Video Library Summaries
The True Cost of Food - 2004 - 15 min. - DVD
This animated film highlights the hidden costs in mass-produced food and offers alternatives that are
kinder to the planet and better for us. The way food is produced and the way we eat create huge costs
that are not reflected in our food bills. Some are actual dollar amounts (subsidies and cleanup costs that
we pay for in taxes); some are damage to the environment (pollution and loss of wildlife habitat); some
are loss of quality of life (tasteless food, loss of the pleasure of preparing food and eating together); and
some are health issues (obesity, diseases, poor nutrition, contaminated food).
Topic: globalization/industrialization
The Meatrix and Meatrix II - 2006 - 15 min. - DVD
An animated film series that exposes the truth behind today’s industrial meat and dairy production
while using animation, action, and humor to educate audiences. Join heroes Moopheus, Leo, and
Chickity as they confront industrial agriculture and save small, family farms.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
The Meatrix and Meatrix II (and II 1/2) - 2006 - 15 min. - DVD
An animated film series that exposes the truth behind today’s industrial meat and dairy production
while using animation, action, and humor to educate audiences. Join heroes Moopheus, Leo, and
Chickity as they confront industrial agriculture and save small, family farms.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
Fast Food Nation - 2006 - 114 min. - DVD
(Rated R for disturbing images, strong sexuality, language and drug content) Based on facts presented in
the non-fiction book of the same name written by Eric Schlosser. The book is a scathing indictment of
the fast food industry. In an usual move, director Richard Linklater has attempted to integrate these
facts into a drama. Don Henderson (Greg Kinnear)-a marketing executive at Mickey's Fast Food
Restaurant chain, home of "The Big One"-has a problem. Contaminated meat is getting into the frozen
patties of the company's best-selling burger. To find out why, he'll have to take a journey to the dark
side of the All-American meal. Leaving the cushy confines of the company's Southern California
boardroom for the immigrant-staffed slaughterhouses, teeming feedlots and cookie cutter strip malls of
Middle America, what Don discovers is a "Fast Food Nation" of consumers who haven't realized it is they
who are being consumed by an industry with a seemingly endless appetite for fresh meat.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
The Power of Community - 2006 - 53 min. - DVD
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut
by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and
struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans
share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using
organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during
this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil,
a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to
decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels
– is an example of options and hope.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
Deconstructing Supper - 2002 - 47 min. - VHS
Renowned chef John Bishop leads viewers on an eye-opening and engaging journey into the billiondollar battle to control global food production. Starting with a gourmet meal in his five-star restaurant,
Bishop travels the world --from farmer's fields to biotech laboratories to supermarket aisles -- on a
personal quest to find out what our food choices are. With a hearty appetite for food and information,
chef Bishop explores the politics and ethics of food.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
The Global Banquet - 2001 - 2 x 25 min. - VHS
Exposes globalization’s profoundly damaging effect on our food system in terms that are
understandable to the non-specialist. It debunks several underlying myths about global hunger: 1) That
hunger results from scarcity; 2) That small countries don’t know how to feed themselves; and 3) That
only market-driven, chemically-based, industrial agriculture can feed the world. This film reveals how
agribusiness squeezes out small farmers and how trade liberalization undercuts subsistence farming—in
the U.S. as well as in the developing world. It demonstrates how food security is linked to social
development and how women, in particular, are affected by that. And it links factory farming and the
alteration and patenting of life forms to degradation of the natural environment.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
Globalization and Nature - 2001 - 29 min. - VHS
Internationally acclaimed as one of the most articulate critics of globalization, Vandana Shiva is a
philosopher of science and an indefatigable activist. She articulates her brilliant perspective with
passion in this Enviro Close-Up interview. Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology
and Natural Resource Policy in New Delhi, India, Dr. Shiva’s books include: Monoculture of the Mind:
Biotechnology and the Environment; Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply; and
Biopiracy and the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge.
Topic: globalization/industrialization
Genetic Engineering Action Toolkit - - - CD-ROM?
Topic: gmo
The GMO Trilogy - 2002 - - 2 DVD 1 CD
A new DVD and CD set produced by bestselling author Jeffrey Smith shows how genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) put our health and environment at risk, and may impact consumer perceptions and
buying habits. The first DVD, Unnatural Selection, is a stunning European documentary that reveals
several harsh consequences of genetic engineering worldwide. The second DVD, Hidden Dangers in Kids'
Meals: Genetically Engineered Foods, exposes shocking research results, inadequate regulations, and
warnings from eminent scientists about why GM foods are dangerous and should be removed from kids'
meals. The audio CD, You’re Eating What?, describes how biotech companies rigged research, hid health
dangers and pressured government regulators to approve food that even FDA scientists said was unsafe.
Topic: gmo
Killing Seeds - 2002 - 43 min. - VHS
In Canada's wheat belt, farmer Percy Schmeiser was sued by agrochem multinational Monsanto on the
grounds of a patent violation, because wind and birds had carried Monsanto's genetically modified
canola onto his fields. In Europe, farmer Klaus Buschmeier rounded up fellow farmers to revolt going
against the German Farmers' Association. They are angry because the Association made an agreement
with plant breeders to charge seed-saving fees--an act perceived as betrayal. Killing Seeds exposes the
efforts of multinationals to force farmers into dependence on their "terminator technology," a process
in which seeds are manipulated to germinate only once. The farmer may bring up the seed, treat crops
with chemicals and sell them, but no more. Every farmer’s attempt to save his own seed or do his own
breeding is either forbidden or charged with fees. In the eyes of many farmers, this monopoly has
reduced them to serfdom.
Topic: gmo
Food for Thought - - 29 min. - VHS
Documentary providing an informative introduction to genetically modified organisms, their impact on
our food supply, and the potential risks they pose to our health. Contains interviews with half a dozen
people, including farmers and activists.
Topic: gmo
Future of Food - 2004 - 89 min. - VHS
An in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically
engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade. From the
prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers
whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health
implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many
people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Topic: gmo
Genetic Takeover - 1999 - 52 min. - VHS
Driven by scientific curiosity and the whims of the marketplace, researchers are quickly breaking down
the millennia-old barriers between species in their rush to create new food crop hybrids. In this
program, Jeremy Rifkin, of the Foundation on Economic Trends; biochemist Arpad Pusztai, of the Rowett
Research Institute; and other experts representing a broad spectrum of disciplines and interests voice
their concerns on the issues arising from the short but alarming history of genetically modified
organisms. In the final analysis, are GMOs safe to eat? Only time will tell—and by then it may be too
late.
Topic: gmo
Standing Silent Nation - 2007 - 53 min. - DVD
When the Oglala Sioux Tribe passed an ordinance separating industrial hemp from its illegal cousin,
marijuana, Alex White Plume and his family glimpsed a brighter future. Having researched hemp as a
sustainable crop that would grow in the inhospitable soil of the South Dakota Badlands, the White
Plumes envisioned a new economy that would impact the 85% unemployment rate on the Pine Ridge
Reservation. They never dreamed they would find themselves swept up in a struggle over tribal
sovereignty, economic rights, and common sense. From the hemp fields of Pine Ridge to the US Federal
Court of Appeals, the one-hour documentary Standing Silent Nation tracks one family’s effort to create
economic independence for themselves, their reservation, and their future generations.
Topic: hemp
Hemp and the Rule of Law - 2004 - 55 min. - DVD
This documentary blends history with current events and traces hemp’s legendary past in US agriculture
and chronicles the heated debate to return the crop to American farmers. In the last decade of the
twentieth century, consumer demand for hemp products has resulted in the crop’s resurgence on farms
throughout the western world. American farmers are not permitted to grow hemp because the US Drug
Enforcement Agency makes no distinction between hemp and marijuana. A decade after the crop’s
revival in other parts of the world, American farmers are still fighting for the right to grow this profitable
and common sense crop.
Topic: hemp
Super Size Me - 2004 - 100 min. - DVD
An Academy Award-nominated 2004 documentary film, directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an
American independent filmmaker. It follows a 30-day time period (February 2003) during which Spurlock
subsists exclusively on McDonald's fast food and stops exercising. The film documents this lifestyle's
drastic effects on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being and explores the fast food industry's
corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. During the filming,
Spurlock dined at McDonald's restaurants three times per day, sampling every item on the chain's menu
at least once. He consumed an average of 5,000 calories (the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs) per day
during the experiment.
Topic:
Country Canada 2001-2002 - 0 - 19 min. - VHS
Topic:
Let's Go to the Farm - - 60 min. - VHS
Topic:
Privatizing the World - 2002 - 53 min. - VHS
What has become of the concept of the "common good", which is the basis of life in society? Can the
market serve as a guarantor of the common good? Through various stories shot in Canada, the USA,
Mexico, France, Brazil and India, this documentary shows the consequences of the world's submission to
private interests: a Canadian farmer is sued when patented seeds are blown into his fields; traditional
knowledge is patented in India; American people without insurance are denied healthcare; Canadian
water is sold to the highest bidder while thousands of people in the world desperately need it. Using an
effective parody of the "Voice-of-God" documentary style, "Privatizing the World" presents a revealing
snapshot of a global community at a crossroads. Bring your friends and family; this film is an engaging
introduction to the privatization of the commons.
Topic:
David Suzuki - - 30 min. - VHS
Topic:
Brit Bailey - - - VHS
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California Whistleblowers - - 2 hrs - VHS
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Mark Purdy/Linda & Larry Faillace - - - VHS
Topic:
Public Hearing on NAIS - 37356 - - VHS
When the Vermont Agency of Agriculture proposed a rulemaking process to make Premises
Registration, the first phase of the National Animal Identification System, mandatory for anyone in the
state raising livestock, there was a public hearing at the Vermont statehouse that drew 200+ people out
to oppose the rulemaking.
Topic: rv presents, nais
Localvore Winter Challenge, Farmer Apprec. Night - - - VHS
Topic:
King Corn - 2007 - 88 min. - DVD
A documentary about two friends who journey from Boston to Iowa to plant, tend, and harvest one acre
of corn, and then watch as it travels from their field into the industrial food supply. The Washington Post
hails King Corn as “taking what could be a tiresome agri-civics lesson and delivering a lively, funny, sad
and even poetic treatise on the reality behind America's cherished self-image as the breadbasket of the
world.”
Topic:
Sally Fallon Morell - 38285 - - DVD
Fallon is the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions. She
focuses on the benefits of a diet that challenges the politically correct mainstream's food choices. By
looking to the past, we learn that the key to good health and disease prevention lies in the diets of our
ancestors. She speaks about the critical roles that animal fats play in the body, and the importance of
reintroducing traditional cooking and preservation methods into our kitchens.
Topic: rv presents
Joel Salatin - 38099 - - DVD
Topic: rv presents
Farmer Forum on Milk, Meat, Hemp - 38092 - 75 min. - DVD
Farmers and Rural Vermont members Doug Flack and Teddy Yandow present Rural Vermont’s Vision for
Vermont agriculture and the recent campaign work to build locally-based food economies in Vermont.
They speak about proposed legislation for increasing the sale of raw milk, permitting on-farm slaughter,
and the legalization of agricultural hemp.
Topic: rv presents, milk, meat, hemp
Polyface Farm - - 110 min. - DVD
Get to know Joel Salatin, author, activist, and farmer, by visiting him on his farm in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia. Polyface Farm is a diversified operation in which the heart and soul of the farm is
grass! This is the official, comprehensive video about the farm, and was filmed over the course of a year
to catch the multi-faceted seasons and enterprises at Polyface.
Topic:
Derby Line GMO Rally - 36632 - - DVD
DVD of anti-GMO rally at Derby Line in 2004.
Topic: gmo
Statehouse GMO Rally - 36581 - - DVD
DVD of anti-GMO rally in the Statehouse in 2004.
Topic: gmo
Building lime innovation - 2008 - - DVD
Ecobuild video, shuttered and cast application, BBC Working Lunch Dec 07, Spray Application
Topic:
Food Network's Good Eats! - - - DVD
Topic: milk
Kenan Hemp Forum - - 35 min. - DVD
From NAIHC
Topic: hemp
Alan Lepage's Working Farm Dogs in Action - - - DVD
dogs v. 1
Topic:
Mark McAfee "Raw Milk" - 37346 - - VHS
Topic: milk
Life Running Out of Control: Gene Food and Designerbabies - 2004 - 95 min. - VHS
Exploration of genetic mutation of plants, animals, and people. Case studies of disasters from GMOs
around the world. A film by Bertram Verhag and Gabriele Krober
Topic: gmo
SiCKO - 2007 - 123 min - DVD
Look at America's failing health system. Personal testimonies and statistics expose greedy HMOs, drug
companies, and congressmen who keep us sick. Asks why can't healthcase be free in America like it is
elsewhere? Film by Michael Moore.
Topic:
Vermont's Creative Economy: Progress and Promise - 2008 - - DVD
Made by the VT Council on Rural Development, shows creativity and opportunity in Vermont
communities, economy, and government. A potential guide to financial and technical resources, with
audio panels from the VT Statehouse on the Creative Economy