The future of food is in peril, warns the documentary film Seeds of Time. Gorgeously shot, the film follows the global odyssey of agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler to help ensure food security for the world’s population. Here, we dig a bit deeper with Fowler about what makes for a sustainable food system.
“When you learn that an average American discards 4.5 pounds per day of trash, you realize we are the problem because we are not aware of where our trash is going and what it does to the environment and ultimately to our health,” says Philippe Carillo, co-director and co-producer—with his wife, Maxine—of the documentary Inside the Garbage of the World. The film aims to correct this lack of awareness by showing the scourge of plastic pollution. Here, Philippe passionately responds to questions the film prompts.
Backed by a globally diverse band of musicians—aptly named The United Nations—Australian musical artist and eco-activist Xavier Rudd this spring released a new album, Nanna. Rudd chats with us just as he’s about to kick off a North American tour with the band.
T. Colin Campbell’s groundbreaking 2004 book The China Study has inspired another film, this one closer to home. Campbell’s son, Nelson, is executive producer and director of PlantPure Nation, a film that documents the younger Campbell’s demonstrating the health benefits of a plant-based whole-foods diet in his hometown of Mebane, North Carolina. Here's our chat with Campbell.
The result of a three-year odyssey in what director/cinematographer Costa Boutsikaris calls his “veggie-oil-solar-powered-filmmaking-mobile-unit” (a converted VW van), this film documents ecological design systems in action across the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. Here's our chat with Boutsikaris.
About 90 percent of the varieties of fruits and vegetables grown 100 years ago no longer exist. "Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds" explores efforts worldwide to promote crop diversity and help secure our food supply. Here's our Q&A with the film's producer/director, Sean Kaminsky, about the longstanding practice of seed saving.
When you think piracy, Greenpeace doesn’t immediately come to mind. Yet that was the charge leveled against 30 of the non-profit’s activists in 2013 by the Russian government—after Russian special forces seized the team from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise during its protest of the first-ever oil drilling operation in Arctic waters.
“Wildlife isn’t agriculture,” says Brooks Fahy, executive director of the non-profit Predator Defense. Sounds obvious, and yet the Federal government agency known as Wildlife Services falls under the authority of the USDA. Here's our Q&A with Fahy about a new doc he co-directed and co-produced, which exposes the scandal that is Wildlife Services’ predator control program.
Our Q&A with journalist Angela Sun, who set out to investigate Midway Island in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive trash heap in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. As seen in Plastic Paradise, the film documenting her odyssey, plastic stuff makes up most of the debris. And as this non-biodegradable stuff breaks down, it leaches out pollutants—only one of the ways it threatens sea life.
Looking for a last-minute dish to feed a crowd? We're here to help! VT editors hand-picked our best vegan and vegetarian holiday recipes for a new Kindle e-book. Psst: it makes a sweet present for all your friends and family.
Our Q&A with Lesley Chilcott, producer and director of the documentary film A Small Section of the World, about the Asociacion de Mujeres Organizadas de Biolley (ASOMOBI), a group of women coffee suppliers in Costa Rica.
When you’re feeling all warm and glowy after feasting with family and friends this Thanksgiving, consider tuning in to this show, which spotlights rescue dogs. Here's our Q&A with executive producer Michael Levitt.
Premiering this Tuesday on Animal Planet, Saving Africa’s Giants with Yao Ming doesn’t flinch from showing the mutilation perpetrated by poachers of ivory and rhino horn. But it also offers hope in the form of animal survivors of black market profiteers, and the people committed to rescuing them. Using the wattage of his global stardom to shine a light on the scandal of wildlife trafficking, basketball icon Yao Ming hosts the documentary. Here, we pose questions to Peter Knights, executive director of the nonprofit WildAid, which advocates an end to the illegal wildlife trade; WildAid co-produced the program.
An inconvenient truth for environmental organizations, according to the documentary film Cowspiracy, is animal agriculture's role in despoiling the planet. “It is their job to know these things and inform us,” says filmmaker Kip Anderson about the silence from “green” groups, such the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, in the face of all the evidence that our diet has a huge impact on the ecosystem. In addition to co-directing the film, Anderson serves as our onscreen guide investigating animal agriculture's incompatibility with sustainable living. Here, Anderson and co-director Keegan Kuhn answer questions about the issue that so many donation-dependent nonprofits are avoiding.
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As if being a teen isn’t crazy enough, consider the extra stress of being a teen who’s obese. Stephanie Soechtig, producer and director of the documentary Fed Up, says, “I could see government policy, marketing, and industry-funded science actually playing out in these kids’ lives.”
Didn't catch last night's 2014 James Beard Awards? No worries. We whipped up a handy-dandy cheat sheet to the veg-tastic books nominated in the Focus on Health and Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian categories.
Documenting the second-largest farm animal rescue in the U.S., Turlock gives witness to the rescue of more than 4,000 hens abandoned by the A&L Poultry egg farm west of Turlock, Calif. The film follows the rehabilitation of the rescued birds and the birds’ adoption by new owners.
Dismissed as dirt, soil gets no respect from most of us. The gorgeously shot documentary Symphony of the Soil recasts the stuff as a key player in hot-button issues, such as water scarcity, climate change, and food security.
Can you imagine a doctor advocating a procedure that's not in the best interest of his or her patient? Yet that is the case with declaw surgery, argues The Paw Project, a film documenting the efforts to abolish the crippling procedure and rehabilitate cats who have been subjected to it.
The Ghosts in Our Machine is a lyrical, often wordless, film that shadows Jo-Anne McArthur as she documents the lives of animals in research labs and in fur and factory farms.
Even as a vegetarian, I realized while watching the documentary Specieism: The Movie that I'm not free of species bias.
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“I guess they thought I’d go away, and the film would fall into the indie-documentary abyss,” says director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, in answer to my asking why she thinks SeaWorld declined to participate in her recently released documentary Blackfish. The film investigates the deadly 2010 attack on a trainer in SeaWorld's Orlando park by an orca named Tilikum, and its most compelling witnesses to the troubling reality of killer whales in captivity include former SeaWorld trainers. If SeaWorld was banking on the film sinking into obscurity, they figured wrong—Blackfish scored a 97 percent on RottenTomatoes.com’s All Critics Tomatometer, and the Los Angeles Times stated in an editorial, “The documentary ‘Blackfish’ reminds us that it’s time to stop imprisoning orcas in marine parks to entertain the public and enrich their corporate keepers.” Here, Cowperthwaite answers more questions about the film.
Cooking homemade, plant-based meals almost every night of the week for my family is one of the most gratifying and joyful parts of my daily life—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t stressful sometimes. Juggling a full-time job and an energetic toddler can make meal prep tricky, which is why I love this family-friendly enchilada recipe from blogger and cookbook author Sarah Matheny’s recently released More Peas, Thank You cookbook, sequel to the New York Times bestselling Peas and Thank You. These enchiladas can be made in stages, and they don’t create a lot of dishes—the bane of my existence
Serving up consciousness-raising along with suspense, the newly released film The East stars Brit Marling as Sarah Moss, a private security agent infiltrating an anarchist collective intent on avenging corporate wrongdoing. Costarring Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page as members of the collective, The East is the second film from the team of Marling, as cowriter and star, and Zal Batmanglij, as cowriter and director. Here, Batmanglij answers questions about the film, about eating vegan, and also about collaborating with his brother, Rostam, of the band Vampire Weekend.
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In the age of e-books, your next new favorite cookbook is only a click away. These five go-to titles have got your cooking needs covered, whether you’re looking for a guide to green juices and smoothies, decadent dessert recipes, a show-stopping meal, or a simple and healthy snack. Plus, they're tree-free!
During autumn, Sundays are for cooking and Ravens games in the Bowen household. Last weekend, a gathering at our small Baltimore row house grew from the usual suspects—my husband and toddler—to ten very hungry guests. And whether you like football or not, fall is always the perfect season for a big bowl of vegetarian chili.
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