From Kiss the Ground filmmakers Rebecca and Josh Tickell, Common Ground, narrated by Laura Dern, presents an urgent message about the poisonous practices within American food systems. At the forefront of this plight are the farmers and families who have lived through tragedy and illness at the hands of government policies that favor Big Ag and big profits. In acknowledging how racism has forged today’s farming industry, regenerative farmers are returning to pre-colonial practices pioneered by indigenous and Black farmers to restore soil, keep Americans alive, and leave a legacy for generations to follow.

Common Ground emphasizes the need to face the reality of our food systems and how profits and power are the driving force behind them. This issue affects all Americans, from the soil we stand on to the toxic air we breathe. Fighting against agro-chemical business in favor of regenerative farming is presented as a clear, bipartisan necessity for the health of our country, its people, and our collective future.––Daniela Leal

Common Ground is the recipient of the 2023 Human/Nature Award, a prize established to amplify a film that best exemplifies solution-oriented environmental storytelling.