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Subjects (65)
Environment and Conservation (50)

Health and Illness (9)

  • As Night Descends
    As Night Descends
    Nadine Gomez 2020 10 min
    In conversations with passionate sociologist and political thinker Jean Pichette, the filmmaker views the forced downtime stemming from the current crisis as an opportunity to rethink our modes of existence and our relationship to others, nature, science, the economy, art, politics—in short, everything that makes us human.
  • Beef Inc.
    Beef Inc.
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    Carmen Garcia 1999 50 min
    A struggle for control of the world food market is waging, and the battle promises to escalate in the 21st century. Beef Inc. examines how a handful of companies have come to dominate beef production and distribution in North America.

    As traditional farming falls victim to agri-business, small producers and consumers are paying the price. What has been a way of life for generations is now solely a money-making venture for big business. In the beef industry, a strategy of "intense livestock production" has been implemented to boost profit margins. Cattle are housed and fattened in overcrowded feed lots, a situation which exposes them to disease. To combat this, the animals are systematically vaccinated, given antibiotics and pumped with growth hormones. No regard is given to the potential health risks to consumers or the quality of the end product.

    This film gives a voice to the independent cattle producer who, unable to compete with the corporations, find themselves being squeezed out of the industry. In French with English subtitles.
  • Chemical Conquest
    Chemical Conquest
    Larry Gosnell 1956 25 min
    A documentary about the chemical research that was used against crop-threatening insects, plant diseases and weeds in the 1950s. The film shows laboratory experiments at a government research station and poses questions about the ultimate effects of toxic substances on food-producing soil.
  • Deadly Deposits
    Deadly Deposits
    Jay Falconer 1992 11 min
    This short animation traces the coronary investigation by two doctors of a victim found dead in his department. Strangulation? Suffocation? Poisoning? A debate ensues as to whether or not the victim died of environmental causes due to his decades working in a rayon textile factory. The film takes a funny look at the very serious topic of airborne pollutants, and offers an entertaining opportunity to learn about their accumulation in our everyday environment.
  • Island Green
    Island Green
    Millefiore Clarkes 2013 25 min
    This short documentary takes a look at the changing face of PEI's agricultural industry. Once famous for its spuds and red mud, this tiny island province now has higher than average cancer and respiratory illness rates. Is there a link to industrialized farming? Rather than dwelling on PEI’s worrisome monocropping practices, Island Green dares to ask: What if PEI went entirely organic?

    The stirring words of PEI-born poet Tanya Davis are coupled with beautiful imagery and poignant stories from the island’s small but growing community of organic farmers, reminding us that we can rob the land only so much before it robs us of the nourishment we need for life. Island Green is ultimately a story of hope and healthy promise.
  • Poisons, Pests and People
    Poisons, Pests and People
    Larry Gosnell 1960 59 min
    Produced in 1960, this 2-part documentary examines the effects of widespread chemical insecticide on insects and on warm-blooded creatures including humans. Part 1 looks at the ravages of insects and the centuries-old struggle to control them. Part 2 shows experiments to find ways of controlling specific insects, while leaving harmless ones unaffected.
  • Something in the Air
    Something in the Air
    Sylvie Dauphinais 2001 24 min
    A 2001 documentary about the dangers of pesticides used by potato farmers in Prince Edward Island. Filmmaker Sylvie Dauphinais made this documentary to issue a wake-up call about an environmental crisis that put the ill, the elderly and the young at great risk. Includes some subtitles.
  • Toxic Trespass
    Toxic Trespass
    Barri Cohen 2007 52 min
    This feature documentary is an investigation into the effects of the chemicals we are all exposed to in our daily lives. The film begins with the filmmaker Barri Cohen’s own 10-year-old daughter, whose blood carries carcinogens like benzene and the long-banned DDT. Then, it heads out to Windsor and Sarnia: Canadian toxic hotspots, with startling clusters of deadly diseases. The film presents passionate activists working for positive change, along with doctors and scientists who see evidence of links between environmental pollution and health problems. Carried by Cohen's passion for truth and her disarming openness, this moving documentary is essential viewing for anyone concerned about the effects of pollutants on our - and our children's - very DNA.

    Toxic Trespass is accompanied by a comprehensive guidebook for educators, activists and concerned citizens, produced by the Women's Healthy Environment Network.
  • Worst Case Scenario
    Worst Case Scenario
    Glynis Whiting 2001 43 min
    This documentary looks at the risks of a proposed sour gas well near Clearwater River, in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Farmers and landowners all share concerns. Residents opposed to the well fear a deadly hydrogen sulphide leak. Shell Canada says it must drill to meet energy needs. When mediation talks break down, both sides anxiously await a ruling from Alberta's Energy and Utilities Board.

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