New film highlights food links to the climate crisis and showcases Cornish solutions

Editor-in-chief 21/06/2023

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We import nearly 50 per cent of all our food in the UK …. and yet waste one-third of it.

Food waste alone, if it were a country, would be the world’s third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the United States, and the way our food is produced is a major driver of deforestation, water pollution and habitat loss.

It may all sound depressingly overwhelming – but a new Cornish film brings some glimmers of hope.

Hungry for Change, the latest documentary from charity Cornwall Climate Care, takes a fascinating and inspiring look at a whole range of stories, from the gleaners picking ‘waste’ crops in our fields, to projects growing food in unusual places and a microbiologist keen to get us all eating low-carbon insects.

It is presented by forager Joshua Quick, who asks how we could produce more of our food locally, more imaginatively and more sustainably, to help us weather the climate challenges coming our way.

Producer Claire Wallerstein said:

“Not so long ago, Cornwall was full of small mixed farms, market gardens and orchards that would have fed their local communities.
“Now, much of what is produced here is shipped out of Cornwall, and we buy nearly all our food from supermarkets. Much of it will have travelled huge distances to reach us. While this has brought us convenience and low prices, it’s had a huge impact on our planet’s life support systems.
“We need to urgently reconsider how our food is produced – to ensure we can feed ourselves into the future as climate chaos impacts the places we import our food from today.”

Hungry for Change is the sixth film in the award-winning Cornwall’s Climate Stories series, which looks at various issues around how climate change is impacting Cornwall – while showcasing the inspiring stories of what local people are doing to address the challenges coming our way.

The series has been praised by Sir David Attenborough, who said:

“The need you have identified is indeed a real one, and your films meet it very well. Many congratulations.”

This film is a partner to Cornwall Climate Care’s previous film, Food for Thought, which was presented by an organic beef farmer and looked at the climate story around livestock farming in Cornwall.

Claire said:

“There are so many links between food, health, poverty, education and government policy, and all of these need tackling together. It’s a huge challenge, but we hope this film will bring viewers hope and inspiration as part of the bigger picture.”

Hungry for Change will be launched at a series of screenings in July and August (see below).

Many of these screenings will be double bill events, alongside the ‘Save Our Wild Isles’ film, also called Hungry for Change, inspired by the recent Sir David Attenborough series and produced by the RSPB, WWF and Silverback Films. This film covers different aspects of our food production system more nationally.

The screenings will be followed by Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and some of the film’s expert contributors.

Screenings will include tastings of some unusual climate-friendly foods shown in the film, which viewers will almost certainly never have tried before.

Follow Cornwall Climate Care on social media for more information: https://linktr.ee/CornwallClimateCare.

Screening dates

4th July 2023

Screening with Helston Climate Action Group

Helston Methodist Church – doors open 19:00

Get your tickets here

7th July 2023

Screening at St Ives Arts Club

Followed by Q&A – doors open 18:30

Get your tickets here

8th July 2023

Screening at Plymouth Arts Cinema