Fresh, the Movie
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Ana Joanes is the director and producer of Fresh, one of the most inspiring movies recently made about our food system and what we eat. The documentary looks at the current unsustainable state of factory farming in the US and how the industrialization of food has created severe environmental problems. Fresh, however, is not a tale of doom and gloom, in fact quite the opposite, as it focuses on the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system through local and organic family farms.
Fresh is Ana’s second documentary by her production company Ripple-Effect films, the first being Generation Meds, which explored our fears and misgivings about mental illness and medication. She also set up Reel Youth, Inc., a video production program for youth coming out of detention, and other under-served youth. Let’s find out how Ana Joanes became a Change Maker.
How did you get into this line of work?
When I was in law school, I became really interested in our juvenile justice and educational systems. The inequalities were shocking. I volunteered with youth and realized that I could not really effectively communicate their realities to my friends and colleagues. Rational arguments might convince them of the unfairness of our society but failed to move them into doing anything about it: these children remained statistics, not someone’s child, brother, or friend. I realized that in order to care, you have to relate to a person and be emotionally touched by his or her story. Documentary films can do just that.They can entertain, connect, expose, explore, and most importantly move the audience to see things differently.
When did the green bug strike?
When I was 18, I went on a year-long study abroad program called IHP. The program focused on the impact of globalization on the environment and culture. We met with communities whose livelihood was being destroyed by logging companies or commercial fisheries, women who had to walk further and further to find wood or gather water, families forced out of their villages and into city slums because they could no longer sustain themselves through their farming. The circumstances and facts of their lives varied but somehow they all told the same story: How the needs of the rich dictated policies that were fast destroying the diversity of our planet, ecologically and culturally. Although they told us about destruction, their stories were really about communities coming together and fighting multinational corporations or government policies. They were stories of courage and hope. And they continue to inspire me.
Who is your green hero?
I hope Obama and his administration will be. I think we all have to take on the environmental challenges we are facing. And yes, there are many ways to affect the world (one, overused, is to ignore the problems and continue with business as usual). But there’s also no doubt that we need to act not only as individuals, but as a collective. We need to get our government on board, to make it listen and act. That’s why we need great leadership. I hope that we realize our power and responsibility and support Obama in being the leader we so desperately need now.
What is your ultimate green goal?
I just had a little girl. Her name is Maayan. And, as clichéd as it may sound, I just want to do right by her. I don’t know what reality she’ll face when she reaches adulthood, but I’m trying my best so she doesn’t have to pick up the pieces of our recklessness and inaction.
What is your motivation?
I believe we are at a really crucial turning point, we are moving beyond industrialism to a world defined by networks: technological networks, human networks, natural networks. Yet, we are facing incredible challenges. I like to remind myself that both cynicism and optimism are equally righteous. We don't know what the future holds, but hopefulness, on the other hand, is simply the knowledge that change is possible and that we can participate in it. Lin Yutang said that, “Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence."
What is most important to you, ecologically speaking?
I see the world like a very complex and incredibly beautiful web of connections.In this web, all that I do has an impact, all that I do matters. And so I don’t make a distinction between what’s important to me ecologically and otherwise. My intention is to align my actions with my heart and mind, to live consciously and to have an open, loving, and accepting heart.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
During the making of a documentary, there are lots of times when I’m feeling isolated or not getting any feed-back on my work and I can be overtaken with doubt. Managing doubts, fears, and financial stress are the most challenging aspects of filmmaking.
What is the most rewarding?
Learning about new subjects, meeting amazing people, and travelling. When the movie is over, feeling like I stuck with it and am happy with the result. And, of course, when I get feed back that my work did touch people that it might contribute to bring about the change that I yearn for.
What green thing do you do everyday?
Yikes, not enough. I fight the constant feeling that I can never do enough, that my lifestyle, by default, is hurting the world. I try to stay focused on what I can do and to bring mindfulness in everything I do. Joel Salatinsaid to me during an interview that, "Everything in my life is sacred. It doesn't mean that I'm right all the time. But it does mean that I stop and think." So I try to stop and think.
What do you wish you could do?
Igrew up watching Fame and old-school musicals and spent a lot of time day-dreaming about being a dancer and a singer . . . I still do!
What is your biggest eco-sin?
Flying. I fly way too much.And advocating political change when I can't even vote!
What is your best green advice?
Know that you can impact change, that your actions are meaningful. We all know what we could do; the difficulty is to act on that knowledge. It takes believing that it matters. That’s what my work is about, trying to inspire people to act on their belief. That’s the beginning of change. Then we can really start to capture our collective power by organizing (and re-organizing) our communities and changing our local and national policies.
More on Local Food:
Meet the Gurus of Local Food: The Original 100-Milers
Local Food
Can Eating Local Food Save Your Life?
Change Makers is series of interviews with people famous and obscure who are creating a more sustainable world through their work. Meet more Change Makers here.
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