Director Statement
The issues discussed in “Growing Solutions” are both timeless and increasingly urgent. We need farming systems that do not degrade the resources necessary for future generations to grow food – soil, water, seed biodiversity, and the farming workforce itself.
Rather than dwelling on the problems caused by our conventional farming methods, “Growing Solutions” shines a light on people who are already modeling solutions to what have been our most intractable farming problems, including soil loss and climate change.
One farmer profiled in the film, Gabe Brown, is part of a new movement of farmers whose methods are regenerating vital natural resources. For example, Gabe describes “growing topsoil” on his farm while his neighbors watch their topsoil degrade and diminish. This regenerative movement hints at what could become a larger shift in how we practice agriculture.
It is possible to envision us moving from a Chemical Age in farming into a Biological Age. Fundamentally, this means supporting the biology in the soil and above ground in ways that both enhance natural resources and create bountiful yields on our farms. This might sound unrealistic to many who know agriculture’s struggles, but the truth is that many farmers around the world have already made this shift, with great results.
The transition to a high-input, chemical agriculture was a dramatic one. Agriculture is fully capable of making an equally dramatic pivot toward a regenerative model. Having a public that is well-informed about the transformative possibilities will help propel this shift and hasten it.
“Growing Solutions” ignites vital conversations about what our future agricultural methods and landscapes need to look like. Moreover, it highlights our profound symbiotic relationship with the land, and how that relationship is empowering our agricultural community to make transformative change.
Director:
Leo Horrigan
Writer:
Leo Horrigan
Producer:
Leo Horrigan, Mike Milli
Year Released:
2020
Country:
USA
Length:
41:57
Reviews:
It used to be that documentaries were very esoteric and the topics weren’t mainstream or relevant to generate interest or if it was interesting it was often too “techie”, boring, or intimidating so many movie goers stayed away. Fortunately documentaries have come a long way since then – and in particular – in this farming system documentary.
Growing Solutions looks at farming and the problems of soil degradation, water scarcity and climate change and offers solutions in a large shift in how agriculture is practiced. There’s a new movement of farms whose methods are regenerating vital natural resources and are going from the chemical age to the biological age.
A diverse and interesting cross section of farmers are interviewed and they share their practice, knowledge and thoughts on their industry and the responsibility of their symbiotic relationship with the land and how that is empowering the agricultural community to make transformative change.
Leo Horrigan is the director/producer and is a food system correspondent for the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF). Growing Solutions is his third documentary for the Center.
Leo Horrigan is a food system correspondent for the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF). He has made three documentary films for the Center, and four in all. His most recent film, “Growing Solutions,” explores innovative approaches to crop production challenges that plague farmers, including soil degradation and water scarcity – and all against a backdrop of a rapidly changing climate. In 2016, he released “Food Frontiers,” which looks at cutting-edge projects around the United States that are increasing access to healthy food. In 2010, his first documentary for CLF, called “Out to Pasture,” highlighted the advantages of raising food animals on pasture instead of in confinement. In 2016, he also completed a film called “Out of Our Heads,” which is a rare and intimate portrait of a men’s retreat that strives to create emotional healing using poetry, myth, rituals and community-building.
