Juggling Dynamite

We rented this biopic on iTunes last night, and loved it. Lear is authentic and open, the embodiment of a youthful heart and mind for any age. At 93 he is truly inspirational and his passion for illuminating human prejudice and potential, is as helpful and relevant today as ever.  Human behavior is nothing, if not timeless.

Arguably the most influential creator, writer, and producer in the history of television, Norman Lear brought primetime into step with the times. Using comedy and indelible characters, his legendary 1970s shows such as All In the Family, Maude, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, boldly cracked open dialogue and shifted the national consciousness, injecting enlightened humanism into sociopolitical debates on race, class, creed, and feminism.

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You is the definitive chronicle of Mr. Lear’s life, work, and achievements, but it is so much more than an arm’s-length, past-tense biopic; at 93, Mr. Lear is as vital and engaged as he ever was. Top-notch cinéma vérité documentarians Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp, 12th & Delaware, DETROPIA) seize the opportunity to fashion a dynamic portrait that matches the spirit of their subject. Breaking down the fourth wall to create an evocative collage where past and present intermingle, they reveal a psychologically rich man whose extraordinary contributions emerge from both his personal story and a dialogue with the world. Here is a direct video link to the trailer

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens and Academy Award-winning actor, and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, BEFORE THE FLOOD presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change. BEFORE THE FLOOD will be in theaters in NYC and LA starting October 21, and air globally on the National Geographic Channel starting October 30.Here is a direct video link.

France has made it illegal for supermarkets to waste food, and Italy is offering tax breaks when businesses donate leftovers.  Some U.S. states are tackling waste. In the past two years Massachusetts and California banned businesses from wasting food.

Internationally, the UN has made cutting food waste one of its sustainable development goals, adopted by world leaders and signed onto in 2015.  The goal is to cut retail and consumer food waste in half by 2030.  A policy that addresses food waste is so far lacking in Canada.  Although activists, charitable groups and entrepreneurs have rolled out initiatives designed to help.  The federal government says that food waste is part of the food policy that they will be updating within the next year or two.   Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay told CBC News this week:

“In 2017, we will be open to discussions in public right across the country. Anybody involved — nutritionists, food groups, retailers, perhaps seniors homes, whatever — anybody that can add to the policy is [who] we want to hear from.”

See A $31B problem: how Canada sucks at reducing food waste:

In Canada, $31 billion worth of food ends up in landfills or composters each year, according to a 2014 report from Value Chain Management International.

It’s part of a global problem where 1.3 billion tonnes of food gets thrown out each year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Yet 850,000 Canadians use food banks every month.

CBC Marketplace spent six months investigating the food thrown out by supermarkets. Marketplace staff found dozens of bins full of food behind two Toronto-area Walmart locations. See: Walmart vows change amid concerns over food waste.
Here is a direct video link.

This type of systemic waste and inefficiency must be changed through new tax incentives that encourage sustainable, smart food behaviors and discourage wasteful, destructive ones.  In a world of finite resources, and an epidemic of ill health and reduced productivity born of bad diets, we can’t afford these dumb, health-destructive models to continue.

Forty-seven per cent of food waste is happening in the home.  Individuals must take back responsibility and care to manage the food they prepare and consume.  Little is more important for the health of our families.  Just on a pure cash flow management basis, consumers that are under-saved and carrying the highest household debt levels in history, can’t afford to waste half of their food budget or destroy their health through poor choices.