Film Club: Is This The Answer To Overpopulation?
JAMES COLQUHOUN
Did you know, nearly 1 billion people still suffer from chronic hunger even though the Green Revolution that has fed billions will soon come to an end due to the diminishing availability of its main ingredients–oil and water? The combination of population growth and our extensive use of natural resources means we’re placing a huge burden on the Earth we all live and depend on!
The film illustrates both the over-consumption and the inequity side of the population issue by following Beth, a mother and a child-rights activist as she comes to discover, along with the audience, the thorny complexities of the population issue.
This month we’ve launched Mother - Caring For 7 Billion as our September Film Club documentary to raise awareness of the toll that humans are having on Earth, and how population growth is impacting all aspects of our being. In 2011 the world’s population reached 7 billion, a startling seven-fold increase since the first billion occurred 200 years ago.
In the past, population was a hot topic, high on the priorities of the international agenda, but now it’s become rather politically incorrect because of sensitivities surrounding the topic including religion, economics, family planning and gender inequality. Yet ignoring the issue is not something we can afford to be doing!
Mother - Caring For 7 Billion is a groundbreaking and award-winning film about the controversies surrounding a world of 7 billion, and one woman’s journey to make sense of it. It tells the story of Beth, an American mother and child's right activist, and her journey to understand how and why the empowerment of women and girls around the world is so intricately linked to our fate on this planet. Featuring world-renowned experts to help explain the controversies, the film touches on cultural aspects such as gender equality, religion, reproductive health and the environment. Despite the sensitive topics and persistency of their controversy, the film is a beacon of hope, showing the strength of the human spirit to make a better world. It highlights a different path for the future, with the women of the world leading the way via a nurture mindset rather than one of invading and conquering.
Watch Mother on FMTV Today!
James Colquhoun is the filmmaker behind Food Matters, Hungry For Change, and Transcendence Seasons 1 & 2 and founder of Food Matters and FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded the Food Matters community following the release of the 2008 documentary, giving people the tools (films, books, articles, and guided programs) to take charge of their own health. From here, FMTV was born! It was designed as a place where you can access vital information by watching all of your favorite inspiring documentaries, expert interviews, & recipe videos in one place, and in early 2020 FMTV found it's new home on Gaia.