The Missouri Students Association and Graduate Professional Council partnered with Intersection, a KBIA/91.3 FM program about mid-Missouri community affairs, to host a screening of the documentary “American Meat” on Thursday at the Missouri Theatre.
A panel discussion featuring director Graham Meriwether took place after the film.
The screening was the premiere of the film and the first stop on the Young Farmer Screening series, according to [Meriwether’s website](http://www.americanmeatfilm.com) dedicated to the film. The series is scheduled to perform 10 screenings in each state in order to promote awareness of America’s meat industry.
“The creation of ‘American Meat’ was to meet three goals,” Meriwether said. “The first and foremost goal was to thank America’s farmers, the second was to support young farmers, and lastly to educate and emphasize to Americans everywhere that your food choice matters.”
The film addressed not only different types of farming but also the chronological sequence of events that Meriwether called “Farm to Fork.” Viewers were educated on both confinement farm and grass-based farming, with an emphasis on the latter and its contributions to ecological efficiency.
Grass-based farming, according to the film, is a revolutionary farming technique that recycles animal waste and mixes the waste with corn and hay to create a compost that both feeds the animals and fertilizes the pastures consistently throughout the seasons. This system cuts down on environmental damages and fuel costs but takes longer to produce as much meat as confinement farming.
On the contrary, confinement farming is a different system that allows farmers to keep their animals, such as pigs or chickens, in large warehouse like buildings with natural ventilation. The purpose of confinement farming is to be able to farm more animals in a smaller space. The downside to this technique is that farmers have to consequently farm more animals to make the same amount of money overtime, creating an inflation and causing prices in the supermarkets to decrease.
Mary Hendrickson, Department of Rural Sociology extension associate professor and panel member, said she favored grass-based farming due to the increased efficiency it produces.
“In regards to grass-based farming and the products it produces, (it) is the most viable option,” Hendrickson said. “It’s the best option in both labor efficiency and fuel efficiency.”
Other members of the panel included Meriwether; Paul Willis, the founder of Niman Ranch, a network of more than 700 farmers who practice sustainable and cruelty-free farming; and Don Nikodim, the executive vice president of the Missouri Pork Association. The discussion was moderated by Reuben Stern, host of Intersection and an editor in the Futures Lab of the Reynolds Journalism Institute.
In conclusion to the night, Meriwether shared what he had learned throughout the filmmaking process.
“During the four years it took to film ‘American Meat,’ I was introduced first-hand to a lot of different lessons,” Meriwether said. “The one that stuck with me the most is that the farming industry isn’t black and white — there aren’t good farms and bad farms, and all farms are, in essence, family farms.”