Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields is a documentary film that showcases US veterans who are becoming organic farmers and revitalising their communities with access to local, affordable, fresh, healthy food.

The film, which highlights the growing number of veterans returning home who are affected by PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), shows how they are reclaiming their lives, regenerating soil and rural communities, and restoring local access to fresh food.

The mission of Ground Operations is to strengthen the growing network of combat veterans transitioning into sustainable farming and ranching, and to build the resources necessary for them to create healthy new lives for themselves and food security for communities everywhere.

Veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan face a difficult transition to civilian life, marked by high unemployment, prescription drug addiction and suicide rates.

Coincidentally, half of American farmers have reached retirement age and the USDA is calling for one million new farmers and ranchers to fill the coming gap.

Ground Operations follows young men and women who explain why they joined the military, how the war changed them, how they’ve struggled to return home and ultimately, how they found organic farming and ranching to be the answer to a dream.

A former marine, currently a grass-fed livestock producer, explained: “Working with living plants and animals, I’m a nurturer, instead of a destroyer, and that’s a significant realisation for me.”

Ground Operations also showcases another marine who teaches hydroponics, encouraging veterans to start farms inside abandoned inner city warehouses.

Offering a story about solutions, Ground Operations is the fifth film about sustainable agriculture from filmmaker and producer, Dulanie Ellis.

Ground Operations is available now to rent or own on digital download. Visit the Ground Operations website for more information

Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief @rosamedea