Growing Change, Simon Cunich,food crisis
Growing Change, a film by Simon Cunich, is a documentary investigating the current food system and solution to world hunger. The film documents the current food system by trying to understand why a lot of people goes hungry every day. The film begins by an investigating the long-time underlying causes of the global food crisis of 2008. The film takes a tour of Venezuela following their efforts to develop more sustainable food and agricultural system available to all. In a sneak preview, Venezuela once had a strong agricultural sector, but it lagged behind as the country turn to oil exportation in the 20th Century. Venezuela faced a major food crisis of its following decades of urbanization, government neglect for agriculture and depended too much on food imports. The country gives an example of the challenges facing much of the world today. The documentary takes the viewers through a new food system constructed almost from the scratch.
The farmers can be seen working in cooperatives trying to break the reliance on imports. The cocoa farmers can also be seen engaged in local processing rather than exporting raw beans, and the fishermen are benefiting from the new regulations that restrict industrial trawling. The film by Simon Cunich gives an inspirational story that is full of lively characters, impressive sceneries and ideas that could help transform the food system. Additionally, the film demonstrates how communities can become active in redefining the food supply and provide to the hungry. There are growing beliefs that a solution to world food crisis is expanding large-scale farming further while others place their beliefs on genetically engineered crops.
[...] More farm size is deteriorating forcing more farmers to work on ecological fragile land. However, from the film, there is a possible solution to this problem by focusing on community supported approach to agricultural production. Cunich shows in his Growing Change that, following the increased attention given to the increased attention now given to agricultural sectors and removal of the constraint in the agricultural production, the community is now able to offer affordable food to the hungry. A community supported approach offers a radical approach to production and supply of foods that builds a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between communities and producers. [...]
[...] Pollan, M. (2006). The omnivore's dilemma. NY: Penguin Group. [...]
[...] The social justice and sustainability principles are the core of the nation-wide process. One might want to ask whether organic agriculture can be productive enough that it can meet the needs of the world food. From an environmental perspective, many will agree that ecological agriculture is good, but there are no doubts that it will not meet the sufficient production yields. However, agricultural studies show otherwise. According to compiled reports of studies conducted by top scientists, the world cannot rely on industrial agriculture currently put into use to feed its people. [...]
[...] In a broader look, the problems stem from an inherent tension existing due to a look at agricultural sector as being different from other economic sectors, underlying the fact that agricultural productivity has been relatively low in developing countries as a result of long-term neglect of the agricultural sector. Many countries have low agricultural growth rates, which have had adverse implications for economic growth and poverty reduction. Even in rapidly large developing countries like Venezuela, many farmers continue leading their lives of mere subsistence. Like the film, Growing Change (2011), shows, low agricultural production is due to reduced arable land availability and low crop productivity. In many countries, available land for agriculture is deteriorating, mostly due to rapid urbanization due to. [...]
[...] There are growing beliefs that a solution to world food crisis is expanding large-scale farming further while others place their beliefs on genetically engineered crops. The question is whether large-scale genetic engineering farming will save the world. Evidence, as the film shows, suggest a resounding NO answer. In fact, the film point out that the current modern agricultural system is itself a problem. In the documentary, Conch discovered that the most significant problem that farmers are faced with around the globe is the poor soil quality following severe soil depletion of essential soil nutrients as a result of the modern monoculture. [...]
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