It's the soft, natural fabric associated with high quality and versatility. Used to make everything from jeans and t-shirts to tarpaulins, oil and cattle feed, it powers a 37 billion euros a year industry. But is cotton really as pure as it seems? Claims of forced labour, pollution, and even slavery have stained its wholesome reputation, creating a market for 'ethical, responsible' cotton.
Dangerous antibiotics, fluoroquinolones, have been destroying the lives of healthy people. For years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration turned a blind eye to this tragedy. Washington, D.C. consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, successfully sued the FDA, in 2008, forcing stronger warnings on name brands like Cipro and Levaquin. How can 5 pills change one's life forever?
For years antibiotics have been misused to treat both humans and animals for minor illnesses. Careless overprescription has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. By 2050 these "superbugs" could cause more deaths than cancer. Meanwhile research into new antibiotics is limited, considered unprofitable. Doctors and scientists fear that this combination of factors will create a "perfect storm”.
Beautifully shot and interweaving interviews with scenes from soy fields in Paraguay, Raising Resistance explores Latin American farmers’ struggle against the expanding production of genetically modified soy in South America. Biotechnology, mechanisation, and herbicides have radically changed the lives of small farmers in Latin America. For farmers in Paraguay this means displacement from their land, loss of basic food supplies, and a veritable fight for survival.
The environmental problems caused by fracking in America have been well publicised but what’s less known are the gas industry’s plans for expansion in other countries. This investigation, filmed in Botswana, South Africa, Alaska and North America, reveals how fracking plants are quietly invading some of the most protected places on the planet - including Africa’s national parks.
Many consumers are concerned about the disconnect between food and health. Touched by their high school football player son’s battle with an antibiotic resistant super-bug filmmakers Jeff and Jennifer Spitz take a closer look at what is in their food and what anyone can do to make healthier choices in their own homes, schools and communities. This film shows how one family tries to shift away from fast, processed food-like substances and toward more fresh, local and organic choices.
Future Food is a highly topical new series of 6 x 27’ documentaries, asking how we are going to feed ourselves in the 21st Century. Tonight there will be 219,000 new mouths to feed at the world’s dinner table – that’s 80 million more people over the next year. By 2050, the world’s population will have risen to around 9.5 billion and require 70% more food than we grow today. How will we feed them? Future Food visits Kenya and exploring six questions at the heart of the debate.
From brains to eyes, hands to legs, and deep down to the internal organs; implants, prosthesis and rehabilitation are entering a new era potentially creating a new type of human being - The Bionic Man- in reality, not on retro TV. But what ethical concerns arise as we mix technology with biology?
Mankind has always looked at nature to solve problems, taking a cue from the solutions that biological systems have refined through natural selection. In this episode we look at a robotic plant that mimics the mechanics of plant roots, and dive underwater to see robots inspired by fish.
This documentary probes the life of Syria's despot, Bashar al-Assad. The country has been in the grip of a bloody civil war for more than six years, and although he's faced challenges from ISIS, the refugee crisis, and foreign governments calling for his removal, Bashar has stayed true to his one goal: to perpetuate his relentless power over Syria.
Anastasia Synn is a modern-day cyborg, pushing the limits of technology and her body as well as incorporating her implants into her magic performances.
Adopted by Dolphins' follows a group of researchers who are accepted as companions by bottlenose dolphins in the Red Sea. A group of divers and marine biologists accompany up to 100 wild dolphins for days and for the very first time watch their behaviour from a dolphin’s perspective. Willingly, the animals expose their social behaviour and games, their exciting love life and even the use of medical substances provided by corals. This is a capturing story of love, war and drama.
