The Holstein Dilemma

What the heck is a heritage breed, anyway, and why should we all care? What started out as a simple question at a livestock fair inspired filmmakers Rick and Elara Bowman to search for answers across North America, from those who actually do the work and the experts that back it up with science. With interviews from agriculturalists, scientists and personalities to find out more about Heritage Breed livestock, this film explores why diversity is important in today's agricultural model that's based on large volume, fast growth, and the cheapest product possible for the consumer, but little else. Heritage breed animals have things to offer that we won't know we need until we need them, like pest and disease resistance, fertility, and tolerance to climate extremes. These are just a few of the characteristics these breeds carry which might be important traits for the future of agriculture across the planet...and we're losing these critical genetics to extinction. In the words of Dr. Temple Grandin, "It's important to save [unique breeds of animals], because if you lose those genetics, you've lost it." How do we balance the need to produce food for a hungry planet, vs. the need for biodiversity in our one-track production model? That's The Holstein Dilemma.