American Meat Screening

What: The new documentary American Meat chronicles America’s grassroots revolution in sustainable meat production. The film, an official selection of Food Day 2011, explains our current industrial meat system, and shows the feedlots and confinement operations, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. The film then shifts to the burgeoning sustainable, local-food movement made up farmers, food advocates, chefs and everyday folks who could change everything about the way meat reaches the American table.

The film stars Joel Salatin, the legendary Virginia farmer who leads a movement of meat producers who raise their animals outoors and without antibiotics. The movie also features farmers and food advocates around the country, and frames the debate on whether sustainable meat production could ever meet the needs of the consuming public. It showcases current and new farmers who believe they can meet that need, and shows how they confront everyday challenges.

Who: After the film, a panel discussion will be held with New York City filmmaker Graham Meriwether; Brianne Casadei, founding farmer of Terra Firma LLC, an Animal Welfare-approved Stonington farm that brings the whole farm experience to life for thousands of children; Deb Marsden, founder and owner of Connecticut Farm Fresh Express of East Haddam, which serves over 60 local farms by delivering local produce, fruits and meats to hundreds of customers across the state; Nunzio Corsino, founder of Four Mile River Farm of Old Lyme, specializing in pasture- raised beef; and Craig Floyd, founder and co-owner of Stonington’s Footsteps Farm LLC, the first Certified Humane farm in the state, specializing in pasture-raised hogs and Stonington ham.

Where: , The Old Foundry Building at Stonington Commons, 7 Stonington Commons, 32 Water Street, Stonington. Parking for the La Grua Center is in the main lot at the north entrance to the Stonington Commons Community.

When: 6-9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19. Mingle and eat burritos between 6-7 p.m., screening at 7 p.m., panel discussion at 8:30.

Cost: $10 per ticket. Capacity is limited to 125. If you plan to attend, please email Craig Floyd at footstepsfarm@hotmail.com. There will be free burritos supplied by Chipotle Restaurant of Glastonbury. Chipotle buys its pork in Virginia from Salatin, and in Iowa from Niman Ranch, both grass-fed operations, as part of its mission of Food with Integrity.

Why: Sustainable farming is expanding exponentially as Americans learn more and more about their food and how they can connect with local farmers who raise their animals outdoors. Here is a film that celebrates these farmers, and all farmers, in an unbiased way that allows all farmers and food advocates to sit down and discuss solutions to their common challenges. Perhaps most importantly, the film provokes a spirited but constructive conversation about one of the most important subjects in our lives -- our food.

For further information on community screenings, please visit AmericanMeatFilm.com.