Film screening: “Food, Inc.”

Past Event ....... March 2nd, 2010 — 6:30 pm

food inc posterA special off-site LPL event planned as part of the 2010 “One Book/One Community” reading program cosponsored by the Lewiston and Auburn public libraries: Tuesday, March 2, 6:30 p.m. at Flagship Cinemas in Auburn (746 Center Street/Rte.4), a free public screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary film “Food, Inc.,” which takes a provocative look at what today’s Americans are eating and how it is produced. Panel discussion will follow. For more information, contact LPL at 513-3135.


Further details:
The public is invited to attend a free screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary film “Food, Inc.” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, at Flagship Cinemas in Auburn.

Planned as part of the “One Book/One Community” reading program cosponsored by the Lewiston and Auburn public libraries, the event will provide viewers with a provocative look at what today’s Americans are eating and how it is produced. There will be a panel discussion following the movie at approximately 8 p.m., moderated by Denise Dill of St. Mary’s Nutrition Center and including commentary by USM/LAC anthropology professor Mark Silber; his student, Stacey LaGrange; Maine organic farmer David Colson; and Barbara Rankins, a researcher for Lewiston’s Community Food Assessment project.

In “Food, Inc.,” filmmaker Robert Kenner seeks to lift the veil on the nation’s food industry, exposing what he refers to as “the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.” He gives graphic evidence of America’s burgeoning obesity problem, pointing to a food supply which he contends is currently controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. “We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad,” he says, “but we also have new strains of E. coli – the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.”

The film features interviews with authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) and social entrepreneurs such as Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer.

LPL director Rick Speer said “We were extremely pleased to have Flagship Cinemas Auburn provide one of their big screens for this event. The film should provide plenty of grist for a lively give-and-take on food systems, both nationally and right here in Androscoggin County.”

Lewiston-Auburn’s One Book/One Community celebration is part of a nationwide initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture by encouraging citizens to read, discuss and celebrate a single book within their community through a series of special events. The 2010 “One Book” choice, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, is the first-hand recounting of how author Barbara Kingsolver’s family was changed by one year of deliberately eating food produced solely on or around their family homestead in rural Virginia.

Collaborating with the public libraries on this year’s One Book initiative are numerous community partners, including Lewiston Adult Education, Bates College, CMCC, USM/LAC, the Downtown Education Collaborative, Healthy Androscoggin, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center/Lots to Gardens, Encompass Marketing and Phoenix Farm. Also participating are four local  bookstores – Mr.Paperback and the Bates College Bookstore in Lewiston, and Percy’s Burrow and Waldenbooks in Auburn – where the selected book may be purchased at a 20% discount. In addition, copies of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle are available for loan at both LPL and APL.

Flagship Cinemas is located at 746 Center Street/Rte.4 in Auburn. For more information on the March 2 film showing or other One Book program activities, contact the Lewiston Public Library at 513-3135, www.LPLonline.org; or Auburn Public Library at 333-6640, www.auburnpubliclibrary.org.

Posted: Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 in Film, Panel Discussion

Lewiston Library: Film screening: “Food, Inc.”

A special off-site LPL event planned as part of the 2010 “One Book/One Community” reading program cosponsored by the Lewiston and Auburn public libraries: Tuesday, March 2, 6:30 p.m. at Flagship Cinemas in Auburn (746 Center Street/Rte.4), a free public screening of … continues …