Join NOFA NJ and Filmmaker Anthony Suau for a panel discussion and screening of Organic Rising, the first feature-length film to demystify organic agriculture for the consumer.

Tickets will be sold at the door, $20 General Admission/$10 for Students. Be sure to arrive early to secure your seat! There is street parking and a municipal parking garage 2 blocks away from the theater. Theater location is at Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Visit NJ Film Fest Website

Click Here to Watch the Organic Rising Trailer

Organic Rising explains the predominant forms of agriculture in the United States today: conventional and organic. The documentary film takes a deep dive into the history and practices used by organic farmers and implemented by the U.S.D.A. National Organic Program (NOP). Organic Rising follows the process from the NOP to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to independent certifiers that annually inspect organic farms, such as the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).

Organic farmers describe how they work to build soil biology to effectively reduce pest and fungal infestations simultaneously sequestering carbon. To move their produce in the marketplace, organic farmers use inventive methods such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and farmers’ markets alongside wholesale outlets. The film follows produce to processors and distributors and finally to consumers, who are largely unaware of the label’s process or what it represents yet somehow trusts it.

Other consumers avoid it due to confusion or a higher price tag. Organic Rising’s intent is to reduce confusion around the U.S.D.A. national organic label and to empower the public to participation in the process. Narrated by Simon Harrison (grandson of Rex Harrison) and Elizabeth Kucinich (the wife of the former congressman Dennis Kucinich). 2023; 120 min.