FRESH

Ana Joanes’ documentary can be viewed as a companion piece to last year’s bigger, Academy Award nominee Food, Inc. which documented the evils of our industrial food production system.  Rather than taking big food to task, Joanes examines the alternative food market and it’s attempts to reinvent the way in which we produce and consume foods.

Naturally there is some overlap as many of those who advocate locally, grown alternatives to industrial, over-processed foods were featured in Food, Inc.  Joel Salatin, the now famous sustainable farmer as well as Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, are both on hand here.  Salatin though, in particular, gives us examples not seen in the earlier film, namely, the way in which his chickens work in conjunction with his cows to fertilize and keep his whole farm system operating.

Others not seen before include Russ Kremer, the former industrial hog farmer, who after being gored and almost dying from an antibiotic resistant infection traceable to the antibiotics he regularly gave his livestock, he made a decision to transform his operations.  Will Allen, a former pro-basketball player, is at the forefront of the urban farming movement, training people in cities and elsewhere to grow their own food in a sustainable manner, as well as helping people to advocate for and develop alternatives to industrially produced food.  There is supermarket owner, David Ball, who had to refocus his business to the locally grown market or else die at the hands of the big chains like Wal-Mart.  And there are activists like John Ikerd and Andrew Kimbrell who have been widely championing sustainable agriculture and economics for years.

It’s straightforward in style with a clear, concise argument and irrefutable evidence and support, not surprising given the director’s legal background.  I tend to think that there cannot possibly be too many films, articles, or shouting about the need to change the food supply.  Those back to the land hippies may have lit the spark 40 years ago but the fire is spreading nationwide, and it has to if we really want to do something to do something obesity, diabetes and the chemical overload that will significantly shorten the lives of our children.

Fresh is now in theaters and VOD.

Produced and directed by Ana Joanes; edited by Mona Davis and Jeremiah Zagar; Director of Photography, Valery “Lali” Lyman; music by David Majzlin.  Released by Specialty Studios.

With: Will Allen; David Ball; John Ikerd; Andrew Kimbrell; Russ Kremer; Michael Pollen and Joel Salatin.