ENTERTAINMENT

‘GMO OMG’ film gets local screening

By Mackensy Lunsford

Asheville’s Jeremy Seifert, director of “GMO OMG,” wants to know: what's on our plates?

In two films so far, Seifert has addressed important food issues. His first movie, “Dive!,” in 2011, dealt with food waste at grocery stores in the United States. In particular, he went after a chain that's now close to Ashevillians’ hearts: Trader Joe's.

His second film, “GMO OMG,” debuted in theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on Sept. 13. The film has been covered by the New York Times and Salon.com, and Seifert appeared on the HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Sept. 20. But so far, local viewings have been hard to come by.

But on Earth Day, April 22, the Asheville Community Theater will host a film screening followed by Q&A with the director and panel discussion with local organic experts.

Speakers include Jim Biddle, MD, of Asheville Integrative Medicine; Carol Koury, founder and president of Sow True Seed; Rebecca Friedman, owner and chef of Farmer’s Daughter Catering; and Kelly Shea, vice president of WhiteWave Foods Company.

Sow True Seed is a local company that carries open-pollinated and non-GMO seeds. Sow True employee Neely Dawson last year asked Buncombe County commissioners to pass a resolution to support GMO labeling in North Carolina.

Also last year, Sow True Seed's Koury, with colleague Cathryn Davis Zommer, traveled to Washington to join 82 other seed companies, farmers and advocacy groups to file a class-action lawsuit against Monsanto, the Creve Coeur, Missouri-based leading producer of genetically-engineered seeds.

GMO OMG is approximately 90 minutes long, but it’s an entertaining film, particularly given its subject matter, and it moves at a fast clip.

Hi-Wire at The Junction

The Junction will host a spring-themed beer dinner featuring the brews of Hi-Wire Brewing on Wednesday, April, 23. Six special courses will be paired with six different Hi-Wire Brews. $65 per person, not including tax & gratuity. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the first course at served at 7 p.m. This dinner is by reservation only. Call 225-3497 for reservations. More at www.thejunctionasheville.com

IF YOU GO

What: GMO OMG. A film screening and panel discussion rings bring together health experts for a Q&A.

When: Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day. Doors open at 6:30, Film begins 7:15.

Where: Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut Street.

Tickets: $11 in advance, $13 the day of, www.organicgrowersschool.org.