PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE
What: Screening & Panel Discussion of the documentary film Living Downstream
Where: Muskegon Community College- Stevenson Center, Room 1100
When: Wednesday, March 27th, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Co-Sponsors: Sweetwater Center for Organic Opportunity &
Muskegon Community College Sustainability Task Force
Living Downstream
Critically acclaimed documentary film details the life and work of biologist and cancer survivor, Sandra Steingraber
March 11, 2013 – A new documentary film that has met with sold-out shows across the continent, standing ovations in major centers from Boston to Toronto, and rave reviews in media outlets such as The Washington Post, is screening at Muskegon Community College – Stevenson Center on Wednesday, March 27th from 6:30pm to 9:00pm.
Like the book on which the film is based, Living Downstream documents the growing body of scientific evidence that links human health with the health of our environment and concludes that the best way to beat cancer is by preventing it in the first place.
Living Downstream is directed by Chanda Chevannes of The People’s Picture Company (The PPC). “The film follows Sandra, who is on a journey,” says Chanda, “but the chemicals against which she is fighting are also on the move. We follow these invisible toxins as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how these chemicals enter our bodies, and how, once inside, scientists believe they may be working to cause cancer.”
Panel Discussion: Living Downstream and the Movement Towards Healthier Local Food
After viewing the hour-long documentary there will be a brief intermission followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A period with the audience. Diana Jancek, Director of Sweetwater Center for Organic Opportunity, will moderate. Panelists will include:
Claire Schlaff
Claire worked for Muskegon Public Schools as an occupational therapist from 1978-2002. In response to her son, Doug’s, death of Ewing Sarcoma in 2008 at the age of 35, and news reports of several other young White Lake area residents being diagnosed with cancer, Claire wanted to know more about the causes of cancer and about possible environmental links to cancer. From 2009-2012 she and a group of volunteers conducted the White Lake Area Cancer Mapping Project, and she is currently in communication with organizations about mapping and analysis of the data.
Patrice Bobier
Earthscape Farm & Full Circle Midwifery
Patrice is a farmer and Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), credentialed through the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and since 1977 has personally attended over 1400 home births. She and her husband have lived on their 260 acre farm since 1972, raising kids and grandkids as well as organic meats and vegetables.
Patty Oltean
ImproveAble Feast http://improveablefeast.com/
The Energy of Cancer http://theenergyofcancer.com/
Holding a degree in Environmental Communications, Patty is an athlete, a yoga and pilates instructor, a mom, wife, a cook, and is passionate about connecting the dots between how we treat our planet and how we treat our bodies. She holds workshops in West Michigan for cancer support groups, and for those wanting to learn more about cancer prevention.
The screening is being co-sponsored by Sweetwater Center for Organic Opportunity, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Muskegon County whose mission is to educate, advocate and celebrate organic agriculture and food production, both on our farms and in our urban landscapes, and the Muskegon Community College Sustainability Task Force
For more information on Living Downstream and public screenings, visit: http://www.livingdownstream.com
For more information on this event, please contact:
Media contact persons:
Diana Jancek, Director
Sweetwater Center for Organic Opportunity
Phone: (231) 292-1152
Email: dijaan1@charter.net
or:
Darlene DeHudy, Co-Chair
MCC Sustainability Task Force
Phone: (231) 780-2799