Island Earth (2016)

• 84%
• 2016
• Documentary
• Cyrus Sutton

Facing the destructive forces of modern agriculture, a handful of Hawaiians seek to use the wisdom of their ancestors to make Hawaii a beacon of hope for an uncertain future. Some researchers believe the biggest challenge facing humanity today is how we will feed the world in the coming decades. Experts warn that we will have to grow as much food in the next 35 years as we've grown in the history of civilization. According to scientists, one-third of the Earth's farmable soils have already been lost to development and unsustainable farming practices. A new system of growing food has to be established. Hawaiians have already survived such a crisis. With a limited amount of land and a large population they needed to achieve efficient systems of growing food or face collapse. The question now stands: what can we learn from Hawaii's past to help save the Earth's future? Hawaii is a microcosm for both the world's food problems and solutions. More GMO seeds have been grown on Hawaii, per acre, than anywhere in the United States. It also has the highest food prices in the nation. Yet, just 200 years ago, Hawaiians had one of the most advanced organic farming systems ever documented. Island Earth follows the lives of a handful of Hawaiians seeking to use the wisdoms of the past to make Hawaii a beacon of hope for an uncertain future.