♥ a fresh perspective.

last spring, i received an interesting invitation via my friend lisa from college on facebook that i could not pass up: a chance to view a screening of ana sofia joanes' brand new documentary film, FRESH (2009), at harvard university along with a discussion panel.

i must be honest when i say that by the time the screening time came around, i had completely forgotten the synopsis of the film and remembered only a slight gist of what it is i was about to watch: and let me just tell you that i was pleasantly surprised and delighted by what i saw.

FRESH is an amazingly uplifting documentary that true to it's name, offers a fresh perspective on what people can do about our overprocessed, disgustingly backwards american food system. rather than examining the premise that many film makers take with regard to shedding light on how our food is produced and where it comes from here in the US, joanes offers us real life examples of people who are already out there making a difference simply by choosing the path less travelled. these individuals, which include farmers, authors, and business people pulled from completely different communities, have one common goal and that is to promote sustainable living through the art of growing fresh food.

watch the trailer here:

among the panel speakers that night were stars of the documentary, urban farmer and activist, will allen of growing power and sustainable farmer (whose name you may also recognize from michael pollan's book, omnivore's dilemma) joel salatin, who are just as enthusiastic and inspiring in person as they are on screen. nick and i came away from the screening completely energized and motivated to try to buy from local farmer's markets, investigate urban farming in our own backyard and to eat at restaurants where the chefs use organic, local ingredients.

outside of the film, the team at FRESH run campaigns related to food safety and supporting small family run farms. and luckily, you may have a chance to be a part of it right here in boston! from june 18th through june 23rd, you can catch the premiere of this documentary at the brattle theater! events will be taking place around the city starting this saturday june 12th, which include tastings, workshops and lectures. (see schedule here.)

and because this film is about ultimately about people who are committed to making the world a better place and passing it on, FRESH has an amazing distribution policy that allows anyone who is interested in getting a screening license to host a screening in the comfort of their own home! (ps. if you do want to do this, please let me know and i will bring myself and a bag of organic popcorn!)

lastly, but certainly not least, the FRESH team are working hard to get 20,000 signatures on a petition by the end of this month that will ask the EPA to ban the pesticide methyl iodide, a neurotoxin & carcinogen that is currently in the process of being approved as a soil fumigant for strawberries in california! ick!

please take a moment and do something fresh!! sign petition here.