Our Documentary
American Meat is a pro-farmer look at chicken, hog and cattle production in America.
Beginning with a history of our current industrial system, the feedlots and confinement operations are unveiled, not through hidden cameras, but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. From there, the story shifts to Polyface Farms, where the Salatin family has developed an alternative agricultural model based on rotational grazing and local distribution. Nationwide, a local-food movement of farmers, chefs, and everyday people has taken root... But could it ever feed us all?
Our Featured Farmers
The Crew
Graham Meriwether
- Director Cinematographer Producer
Graham Meriwether is a documentary journalist who serves as the director at Leave It Better, a film production company committed to telling solutions-oriented stories about environmental challenges. Graham studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is based in New York City. For the past five years, Graham has been focused on directing and distributing the film American Meat. In 2010, Meriwether founded the non-profit organization, Leave It Better Foundation, whose mission is to empower youth to heal our environment.Memo Salazar
- Writer Editor Producer
Memo Salazar is an editor and filmmaker living in New York City. He has edited the feature documentaries Wet Dreams starring Rebecca Romjin and E-A-G-L-E-S The Movie as well as television documentaries for Discovery and A & E. As a filmmaker he is responsible for Boy George Michael Jackson Browne and Public Enemy's Son of a Bush.Recently he edited and co-directed TURBOCHARGE! a comedy biopic about the 80's New Wave Band, The Cars. He is currently working on a documentary about the United States and its relationship with and impact on Mexico.Ryan Nethery
- Cinematographer Producer
Ryan is a Brooklyn based cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. He is passionate about the outdoors, great food, social justice and important stories.Alejandro de Onis
- Producer
Alejandro has dedicated his work and time to documentaries and food. At 23, he created a partnership with friends and opened "Aurora", a restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. From there he moved onto documentary film and television. Most recently he has worked for onCarrier and Big Apple Circus, both projects for PBS. He currently lives in Western Massachusets where he helps to promote sustainable agriculture.Carlye Rubin
- Producer
Carlye is a NY-based documentarian, producer & researcher. She's collaborated on several feature docs that have received commercial success and critical acclaim including The Swell Season, Buck, & Capitalism: A Love Story. Carlye conceives, develops, produces & directs innovative documentary-style content for Reel Nice Ltd, a UK-based production company; a passionate storyteller, Carlye is currently working on her directorial debut.Shelly Shenoy
- Narrator
Shelly has been an actor since the age of 4, and moved to New York City at 21 years old to pursue her dream. Shortly after that Shelly found herself in the voice over industry. She has been heard on national radio & television commercials over two dozen times in the last 2 years. She is the narrator on all 9 Hooked on Phonics DVD's being sold nationwide, and if you tune into the Cartoon Network, listen for her on Casper the Friendly Ghost: Casper goes to Scare School. She plays 26 different characters on the show. She is thrilled to be a part of American Meat.Alison Plante
- Composer
Alison is the Assistant Chair of the Film Scoring Department at Berklee College of Music and an active composer for media. Her credits include scores for the History Channel, the Annenberg Channel, and PBS, as well as national television commercials, multimedia museum exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard Museum of Natural History, and theater (specializing in puppetry).Tom Jennings
- Consulting Producer
Tom Jennings is a documentary journalist based in New York. He has produced films for PBS, HBO, Natational Geographic, Discovery, The History Channel, Public Radio International's This American Life and NYTimes.com.Craig Charland
- Associate Producer
Craig Charland is a Brooklyn based screenwriter and script reader, freelancing for various film production companies and projects. He has worked on a number of film sets, and for the non-profit sector. He's passionate about social justice, and helps with research and film shoots on the documentary. He hopes to continue his work in using media and film toward the common good.Rachel Signer
- Project Manager Rachel Signer is a journalist with a background in sociocultural anthropology. As a writer, she supports innovative social change projects that take fresh approaches to solving systemic problems. In addition to working with the American Meat team, Rachel manages and edits the websites of two social enterprises, Green Rabbits and Rubina, and is the event coordinator for the online literary magazine Construction. Previously, Rachel has written about Occupy Wall Street, social entrepreneurship, locavorism, the nationwide student debt crisis, and other related topics for The Nation, n+1, The Brooklyn Rail, The Atlantic, Construction, and ChangeObserver. Most of her published work is available at her regularly-updated website.
Chas Lavoie
- Photographer
Charles Lavoie is a Brooklyn Based freelance photographer whose work has appeared in the Village Voice and the New York Press, as well as several newspapers in the Detroit area. Charles' work has led him to shoot events, products, interiors, and now organic farms. When not photographing, he spends much of his time teaching classes.Lizzy Divine
- Outreach Coordinator
Elizabeth Divine graduated with honors from Brookline High School in 2008. She is currently enrolled at NYU, majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Political Science. She spent her Fall semester of Junior year in Argentina and hopes to continue combing her passion for traveling with her love for environmental advocacy.Monica Warek
- Outreach Coordinator
Monica is a student at New York University majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Psychology and Nutrition. She is interested in issues and concerns around food production and its relationship to nutrition and health.Kirsten Keller
- Outreach Coordinator
Kirsten is an Environmental Studies and Journalism student at New York University. She is interested in various social, political, ecological, and ethical aspects of food systems and is considering a future in environmental law. She enjoys competitive running, gardening, reading, and riding her bike in her spare time.Maxwell Lloyd
- Web Coordinator Maxwell Lloyd has spent the last two years working in digital media. After graduating college he started his own Social Media Management company in Denver, CO called NewBugle Media. Max is currently doing production work on an Indie Film shooting in Brooklyn. His favorite type of meat is pork.
Natalie McCauley
- Distribution Coordinator
Natalie McCauley studies International Relations and Environmental Studies at New York University. She is interested in promoting the sustainability of global political and environmental systems through local the involvement of local citizens. Natalie has studied in Europe and Africa and plans to continue exploring how different nations define sustainability in her future travels.