Y tu Luna también: Pan y circo: Season 1, Episode 4 – “The Future is Now: Climate Change” (2020)

This is a good episode. It’s evident from some of Diego Luna’s interviews and original work that the environment is an important issue for him. The episode brings together a nice varied group of folks to discuss it, along with a meal that raises this sort of consciousness too.

The dinner party is held outside for this episode, in an area rich in chinampas—islands built atop freshwater using the same soil from the nutrient-rich waterbed. In lieu of the usual interspersed clips of Luna in the kitchen with the chef, we see him accompany her through the chinampas harvesting her fresh ingredients. She also talks to Luna about the importance of responsibly sourcing ingredients for her restaurant.

Here are some highlights from the dinner discussion:

• One guest is a former astronaut – He tells the group about watching the sunrise from orbit and seeing the Earth’s atmosphere, saying, “And it scared me because it looked so thin, so delicate. That’s the moment I became an environmentalist.”
• An environmental scientist came armed with both biology and political savvy – She says, “It’s hard for governments to make radical structural decisions. People are working within a relatively short span of time, and so no one wants to make a long-term decision. And the environment is not a short-term issue. You can take action in the short term, but you need to have a long-term vision.”
• A Green Party politician, meanwhile, has her own take on the government’s inaction – “We’re not clear on what we appreciate, treasure, value, and we’re teaching this generation after generation. This is why we see the same patterns repeated in positions of power. We’re good at complaining but bad at taking action. If you don’t like something, then you have to change it.”
• An indigenous leader from Peru regales the table with the story of how her people fought back against a company trying to exploit their land.
• A singer and activist sums up the state of affairs between Earth and humanity – “This beautiful, generous garden, we wasted it by being assholes.”
• There’s another musician/activist in the group as well – She emphasizes hope in the power of change, saying, “Right now, we still can. And it’s up to us.”

Like I said, this is an issue that’s dear to Luna, and that’s reflected in the episode. His opening voiceover is both unflinching and urgent, stating, “The mathematics of disaster are brutally clear. If we fail to change, the world will be lethally wounded.” And during the dinner, he opens up about some of his own self-examination and his desire to do more to preserve the environment. He admits, “Two of the things I love most in life are traveling and eating,” and he looks at how his habits regarding both contribute to climate change.

For all the seriousness, though, he brings some lightness to the episode too. When the chef is describing one of the dishes and mentions the fresh aramanth leaves she harvested with Luna, he says, “It’s my only contribution to the dish. In fact, I didn’t even pick them myself. I just carried the basket.” That made me smile!