Can Sustainable Meat Production Ever Satisfy Consumer Needs?

Sustainable farming will be the topic of much debate as the documentary film "American Meat" makes its Minnesota debut at the on Thursday, July 12.

The film takes a look at the grassroots revolution hitting the meat production industry right now, framing the debate on whether sustainable meat production could ever meet the needs of consumers.

The documentary explores the current meat industry conditions, showing feedlots and confinement operations through the eyes of farmers who live and work in them. From there, it shifts to an exploration of the farmers, food advocates and chefs working to change everything about the way meat reaches tables in America.

"American Meat" will screen at 7 p.m. at the Edina Cinema, with a panel discussion including filmmaker Graham Meriwether and several local experts following afterward.

The panel of local meat experts includes:

• Todd Lein, general manager of Thousand Hills Cattle Co. in Cannon Falls
• Lucia Watson, chef/owner of Lucia's in Minneapolis
• Scott Pampuch, executive chef of the Minnesota Valley Country Club and host of Ovation TV's "In Search of Food"
• Jan Joannides, senior fellow at the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture and co-founder of Renewing the Countryside
• John Mesko, executive director of the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota

Tickets to the screening are $10 and can be purchased online at AmericanMeatFilm.com or through the Edina Cinema's website. They will also be available at the Edina Cinema box office before the screening.

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