Food film festival focuses on sustainability, environment

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A vegetarian facing ethical issues in Alaska, the hardships of an asparagus community in Michigan and the quickly growing industrialization of the U.S. food system were just a few of the topics presented in documentaries at the first MSU Food Film Festival on Saturday in the theater in the basement of Snyder Hall.

Sponsored by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism in the MSU School of Journalism, the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, or RCAH, the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment program and the Department of Community Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, the film festival was part of an ongoing discussion at MSU on food, sustainability and the environment.

“This festival is a part of a larger conversation the College of Agriculture (and Natural Resources) launched this semester about food in our society,” said Wynne Wright, associate professor of agriculture. “It involves mostly lectures by guest speakers aimed directly at students, but also this film festival.”

Wright, who also was a part of the committee that organized the festival and chose the films that were shown, led a brief discussion after the showing of each film, asking the audience what they found particularly interesting or eye-opening.

“We believe food can be a catalyst for people to begin to think about their food and start a conversation around food and agriculture,” she said. “It’s important to get people thinking as food citizens rather than just consumers.”

RCAH sophomore Persephone Kruszewski said she signed up to work the projector for the festival specifically to see the films.

“I wanted to see the films because I’ve grown up with the values system (that stresses) the importance of eating organics and living a healthy and sustainable lifestyle,” said Kruszewski. “It’s always good to really understand the facts behind the food we put into our bodies.”

Yvette Perez, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and human resources and society junior who came to the event because of her integrative studies in social science class, ended up staying for three films.

“I actually found the film festival really interesting,” Perez said. “It dealt a lot with the class material and took it to another level helping me understand. I just found it very enjoyable.”

Wright said the five films shown at the festival were chosen by a committee based on what was relevant in food today and what raised important food issues.

“We have a diverse committee made up of several students and faculty,” she said. “We reviewed popular films that would raise some of the multiple social, economic and political issues our food system now faces.”

Attendees seemed to appreciate the time put into planning the festival and took away valuable information as well as new perspectives on food.

“My parents are organic farmers,” Kruszewski said. “It’s good to reaffirm why you eat what you do and to see the food issues from all cultural perspectives and viewpoints.”

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