INAmeansthatwhichfeedsusintheHawaiianlanguage.

This23minutefilmhighlightsa
waytoaddresssomeofthemostpressingenvironmentalandhealthcrisesfacingtheislandof
KauaiandofislandEarth.
Thisnewshortdocumentaryfilm,producedbyBCbasedJoshThomeandSherpaCinemas,
exploresthehumanrelationshipwiththeEarththatfeedsusandthevulnerabilityofour
relianceontheoutdated,unsustainableagriculturalsystemthatdominatesWesternfood
production.
ShotontheislandofKauai,Hawaii,thefilmstarklycontraststodaysindustrialagricultural
modelwiththetraditionalHawaiianmodel,showingthatthelatteroffersawayforwardtoa
healthierandmoresustainableglobalfoodproductionsystem.
Thefilmwillmakeitsfree,onlineglobaldebutonJuly26,2015at6p.m.PSTonainafeeds.us.
ItwillalsobeavailablefordownloadoniTunes.
Website:http://ainafeeds.us/

--

NewdocumentarycontrastsindustrialagwithtraditionalHawaiianmodel:INA
http://www.treehugger.com/culture/newdocumentarycontrastsindustrialagtraditionalhawaiianmodelainawhich
feedsus.html

Thisshortfilm,whilefocusedontheislandofKauai,highlightsthechallengesandcriseswewillall
havetofaceonourislandplanet.
WhenwelosesightoftheimportanceoftakingcareoftheEarththatfeedsus,wesignourowndeathwarrant.That's
oneofthemessagespresentedinapowerfulnewdocumentary,anditmayseemridiculouslyobvioustothosewhoare
workingdiligentlytowardsustainabilityonaglobalscale,butformanypeople,theconnectionbetweenourindividual
lives,ourenvironment,andhowweproduceourfoodandenergyisn'tnearlyastransparentorimportantasitshouldbe.
Likemanyfilmsaboutfoodandfarmingandtheenvironment,Ithinkeveryonewhoeatsshouldwatchthem,andthis
newdocumentaryfromLivingAncestorsandSherpasCinemaisnodifferent,asit'swellworththe20minutesorsoit
takestowatchit.It'scalledINA:ThatWhichFeedsUs(INAmeans"thatwhichfeedsus"intheHawaiian
language),anditoffersapowerfullookattheeffectsofourindustrializedfoodsystem.
AlthoughthisfilmfocusesspecificallyonthecrisesfacingtheislandofKauai,Hawaii,italsoservestohighlightour
globalsituation,withKauaiasthemicrocosmandtheEarthasthemacrocosm,andthepressuresandinfluencesthatare
presentinHawaiiarealsopresentatmanyotherlocationsaroundtheworld.
"ShotontheislandofKauai,Hawaii,thefilmstarklycontraststodaysindustrialagriculturalmodelwiththe
traditionalHawaiianmodel,showingthatthelatteroffersawayforwardtoahealthierandmoresustainable
globalfoodproductionsystem."
Inthegreenmedia,we'vespentyearswritingabouttherelationshipbetweenourhabits/choicesandthecollective
impactofallofourchoicesontheenvironment,butoutsideofthegreenbubble,theunderstandingofcertain'big
picture'issuesismarginalatbest,eventhougheverysingleoneofuswillbeaffectedinthenearfuturebytheimpacts
ofourcurrentpoliciesandpractices.
Afterspendingalmostadecadeintheorganicandnaturalfoodsindustry,andbecomingheavilyinvolvedinlocalfood
issues,Iwasprettysurethatwhatwecallindustrialagriculturewasablightontheplanet,andthat"factoryfarms"were
toblameforthemajorityofcertainenvironmentalandsocialills,whileconvenientlyignoringthefactthatlargescale
agricultureisabsolutelynecessaryinordertofeedanexplodingpopulationinanindustrializedworld.
WhileImaintainthatsmallfarmsandurbanagandresilientlocalfoodsystemsarekeyelementsofasustainablefood
securitystrategy,andIremainastrongproponentoftheprinciplesoforganicfarming,Ialsoacceptthatwe'reafarcry
frombeingabletofeedeveryonewithrooftopfarmsandcountertopauqaponicsunits,andthatultimately,weneedto
findabalanceofbothsmallandlargeagpracticesthatcanfeedussustainably,withoutrobbingfromtomorrowtofeed
ustoday.
That'snottosaythatIthinkbigagshouldbecontinuingwith'businessasusual,'becauseit'sbecomingmoreandmore
apparentthatweneedtoadoptpracticesinlargescaleagriculturethatdon'tpollutethewaterorair,thatbuildssoiland
nurturessoilhealth,thatisincreasinglydroughtresilient,andthatinterfaceswiththenaturalecologyinawaythat's
muchlessdestructivethanitisnow.Someofthosepracticesmaycomefromtraditionalandindigenousagriculture,and
someofthemmaycomefromadvancementsinourscientificunderstandingofthesoilfoodwebandthecarboncycle
andothercorrelateddisciplines.
That'snotgoingtohappenovernight,andit'snotgoingtohappenifweastheconsumersaren'tdemandingit,whichis
whyIbelievethateverydocumentarythatshinesalightonthenegativeenvironmentalandsocialimpactsofourfood
system,andpresentsanalternativevision,isyetanotherstepforwardfortheworldasawhole.Ofcourse,producingthe
filmsisonlythebeginning,aswestillneedpeopletowatchthemandthinkaboutthemandtalkabouttheissues,andto
thentakeactionintheirownlivestowardamoresustainableworld.
Take20minutesoutofyourbusylifetowatchINA:ThatWhichFeedsUs,andthenponderhowtheissuesinthe
filmrelatetoyourownlifeandhabits,andwhatchangesyoucanmaketosupportresiliencyandsustainabilityinthe
foodsystem.
--

AinaThatwhichfeedsus

https://sherpascinema.com/ainathatwhichfeedsus/
AINA
Tomalama`inaistotakecareoftheearththatfeedsus.Theminutewelosesightofthat,wehavesignedour
ownpalapalamake,ourdeathwarrant.
SabraKauka,Storyteller,fromAINA
WhenProducerJoshThomereachedouttousinearly2014andaskedifwewantedtoteamupandproducean
environmentaldocumentary,wewereequallyhumbledandexcited.Inretrospect,wenoideaofwhatwesigned
upfor.Wecouldhaveneverpredictedthevariousemotionalstageswewouldgothroughwhilecreatingthisfilm
andhowmuchtheHawaiianpeoplewouldinspireus.

TheglobalstoryofAINAistoldfromthelittleHawaiianislandofKauai,wheretwoofthemostextreme
versionsofagricultureonEartharerepresented.Ononeside,isatraditionalecologicalsystemthathasallowed
Hawaiianstoliveinabundanceforoverathousandyears.Ontheotherside,fouroftheworldslargestagro
chemicalcompaniesusetheislandtosprayanestimatedtentonsofpesticideseveryyearongeneticallymodified
testcrops,poisoningthefragileislandenvironment,localcommunity,andultimatelytheconsumersofproducts
madefromthisindustrialmodel.
Thisfilmproductionhasbeenaboutexploringthebalancebetweentruthandopinion,andaboutunderstandingthe
balancebetweensustainableagricultureandtheneedtofeedagrowingpopulation.Wehaveseenstrong,ancient
traditionsgofacetofacewiththemodernsocietiesandwehavebeenmadepainfullyawarethatonemustnever
forgetwherewecamefromandwhatwecanlearnfromhistory.Bydocumentingthepowerandbeliefsofthe
Kauaipeople,ourconvictionthatchangeispossibleandthatitneedstocomefromwithineachoneofushas
grownstrongerthanever.

Wevoteeverytimewebuyfood.Wevote.Wevoteforeithersustainable,healthyfoodorwevoteforbiotech
industrialag.
DonHeacock,Biologist,fromAINA
Theimmenseimpactsofindustrialagriculturehavebecomeinescapable.Withincreasingawarenessanddemand
forhealthyandsustainablefoodenteringthemainstream,weareatatippingpointinconsumerculturethatwill
significantlyandpositivelychangeourworld.WehopethatAINAisapartofthemomentumthatwilltipthe
scaleandthatitwillinspirechangethesamewaythepeopleofKauaiinspiredusandleaveyoufeelingthe
powerofAloha.Ifweareinspiredwithasenseofloveforthisworldwewillcareforit;fromourownwell
being,tothehealthofsocietyandthebiosphere.
Thereisatremendousneedtosharealoha,tosharelove.Alohakekahiikekahi,loveandrespectoneto
another.

SabraKauka,Storyteller,fromAINA

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