The food industry serves as the backdrop for this feature. Complete with interviews with a variety of interesting experts, this movie offers suggestions to viewers as to how they can work towards a more sustainable future. In Symbiosis uses the runtime to tackle GMO’s and pesticides treadmills, peering at the nefarious industry. Like the subject of the work, this documentary uses the input from people all over the world.
One of the men interviewed says “we are only beginning to understand” the effects of pesticides on bees. From this area of research, humans are next. Activist Vandana Shiva asks: “how is it that the countries with the richness of the earth gave us became poorer?”. She smiles before giving an unsurprising answer: “colonialism!”. Humanity is still reeling from the effects of European rule. From that point, In Symbiosis takes a side turn, revealing that Christopher Columbus’s invasion of the Americas influenced the Western diet.
The audience is told that the Genoa-born Columbus uncovered tomatoes and vanilla, products unheard of in his country. From this juncture, other nations sought to conquer other lands. Soberingly, Shiva explains how the English government stole shocking amounts of food from India and Africa in order to boost their economy. Through plantations and indentured slavery, food commodities became cheap for European eaters, which helped influence the way people dine to this very day.
Directors Helena Berndl and Francesco Maria Gallo hold no punches, showing how much many was taken away from developing lands by developed countries. In countries like India, food was grown to be exported, depriving the country’s citizens of produce. In an effort to expediate the process, treadmills were used on land. And then there’s the small matter of GMO.
GMO food stands for genetically modified organism; by virtue of the name, this means that the produce has been tampered with. One of the people interviewed says GMO guidelines is “not very scientifically meaningful at all”, suggesting that there is more to the eye than what is written down. Journalists who have written about modifications have been met with the wrath of the GMO lobby, discouraging others from addressing the issues in the food industry.
What sounds mafia-like in execution stems from centuries of colonial examples. It’s become normal to ship huge quantities of food from poorer countries to richer ones, in the hope of benefitting certain appetites. In Symbiosis bravely wags a finger at England and Spain, suggesting that their attempts to educate the world has caused much harm. Indeed, the strongest element of the film is the critique of Europe, a continent that devastated whole parts of Africa and Asia for colonialist purposes.
“The problem with these [colonised] countries is that the people are too poor to buy food from the market place“. It becomes clear that the privilege of the few comes at the expense of the many. What In Symbiosis delivers is an honest, frank and unvarnished exposé of the industry that keeps us alive. Cleverly, there are montages of meat being grilled, which in turn cuts to poor Indian people too impoverished to buy it.
At two hours in length, In Symbiosis pushes the audience’s patience towards the end, as much of what has been impactful was delivered in the first hour; the themes are repeated somewhat during the last 20 minutes. But what it delivers its message with pathos and passion, hoping to find a world where the inhabitants can live as one great tribe: all equal.
The world premiere of In Symbiosis just took place during the 33rd edition of Raindance, happening between June 18th and 27th.
