The Gateway Bug

By 2050 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has warned current global food production needs to at least double. They admit that's an almost impossible task. Since the industrialized agriculture sector consumes 92% of all freshwater around the world and animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, change is inevitable and urgent. Entomophagy, the technical term for eating insects, is currently practised by 80% of countries on Earth and offers countless advantages over traditional protein sources like beef. Examining the rise and fall of edible insect start-ups in America, this documentary explores cultural taboos in diet and agriculture, exposing America's disconnect with food as climate catastrophe while sharing daily habits to fix our broken food system. We witness the inauguration of the American Edible Insect Coalition, pioneering technology in Silicon Valley, commercial cricket farms in the rust belt, bug-eating festivals in Austin, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Interviews include over 50 professionals from the UN, USDA, NRDC, as well as TV hosts, chef Andrew Zimmern and Shark Tank star Pat Crowley. Are edible insects the future of food or just the beginning when it's almost too late? (Santa Barbara International Film Festival)