Some people feel depressed, even paralyzed, after learning about the multiple carcinogens we inhale with each breath, imbibe with each sip of water, and eat when we indulge in most foodstuffs. But there is hope! And when it comes to our food, that hope is embodied in local organic farmers who grow great food without applying poisons. As Sandra Steingraber wrote in the 2nd edition of Living Downstream:

Agriculture is 6,000 years old. For 5,940 of those years, it was practiced organically. But 60 years—two generations—is still a long time in human terms. It is long enough for us, as a culture, to have lost entire skill sets. It is long enough for the barns that one held fertilizer-providing animals to collapse. It is long enough for a county’s entire fleet of hay balers to rust out, for local canneries to close up shop, and for knowledge about the weed-controlling abilities of sheep to slip away. It is long enough that the very idea of using chemicals linked to cancer to grow fruits and vegetables that we eat to prevent cancer no longer seems as bizarre as it might have to our ancestors. Rachel Carson, who wrote near the beginning of that 60-year expanse, once remarked how strange it was to live in an age where carcinogens were a basic element in our system of food production. It is still a strange notion. Our predicament, however, is hardly insoluble. In fact partial answers and outright solutions exist all around us…

To break out of the depression and paralysis you may feel knowing we live in a chemical soup, and to elucidate the “partial answers and outright solutions,” we are bringing 3 local organic farmers to the panel discussion immediately following the screening of Living Downstream at the Normal Theater (Sunday, Oct. 17, 1pm). They are Ron Ackerman (Chenoa), Dave Bishop (Atlanta, IL), and Henry Brockman (Congerville). These farmers raise fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, eggs, and grains without using synthetic chemicals. They make a decent living and contribute to the economic wellbeing of their communities. And they feed their families and communities, while stewarding the air, soil, and water for future generations. Come meet them and learn more this Sunday!