Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness

All food can be adulterated. More discreet than a drug cartel, more elusive than arms dealers, criminals have taken over food. Olive oil, fish, meat, spices, no department escapes their juicy traffic. A jackpot estimated in Europe at 30 billion euros enriches a new kind of mafia every year. Organized crime is selling altered products in restaurants, supermarkets and all food shops in the European Union. Their secret is to replace an ingredient with a cheaper one. Who are these new traffickers? What are their methods of operation?

This short documentary offers a humorous look at horse-pulling contests in Ontario and the people who prepare for them. We travel from the farm to the contest, where excitement runs high and the quips do not lack in local colour. Which of these magnificent creatures will be able to pull the heaviest load and win the prize?

This short film reveals the story behind oatmeal cookies, from the farmer's field to fresh from the oven. Without words.

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In an age when every fast food place seems the same, diners have remained distinctive, fun places to stop, full of local flavor. This program takes a look at several of the most interesting diners in Pennsylvania, and also considers a few other roadside restaurants (like Midway Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike) that have interesting histories and reputations for good “home-cooked” food. So get a cup of coffee. Have a seat. And come along as we visit great little restaurants from Wellsboro to Downingtown, from Milford to Conneaut Lake. Let’s go to Potato City, to the Melrose in Philly and to unforgettable little places from Pittsburgh to Poconos. Whether it’s the middle of the night in State College or lunchtime in Smethport, this documentary gives you an unusual taste of Pennsylvania and some of its quirkier cuisine.

The environmental problems caused by fracking in America have been well publicized but what's less known are the gas industry's plans for expansion in other countries. This investigation, filmed in Botswana, South Africa and North America, reveals how gas companies are quietly invading some of the most protected places on the planet.

An intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. This unflinching look at Anthony Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.

It is a documentary on food design, redefining food through the lens of creativity and design. The film features interviewees from Italy, Spain, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Sweat, sun, rain, tears, and green thumbs are all part of the challenge for a young couple attempting to become full-time organic farmers in this illuminating doc.

Short portrait of a hungry seagull outside a sausage stand.

For six years, Melati, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia. Like her, a generation is rising up to fix the world. Everywhere, teenagers and young adults are fighting for human rights, the climate, freedom of expression, social justice, access to education or food. Dignity. Alone against all odds, sometimes risking their lives and safety, they protect, denounce and care for others. The earth. And they change everything. Melati goes to meet them across the globe. At a time when everything seems to be or has been falling apart, these young people show us how to live. And what it means to be in the world today.

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From the UFC Octagon in Las Vegas and the anthropology lab at Dartmouth, to a strongman gym in Berlin and the bushlands of Zimbabwe, the world is introduced to elite athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, cultural icons, and everyday heroes—each on a mission to create a seismic shift in the way we eat and live.

This portait of life on the tea plantations is decidedly rosy – clearly, there are no exploited workers here. However, the film provides an intriguing overview of tea production – from the planting of tea seeds to the final shipping of the precious leaves across the globe.

Philoxenia is a short documentary highlighting the synergy between the Greek notion of philoxenia ("friend of the stranger") and Southern hospitality, as expressed through Birmingham, Alabama's Greek-owned restaurants. The film features six local favorite restaurants, two historians and, of course, a lot of mouthwatering dishes.

Paella, tapas or tortillas: Spanish cuisine, which gives pride of place to vegetables and fresh produce, is a guest of choice at the French table.

Documentary about the harvest of 1950 conceived as a celebration of the joint work of Czechoslovak cooperatives.

A documentary about new methods of raising farm animals, made possible by the mechanization of agriculture.

A slide about new agricultural machinery. He demonstrates the latest type of beet harvester, harrow, seeding and planting machine.