We live in interesting times. Humankind’s profound collective ignorance (and the repercussions that evolve from it) continues to widen and expand into a chasm that threatens to consume our entire ecosystem. Thankfully, activist documentaries—films that inform and inspire as well as entertain—are enjoying a much-needed renaissance on the internet. Films such as Zeitgeist and Loose Change, which 20 years ago would have been seen by perhaps 100 people are now seen by millions. The word against oppression and corruption has never been easier to get out.

The World According to Monsanto is a documentary that will never be seen in North America. Even with backing from the National Film Board of Canada, I would be shocked if it is ever shown theatrically or on Canadian television. The reason is simple: its target, Monsanto, is a very powerful international corporation that enjoys strong working relationships with governments and broadcasters around the world. Big money is attracted to big money—and wherever big money is involved, it becomes nearly impossible to get out a message that departs from the corporate bible.

The film, directed by Marie-Monique Robin, is simple and effective. A woman sits at a computer, Googling information about Monsanto. The woman appears perfectly ordinary—she could easily be your aunt, perhaps inspired to do some investigative research after hearing Ralph Nader speak. We follow her as she unravels disparate information about the corporation. Along with her, we learn about biotechnology, genetically modified organisms, bovine growth hormones, Agent Orange, PCBs, RGBH—terms that will be unfamiliar to most of us.

We learn about decades of unreported pollution in a small town in Alabama, false advertising claims, and misleading packaging, a corporation’s strong working relationship with various government organizations, the ethically questionable sharing of personnel between corporations and government, the consequences of whistleblowers speaking out—all of it information rarely presented on the evening news.

We see the human aftereffects of corporate policy upon farmers in India, families and landscapes in South America, academics and ordinary citizens in North America. And pretty soon, we begin to see the big picture, and understand how that big picture differs from the little picture that we see on the television. We begin to wonder about our future, and we maybe we even begin to re-evaluate our priorities as citizens.

By the time you read this column, The World According to Monsanto may have already been taken off the Internet for reasons... well, for reasons that we can only guess at. It will return—somewhere, somehow, someday. To be seen by millions. Hopefully by you.

Watch The World According to Monsanto online at www.video.google.ca.