The Future of Food film screening

The Future of Food film screening in Jackson Hole

By Lauren M. Whaley, 12-11-06

While The Future of Food movie sent a grim message about unlabeled, patented genetically engineered food filling grocery store shelves, panelists at a recent gathering were optimistic.

Nearly 100 people gathered Thursday night at the Journeys School to watch the film at an event sponsored by Jackson Whole Grocer, Teton Science Schools and Beyond Broccoli Nutrition Counseling.

While watching the movie and listening to panelists, audience members sipped warm cider and nibbled healthy munchies courtesy of Jackson Whole Grocer.

The eight-person panelist included organic farmers, a nutritionist, a scholar and even a consultant who helps farmers obtain an organic certification. They, along with facilitator Mary Howley Ryan, MS, RD, from Beyond Broccoli, fielded audience questions following the 90-minute film screening.

“We have to stop feeding our kids the crap,” said panelist Sue Muncaster, founder of Slow Food in the Tetons, the local branch of an international organization that hopes to educate people about where our food comes from and take back local food traditions. “When [corporations] stop making money, they’ll change.”

The documentary questions why the U.S. government does not require genetically engineered foods to undergo the rigorous testing required of medicines created by the same technology. It also asks why the government does not require such food to be labeled, as Europe does.

Written, directed and produced Deborah Koons Garcia, wife of Jerry, in 2004, The Future of Food warns its audience that having our food system controlled by multinational corporations is a bad thing.

Using interviews with farmers and agriculture experts, the film advocates for the local and organic farmers threatened by corporation, like Monsanto. The film tells the agonizing story of a long-time farmer who lost a pricey lawsuit to Monsanto after their patented seed was found on his family farm. Monsanto and other such companies are infecting our food supply, especially corn and corn products, and contaminating seeds that have been refined for thousands of years, the film argues.

Event organizers and panelists Thursday hoped the film would call its audience to action. Panelist Therese Metherell, registered dietitian, said we are especially lucky in Wyoming to have a small population. Our voices ring clearer in this small community than larger ones. She urged audience members to seize the opportunity to contact electeds.

Wyomingites and all Americans can still choose what to ingest, for now, and can still write letters, send emails and make phone calls.

Muncaster said choosing what you eat is “one part of the environmental movement where people can make a difference." She recently returned from Terra Madre, Slow Food International's annual gathering in Turin, Italy. “Everything is a trade-off. There’s always something you can do.”

For Jackson folks who want to support local farmers, especially during the winter season when there are few opportunities to buy locally grown products, panelists suggested eating locally grown meat and mushrooms, both of which can be harvested in winter.

For produce, Metherell recommended buying fruit grown in the United States, rather than abroad, to reduce the fossil fuel cost of shipping to Jackson.

Dale Sharkey, who runs the community supported agriculture farm Cosmic Apple Gardens in Teton Valley, Idaho, with Jed Restuccia, said buying apples from Washington is a good example. Buy a big crate in the fall, store them in the garage and voilà: crispy snacks in January. You could also make applesauce, she said.

She also recommended making vegetable soup (from your Cosmic Apple share, of course) in the summer then freezing it for winter consumption.

Burns MacLeod, manager at Jackson Whole Grocer, who helped Howley Ryan organize the event, hoped the event inspired people to think about what they eat and what they feed their families. He also provided audience members with form letters to Wyoming representatives urging them to support legislation that would require labeling for genetically modified foods.

“Keep the fire burning,” he said. “It has to start somewhere. It seems like the right thing to do.”

Howley Ryan said she hopes to organize another panel for spring 2007.

For more information on the Slow Food movement, click here. For more information on the movie The Future of Food, click here.

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