The Center for Biological Diversity is hosting our third annual free virtual Food Justice Film Festival from Sept. 15-18. Each film explores the links between food justice, sovereignty and security, and environmental sustainability.

Food justice and environmental justice are intertwined. Society is shaped and sculpted by food culture and nutritional security. And often the exploitation that rips into the Earth and wastes precious resources is driven by the same forces that poison our land with pesticides and spread inequity and injustice in their wake.

The Food Justice Film Festival is free and open to the public.

Thursday, Sept. 15

Poisoning Paradise — Many Native Hawaiian communities are surrounded by experimental test sites for genetically engineered seed corn, and pesticides are sprayed upwind of their homes, schools, hospitals and shorelines. Poisoning Paradise details the ongoing struggle of Hawaiians fighting to advance bold new legislation governing the fate of their island home.

Friday, Sept. 16

Fruits of Labor — This is the story of a Mexican American teenager who works long days in the strawberry fields and the night shift at a food processing factory. We follow along as she navigates the forces that keep her trapped in poverty and threaten to separate her family. Fruits of Labor is a lyrical meditation on agriculture, nature and ancestral forces.

Saturday, Sept. 17 (short films)

RETURN: Native American Women Reclaim Foodways for Health and Spirit — Tlingit, Muckleshoot, Oglala Sioux, Menominee and Seneca women are sparking physical and spiritual rejuvenation across the continent by reclaiming traditional foodways and eating as their ancestors did — nutritiously and locally.
From Gangs to Gardens — Ietef Vita (aka DJ CAVEM) is an organic gardener, vegan chef, activist and award-winning hip hop artist working with Denver’s young people to build healthy eating habits and prevent gang violence through gardening and hiphop culture.
The Seed Saver — The challenges of a young farmer expand our idea of what and who American farmers are as Kristyn Leach explores her Korean heritage with other Korean American farmers.

Sunday, Sept. 18

I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA — This film chronicles the experiences of Black farmers fighting against the discrimination and injustices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, also known as the last plantation.

Watch the Films

Read these instructions on how to sign up. Then register to get your free entry to view the films between Sept. 15 and Sept. 18.

Watch the Panels

In addition to the films, the Food Justice Film Festival will include prerecorded panel discussions with filmmakers and activists, including Shoun Hill and Waymon Hinson (filmmakers of I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA), and Indigenous activists Jennifer Gauthier and Andrea John Spako (featured in RETURN: Native American Women Reclaim Foodways for Health and Spirit). These prerecorded panels are free to watch and available to the public during and beyond the festival.

For the wild,

Jennifer Molidor, Senior Food Campaigner

Population and Sustainability Program

Center for Biological Diversity