Traveling through the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Africa, and India, this series explores the complex global web that brings food from farm to table. It also studies the very real possibility of a worldwide food crisis and the political and economic measures the global community needs to take in order to avert such a catastrophe. Interview subjects range from small, struggling food producers to scholars who have devoted decades of research to food security issues.

Two 52-minute programs:

THE FUTURE OF FOOD: A Looming Crisis
According to Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at London's City University, future wars may be fought specifically over agricultural resources. Given the present volatility of food prices and the riots they provoked in 2008, his theory seems to be on the mark. This program assesses the potential for a global food crisis as it guides viewers through issues involving climate change, oil consumption, biofuel development, fish stock depletion, and other topics. A Rift Valley herder discusses drought in Africa; a Cuban scholar details the impact of the Soviet collapse on food transportation in his country; an Indian farmer reports being pressured into planting jatropha for biofuel instead of food crops; and Senegalese fishermen lament the intrusion of Western corporate interests.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD: Sustainability and Security
For decades, local food producers in the West have faced a shrinking market share. But if well-intentioned Americans and Europeans stop eating vegetables from Africa, will Africans have more to eat? Or will we simply deprive African farmers of a living? This program delves into that issue and other food-related problems, some of which have solutions while others urgently await answers. Viewers are shown how tenuous food security in Kenya doesn't stop the country from exporting most of its produce to the West while potentially leasing large portions of arable land to Qatar. The film also profiles small U.K. growers, offers carbon footprint comparisons between livestock producers in New Zealand and Great Britain, and features commentary from Earth Policy Institute president Lester Brown and other experts.