The fascinating, enlightening must-see film Dirt: The Movie shows the many ways that our health and lives depend on the soil.

The film explains that civilizations rise and fall based, in part, on how they treat the soil. It shows how monocultures destroy the soil and invite pests which then require toxic pesticides -- to which pests become immune and the toxicity in our foods inccreases. Monocultures also require fertilizers which are killing our rivers, gulfs, and oceans. It becomes an agriculture that is a war against the soil, against the Earth.

Monsanto' s monocrops, pesticides, and herbicides are aggravating this tragedy around the world. This crisis is threatening both ecocide and genocide. We have a short window of opportunity to learn now to live with the Earth -- the earth -- or we will not survive. We were given a Garden of Eden, but we are turning it into a desert through ignorance and greed.

Biodiversity helps build the soil, helps ensure crops in various weather conditions, and does not require pesticides. The film concludes with, "The choice is desertification or fertile, living soils that feed us." It shows how each person can make an important difference in our fate and the future of life on Earth.

The film is based on the book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth. Click to watch the film and/or order the book.