Educational Media Reviews Online

Broken Limbs is an excellent film about viable survival options that respond to the challenges faced by farmers trying to earn a living in the harsh world of agribusiness. Although American farmland is a valuable asset, the reality is that farming is a difficult way to earn a living. While production costs continue to rise and banks become less forgiving, the farmer’s profit on that apple or potato you bought at the grocery store has not increased accordingly. Oftentimes the average farmer finds it more profitable to sell to large farming corporations or real estate developers than to continue farming – even if not facing the threat of bankruptcy and foreclosure outright.

As filmmaker Guy Evans seeks to understand why his father’s once profitable Washington apple farm is now on the verge of bankruptcy, he turns this personal story into an investigative journey into ways that today’s “new farmers” have learned to survive.

Evans’ investigation into currently successful farming ventures first leads him to families that have expanded from family farm to large scale corporations. But then he hears of agriculture economist Dr. John Ikerd’s theory of sustainability which argues for agricultural practices that promote an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially responsible society. Evans interviews farmers following these principles by raising organic crops and living simply.

When Evans shares these concepts with his father, he encounters resistance. His father sees the ideas that sustainable agriculture promotes as living on the fringe.

Evans concludes that we are not only in need of the new American farmer, but also the new American consumer. Consumers who are willing to support the farmers by being willing to pay more for higher quality produce or going to the farmer directly through Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSAs). For farmers who raise fruits and vegetables, CSA is a system where the consumer pays in advance for a weekly delivery of seasonal fruits and vegetables. A produce subscription, one might say, that provides the farmer with regular income and direct profits.

The production elements of Broken Limbs are excellent.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in agriculture. Broken Limbs presents a refreshing look at ways that farmers can survive and even thrive without becoming bogged down in discussing the often depressing outlook for the future of the family farm.

Companion website: http://www.brokenlimbs.org/