Growing Change: A Journey Inside Venezuela's Food Revolution

Spurred by the food crisis of 2008—when natural disasters, speculation, and agricultural policy combined to spike the price of food worldwide, causing riots in dozens of countries—Australian filmmaker Simon Cunich began researching the factors that could lead to a repeat performance, a quest that led him to Venezuela, where a national push toward food “sovereignty,” or self-sufficiency, is transforming how people live and eat. During the past century, Venezuela—like many other countries—has been caught in a costly cycle: exporting raw ingredients, and then re-importing them as expensive items manufactured by huge corporate food-processors. Despite resistance from the U.S. and other countries, the Venezuelan government has now begun buying out large-scale landowners whose acreage has gone fallow, allowing peasants to farm plots, and giving them ownership after three years. Interspersing archival and contemporary footage with interviews of scientists and others knowledgeable about the topic, Cunich traces Venezuela's efforts to make agriculture and fishing much more sustainable—feeding people better while also retaining land and fisheries for future generations. Although the recent death of the charismatic Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez could result in the unraveling of programs described here, the causes behind food instability will remain the same. A compelling and informative documentary, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)