USA 2005 | Run time: 58 min.
The way our food is grown impacts both our personal and environmental health, as well as foreign trade policies far removed from our dinner tables. American corporate farm practices have increasingly become the subject of exposé, often to the shock and horror of the viewing public. At the same time, organic agriculture, no longer a 'fringe movement', has become a thriving economic market presence, with sales growing at a rate of 20% per year. Now in 2006, demand for organic food exceeds production. Back To The Land...Again presents the state of the art of organic agriculture today by highlighting the work and dedication of a collection of Wisconsin farmers. Wisconsin boasts more organic dairy farms than any other state, and in Vernon Co. there are more organic farms than in any other county in America. Vernon Co. is also home to the country's largest, and only farmer-owned, organic producers' cooperative, Organic Valley family of Farms. This documentary explores the emergence of the organic industry and its rising market share; the implications of the National Organic Standard; and organic agriculture as a means of reversing the decades-long disappearance of the family farm. Back To The Land...Again will strike a consonant chord in a mainstream audience that agrees that eating organically is 'better for you', but doesn't have full understanding of, or trust in, the organic label.