If you picked up a newspaper today, you would have seen headlines about Presidential candidates, the Occupy Wall Street movement, Facebook’s business deals, and an Israeli soldier about to be freed in Palestine. Beyond the front page, you might read about turmoil in the Slovakian government or Obama’s jobs bill. Most of these stories seem important and worth a read. But are they the most important stories of the day?                                             For some time now, scientists have been alerting us that Earth is facing a “sixth extinction,” meaning that in our lifetimes up to half of the species that currently live on our planet could be wiped out. The previous five extinctions, taking place over the 4 billion years the Earth has existed, are thought to have been caused by extreme events like meteors and volcanic activities. But the current mass extinction we’re going through is caused by humans; our pollution, destruction of habitat, and overpopulation are just a few ways we’re wiping out hundreds of plants and animals every single day.
Isn’t the prospect of losing forever creatures like the elephant, polar bear, and chimpanzee important enough to make the front pages of the paper, every single day? Why isn’t our national conversation dominated by how to save the honey bee (whose extinction would mean collapse of most ecosystems worldwide)? I’m not saying we shouldn’t be worried about our economy, that articles about endangered orangutans should replace quality information about the government’s plans to create jobs. But if we don’t work fast to learn about the crisis and to save species across the globe, the unemployment rate will be the least of our worries, since human survival depends on all the species that are now at risk.

If you’d like to learn about the Sixth Extinction, we’re pleased to announce that we’re holding a screening of a new documentary, Call of Life, which explores this topic. Watching this film might give you information and a perspective you will never get by watching or reading the daily news! The film not only looks at the crisis in biodiversity, but also the elements of human nature that have brought us to this point, and how we can change our thinking in order to reverse course.

Watch the Trailer below, and Join us in Berkeley on Thursday, 10/20!

When we describe the United States, “sustainable” is not usually the first word that comes to mind. Our nation is the leading contributor to global warming, and high material consumption has long been taken for granted. But in little pockets across this country, people are forming communities that embrace environmental sustainability as a way of life. And not only environmental sustainability, but social sustainability too. We’re starting to learn that in order to form communities that can endure and thrive, we must not only manage our ecological resources wisely, but also our personal and emotional resources. We must learn to care for and understand each other if we are to form truly sustainable communities.

This Saturday, an exciting new film, Within Reach, enjoys its world premiere in Berkeley. The film chronicles a young couple’s 19-month bicycle journey across the U.S. in their search for what they call “sustainable communities.” They visited 100 communities that seek to live sustainably, exploring not only how these communities interact with the Earth, but also how they practice commerce, how they raise children, and how they build a cohesive social structure. The communities visited are diverse: they range from an electricity-free “radically simplistic” farmstead in Missouri, to a household of Buddhists in Wisconsin (who flourish while spending only $40 each per month on food), to the urban, creative Berkeley Student Housing Co-ops right in our backyard. Not all visits were harmonious—on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, the filmmakers were chased out of a secluded squatter community by an unstable man—but overall, the directors Ryan and Mandy discovered that living in loving harmony was a common thread amongst these communities, which not only brought them together but also sustains them.

At Café Gratitude, we attempt to cultivate a loving, supported community--a socially-sustainable community!—that is also nourished in an environmentally sustainable way. After all, shouldn’t the two go hand-in-hand? More importantly, can they exist without each other? For when we learn to love each other, the people around us, we learn that we can extend this love to future generations as well by protecting our environment. And when we take care of our planet, we nourish all her people. Achieving a sustainable nation may still be a long-term goal, but we can start right now in our own communities.

As humans, we’ve all had the opportunity to be born. Some of us will be lucky enough to go into labor one day. If birth is so prevalent why is it that most of us know so little about it? Birth has been on my mind a lot lately. A dear friend of mine is eight months pregnant and another friend of mine just recently gave birth. As a 22 year old woman, I’ve been exposed to very little information about the child bearing/rearing process. It’s rarely discussed in the media or among my peers- which I find puzzling. I find it strange that most young women and men understand more about sex than they do about reproduction.  I’m under the impression that many people feel that birth is something that we find out about in the process of doing it. It is handled by doctors that, it is presumed,  are trained to know about birth than we do.

In my freshman year of college I was exposed to my first birthing video. It terrified me. I left the room feeling angry and disowned by my own gender. In this film, a woman was in the hospital laying down while the doctors injected her with many birth inducers and pain killers. At the peak moment, the baby was pulled out, the umbilical chord was cut, and its throat was quickly cleaned out: both the mother and the child were screaming. I was angry that I was a woman and it was possible that if I had a child birthing experience it would look like that.

I wasn’t exposed to any other options. Fast forward to the present.

Around two weeks ago I had the opportunity to view two documentaries: The Business of Being Born and Birth as We Know It. The Business of Being Born ” interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system.” It enlightened me, scared me, and, most importantly, gave me new options on what a birthing experience can look like. Birth as we Know It is described as a film that has an illuminating effect “on the impacts of conscious conception, pregnancy and birth”. This stunning film showed images of wild women giving birth in the warm lagoons of the Black Sea. Both of these films radically shifted and healed my prior anger with the birthing process. I learned about different birthing practices that included more holistic and empowered birthing techniques.

Although both films included at home births- which many of us consider dangerous in the US, I was left feeling at peace with my options and abilities as a woman. It would be amazing for many women AND men to see these films, as this information gives them an opportunity feel more included in the birthing process.I’d like to add that I have no intention of having children anytime soon -yet this film still left me feeling more empowered and connected to my femininity. If you are interested in birth, are expecting, or know anyone who is expecting I highly recommend watching this film. I am so thankful to have been exposed to so many new ideas around conception, it has helped me understand so much more about how precious human life really is.

"Forks Over Knives" follows the journey of several Americans as they move from lifetimes of eating mostly animal products and processed foods to a whole food plant-based diet, and the miraculous health results that follow.  Two scientists, Dr. Campell of Cornell University, and Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic, lead the way, sharing their research findings that illuminate the healthfulness of a plant-based diet, and it's ability to steer fork-eaters clear of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

The film also touches on larger issues, including the morose diagnosis that given the healthfulness of most Americans, today's children may not reach the average age of their parent's generation.  So, our scientists start asking the big questions:

"Who will protect the public?"  Their answer: Not the government, not the American Dietetic association, not the insurance industry, or the pharmaceutical industry, nor the medical or food industries.  Perhaps only the public can protect the public, and armed with the information in this film, we might all learn how to live long and fruit-full lives.

I'm not sure what is more amazing about this film: what its about, or how it was made.

Love Lunch Community follows a group of visionary parents who came together in the 1990s to organize and change the way Berkeley children eat in school.  Over the course of four years, chips, cheetos, and fried foods gave way to organic vegetable soups, salad bars, and fresh entrees made daily from scratch.  But that is not the whole story.

The Love Lunch Community series was started by a collective of filmmakers who came together to record this story from the perspectives of students, parents, faculty, staff, administration, and the surrounding community.  Their goal was to cast a wide net, and to sacrifice the appeal of one story for the reality of many stories.  The final product is a series of webisodes, each with its own message and miracle.  You can view these for free on their website, where they can be reused and re-shared under creative commons licensing.

Aloha,

We are in Maui getting ready to lead our newest workshop on Community Building! It starts tomorrow and we excited about exploring this subject with people for the first time. What stops you from taking on creating community?

Cafe Gratitude Oakland celebrated their second anniversary and the people there continue to inspire us.  If you have never visited that location stop by for lunch one day and see community being in service to one another.

An inspiring new film is Premiering on April 4th at the Balboa Theatre, Rialto Cinemas Elmwood and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Francisco and the Bay Area on April 4th. 5th & 6th! 

FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is the story of two men who struggle to lose weight, overcome the same rare disease and change their lives for good.  The uplifting story follows Joe Cross on a cross country road trip where he vows to do a juice fast for 60 days (consuming only fruits and vegetables in liquid form).  On his life changing journey, he meets and inspires Phil Staples - a 420 lb desperate truck driver from Iowa - to do the same.  The documentary is a story about hope, wellness, friendship and our ability to change.

Check out the trailer, see showtimes and more at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com and see what is possible when a man takes on his life and treats his body truly as the miracle it is.

We invite you to check out this very cool documentary coming to the Bay Area.  I am is a documentary following a man's quest for the answers on what we can do to save our planet and humanity... and comes instead across of who we get to BE in order to help our planet thrive.  Interviews with incredible minds and hearts in our time, this film is a must see! 

Tuesday, March 1 – 8:00 PM