, which focuses on the people being displaced by climate change. There will be a panel discussion afterward with Anna Lappé and Siena Chrisman, along with Michael Nash and Justin Hogan from Climate Refugees.

Check out The Food and Climate Connection here:

The Food and Climate Connection from WhyHunger on Vimeo.