About the film
If successfully funded, Toxic Profits will be a feature-length film documenting the lives of those most affected by this policy--those living in the Global South who are applying these banned and unregistered pesticides and suffering serious health effects as a result. Countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America use 25% of the world's pesticides, yet account for 99% of deaths caused by these toxins. [1] Some 25 million farmers and agricultural workers across the globe are poisoned by pesticides each year, and poorly educated and impoverished laborers are most at risk, often applying pesticides without any training or protective clothing. [2]
The film will also explore how this issue affects everyone, as national borders mean nothing to pesticides. Millions of barrels of pesticides travel the global marketplace and re-circulate as residue on food and fiber, as well as contaminants in global air and water currents. [3] Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that in 2010, almost 50% of fresh fruits and 25% of fresh vegetables consumed in the U.S. were grown overseas, yet the Food and Drug Administration currently inspects less than 1% of imports. [4] Although the use of certain pesticides within U.S. borders is banned, these toxins may be coming back to us, in what is called the "circle of poison".
Finally, Toxic Profits will document alternative, sustainable farming solutions to corporate-controlled, pesticide-intensive agriculture. Because the global pesticide market is increasing by billions of dollars every year, the film will highlight alternative farming methods that have proven more effective and even more profitable than the industry standard.
Nick Capezzera, Evan Mascagni, and Shannon Post all attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.
Nick Capezzera is a film maker living in New York City. Prior to Toxic Profits, he produced a documentary short, "A Summer at Hopper's House" that was featured at the Somerville Open Cinema Festival.
How you are helping
Thank you for visiting our Kickstarter page (and reading this far). Since beginning this project we have interviewed several experts in the field, from New York City to Los Angeles to San Francisco, and have visited several farms to put this project video together and earn your support. Now the challenging work begins. Your contribution will go towards the rental of film-making equipment, the costs of travel to farms in the Global South, and the editing of the full-length film. We are operating on a small budget and are seeking only to raise the minimum amount that will ensure the completion of a feature-length documentary. Anything you can give is greatly appreciated, and if you can't afford to give, simply spreading the word means just as much.
Evan, Nick & Shannon
*We want to issue a special thanks to Zach Jones, Zach La Grou, and Jeff Koster for the beautiful audio featured in our project video.
[1] http://www.who.int/entity/ceh/capacity/Pesticides.pdf
[2] http://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/122/rengam.html
[3] http://www.panna.org/issues/persistent-poisons/transport-trade
[4] http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/8/1/2
Support
Funding period
- (45 days)