Soylent Green: Has It's Time Come?

Can we draw parallels between a "scifi" movie from 1973 and the environmental perils we face today? Was Soylent Green a faintly blurred, crystal ball peering into our future? The movie paints a grim portrait of human existence soon to come.

It is the year 2022 and the "Greenhouse Effect" has wreaked havoc on our food supply. Crops can no longer grow in a climate boasting 90 degree winters. Trees must be grown in a tree museum. Overpopulation has exploded to over 40 million in Manhattan alone and street living is commonplace. Pollution is overwhelming and many wear masks and walk to the town square to collect bottled water. People are often encouraged to "go home" when they are sick or disabled, to make room for others. But you don't "go home" empty handed. You are treated to a sense surround experience... a series of videos displaying the rugged beauty of nature as it once was.

Control of the limited food supply has been usurped by one large, corrupt company, The "Soylent Corporation." Mentioned early on, and tantamount later on, the Soylent Corporation also owns the waste disposal plants and the plankton ships. Loss of plankton in the ocean, actually documented in our time in the early 1990's, will play a significant, prophetic role in the breakdown of the food chain.

Soylent crackers are the mainstay of the food supply. Soylent red and soylent yellow are made from "high energy vegetable concentrates" which sound just delicious! But the newcomer, "Soylent Green" is even more promising and nutritious. It is made from high energy plankton from the ocean. Soylent Green is so popular that they must ration access and patronizingly remind people that "Tuesday is Soylent Green day."

Riots over Soylent Green shortages become so fierce that the "scoops" must be called in to handle the crowds... a crowd control measure that not all survive. Detective Thorn, played by Charlton Heston and his "police book" Saul Roth, played elegantly by Edward G. Robinson, begin to investigate the murder of a Soylent board member. Their investigation leads them to a shocking discovery about the true cost of corporate control of the food supply. I couldn't possible spoil the end of the film for you, just let me say this. Think twice about where your food comes from... if you can't identify it, don't eat it!

Buon Appetit!