A Story of Solutions
In a race against the end of farmable soil, three individuals fight for change in the industry of agricultural food production, calling for a revolution.
The Need to GROW delivers alarming evidence on the importance of Healthy soil — revealing not only the potential of localized food production working with nature, but our opportunity as individuals to help regenerate our planet’s dying soils and participate in the restoration of the Earth.
A Story of Resilience
The Need To GROW explores both the opportunities and the struggles of challenging the status quo with real world solutions.
The inspiring stories are supported by featured experts - Dr. Vandana Shiva, Physicist and Agroecologist; Paul Stamets, World-renowned Mycologist; David King, Master Gardener and founder of SLOLA; Douglas Gayeton, Founder of Lexicon of Food; Jeffrey Smith, Author of Seeds of Deception; Kathy Kellogg Johnson, Composting Expert; and Permaculture Guru, Larry Santoyo.
The U.N. report Wake Up Before It’s Too Late recently stated that localizing and diversifying the food supply and increasing small organic farms was the key to fixing our food system; rather than relying on chemical-dependent, soil eroding, nutrient lacking, GMO monocultures. It seemed so obvious.
Meanwhile, TIME magazine estimated that at our current rate of soil degradation, we only have roughly 60 years of farmable topsoil left on the planet. We knew the public didn’t need another doomsday film insinuating it was too late to save our species. It’s not. So we set out looking for the untold stories of revolutionary people who are already creating the new food system, in harmony with nature.
As we began interviewing experts, it quickly became apparent how important soil Health is to the future of the planet. Soil isn’t sexy, so is often overlooked as being nothing more than dirt. This couldn’t be further from the truth– there are more micro-organisms in a Healthy tablespoon of soil than there are people on the planet! Healthy soil regulates not just the nutrients in a Healthy food system, but Healthy water, air, biodiversity and the ability to return atmospheric carbon pollution back into the Earth. Like nothing else, Healing soils truly addresses almost every other environmental issue - including climate change.
The film follows a mother and daughter activist, a renegade urban farmer, and an accomplished visionary inventor revolutionizing soil restoration. It was important to us for these characters’ personal journeys to serve as a vehicle through which we could weave in a myriad of action steps on all scales. Audiences leave feeling hopeful and knowing exactly what solution they can participate in immediately - regardless of who they are, or where they live.
Shot over three and a half years, The Need To GROW is ultimately a story of underdog resilience. Each character overcomes a major setback, bringing viewers on a ride to not only learn about the astonishing issue of soil Health - and the urgent problems of our food system overall - but to connect with characters who offer an inspiring example of what can be accomplished with perseverance and Heart.