An independent project about the loss of balance in our planet that is threatening our future.
ONE EARTH
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
The feature documentary
Watch the trailer!
Scientists: Fishing boats compete with whales and penguins for Antarctic krill
As Antarctic waters warm due to climate change, krill numbers are declining, stressing wildlife that rely on the small crustaceans at the bottom of the food chain. Two huge fishing vessels make their way through the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, passing among a...
Is Avian Flu Already Endemic? Here’s What Scientists Know
Will avian influenza cause the next global pandemic? Scientists suspect highly pathogenic avian influenza may already be endemic in the Americas and Europe.With more and more news stories cropping up about new strains of avian flu, it’s difficult to know exactly how...
Greek island of Poros threatened by industrial fish farming, say locals
Residents of the Greek island of Poros have expressed fears over a plan to expand industrial fish farming, which threatens to occupy a quarter of the island and cause environmental damage. The Ferret recently visited Poros to produce a video documenting local people’s...
Indigenous Kawésqar take on salmon farms in Chile’s southernmost fjords
Sixty-seven salmon farms exist within Kawésqar National Reserve in southern Chile, an area that formed part of the Kawésqar Indigenous people’s ancestral lands, and another 66 concessions are under consideration therePUERTO NATALES/PUNTA ARENAS, Chile — Pristine...
Negotiations to conserve Antarctic Ocean end in stalemate on many issues
The 41st annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), ended Nov. 4 with little progress made on several key issues. On Nov. 4, the 41st annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine...
Fish-feed industry in hot pursuit of krill; effects on Antarctic ecosystem unknown
The global growth of fish farming is driving the demand for Antarctic krill as an alternative to wild fish in fish feeds, amid the depletion of many wild fish stocks. Independent scientists say the krill fishery could have a detrimental effect on Antarctica’s predator...
War and hunger
New report by the Global Network Against Food Crises (EU-Fao-Wfp): the perfect storm hits 193 million peopleWhile we are expecting the effects of a global food crisis linked to the conflict in Ukraine, today the Global Network Against Food Crises released its annual...
The rush for raw materials also threatens forests
International Day of Forests. The shadow of the war up to the Amazon: deforestation advances. In February 2022, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon set a new record and according to several analysts in the coming months the increase in demand for soybeans and other...
How EU Green Deal fosters overfishing in West Africa
The paradox of fishmeal factories "grabbing" fish in West Africa The trucks are lined up on the beach, the rear doors open towards the ocean. On the ground there are piles of empty crates, every now and then a worker takes one and goes to meet small, coloured,...
Ocean desolation: how fish farm pollution is killing marine life in Greece
Researchers reported about a "desolation scenario" around sea bream and sea bass farms in Western Greece Yellowed underwater meadows, collapsed wild fish populations, dead zones. This is how scientists from the Archipelagos Institute for the Protection of the Sea...
Fish farms in Mediterranean ‘paradise’ blamed for pollution
The environmental impact of fish farming in the Mediterranean SeaThe cages float on the surface of the sea. They can be seen clearly from the shore: 27 circles 20-30 metres in diameter, each hiding underwater nets that contain hundreds of thousands of fish. Some are...
China increasing demand for meat and the pressure on Amazon and Cerrado
China has become the biggest importer of the Brazilian soy, used to produce feed for farmed animals. But this rush for commodities is having consequences on environment and global food security “Sorriso” in Portuguese means “smile”: it is the name of a town in the...
How much soy do we eat (without knowing it) through intensive farming?
Italy uses 3.7 million tons / year of soy for animal production. Only 689 thousand tons are of national origin, all the rest (3.2 million tons) is imported, mainly from Argentina, Brazil, United States, Paraguay. On December 2, 2019 a ship carrying 31,000 tons of...
THE ONE EARTH PROJECT
Studies estimate that, from the beginning of time, 113 billion people have ever lived on Earth (source: Population Reference Bureau).
According to other publications, every single year more than 160 billion animals are slaughtered for food consumption (based on FAO data). More specifically, every year worldwide are killed or used for production:
- 73 billions and 174 millions poultry (meat production)
- 7 billions and 702 millions laying hens (egg production)
- 1 billion and 484 millions pigs
- 921 millions rabbits
- 809 millions animals for milk production (265 millions caws)
- 479 millions goats for meat production
- 302 millions cattle (meat)
(Source: FAO 2018)
- 80 millions tons of fish is farmed (approx. 80 billions heads), 49,5 millions tonnes farmed in inland waters
- at least 93 millions and 633 thousands tons of fish is captured
One Earth is a project to research, inquiry and explain the full scenario of animal over-exploitation: which are the causes and which are the effects for the fragile balance of our planet.
Iper-intensification in factory farming: the biggest and most innovative factory farms across the world, designed for applying technologies to the increased global demand for meat.
One Health approach: what happens to humankind when the balance gets broken? Human health is deeply linked to the health of the environment and other animals’. For this reason, when we lose the balance, we are exposed to global health threats. The main issues are: antimicrobial resistance, producing 700 thousands deaths worldwide every year; other diseases related to animal over-exploitation and to the destruction of natural habitats (from Sars/Mers and other viruses).
Side effects related to the loss of balance needed to allow humankind and other species to survive on a planet with limited resources. This issue is about: deforestation linked to feed production (deforestation is actually the second cause of global warming); the loss of biodiversity, also linked to the massive use of pesticides in agriculture (even for livestock feeding); destruction of sea natural habitats for pollution (dead zones) and for overfishing.
An ethical matter. This issue is about the cultural, religious, legal and scientific aspects that actually justify the animal over-exploitation. A sort of research on the cultural roots that cause the loss of the balance, that is compromising our ability to survive on this planet.
The documentary and the enquiries
One Earth is an independent journalistic project. The main outputs are:
- Feature stories published on international media, focusing on factory farms; environmental matters; fishery and fish farms; deforestation and loss of biodiversity; human health; ethics and food production.
- Documentaries investigating the impacts of the food system.
Support Us
Support this project through the crowdfunding campaign at this link. Every support is precious to tell this story!
The budget will be used to produce the documentary and the video inquires (video production, editing, post production, distribution).
About us
One Earth is an independent project, based on the team of professionals that worked on the production of Deforestation Made in Italy (feature documentary, ITA, 2019, 67′), about tropical deforestation and the import of forest risk commodities in Europe and Italy, and ONE EARTH – Everything is connected (feature documentary, ITA, 2021, 93′), about the impact of the iper-industrialization of the food system.
The author is Francesco De Augustinis, a freelance journalist. He was author of video enquiries about sustainability for many Italian and international media, and in 2019 for the documentary Deforestation Made in Italy.