Soylent Green

Climate change, chaos, and cannibalism

Forty eight years ago, a sci-fi thriller predicted a future with all three—in the year 2022.

In the 70s an often-forgotten film predicted climate change, chaos, and cannibalism in America's not-so-distant future.


Well, we're underachieving on the cannibalism, but if you count the coronavirus as "chaos," we're doing fine on the other two.

Soylent Green, starring Charlton Heston, premiered nationwide on May 9, 1973, to mixed reviews. In a year when The Exorcist and The Sting lapped the field, its box office take did not make the top 25 films.

Set in a hungry, desperate New York City beset by pollution, overpopulation, and a climate where the temperature stays above a humid 90° F, life is so awful that euthanasia is not only legal, it's often welcomed.

The year of this future hellscape? 2022.

Aided by Hollywood legend Edward G. Robinson, Heston investigates the murder of one of the city's elite, the CEO of the Soylent Corp. Soylent provides roughly half the world with its nutrition in bland soy-and-lentil wafers marketed as Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow.

When the tastier, protein-rich Soylent Green hits the market, food riots ensue, and Heston sleuths the new, secret ingredient.

A Heston digression 

Charlton Heston's remarkable career is worth a few paragraphs. A World War II veteran, he built a strong Hollywood resume as a 1950's action hero. But Heston became Hollywood royalty through three Judeo-Christian-based epics: He parts the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments (1956); ruins the chariot-racing Romans in Ben-Hur (1959); and trolls the Son of God in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).

Meanwhile, Heston became a liberal Hollywood icon by stumping for the Civil Rights Act, and, in 1968, in favor of gun control. And his signature film work took an abrupt turn from a biblical past to a dystopian future.

Planet of the Apes (1968) starred Heston as an astronaut inadvertently propelled into a future where apes, chimps and orangutans dominate, thanks to evolutionary changes brought on by nuclear war. The box office smash also devolved into four sequels, two short-lived TV series, two remakes, and two more sequels.

Soylent Green never rated any sequels, but it preceded an abrupt political turn by Heston, who spent the last decades of his life as a conservative icon and president of the National Rifle Association.

"We have met the entrée, and he is us."

Soylent green

And now, back to Soylent Green ...

The movie may have sounded ominous warnings about climate change on filthy Manhattan streets, but it also depicted young women as "furniture" at the disposal of the rich.

Clean air and water, overconsumption, resource exhaustion and other 21st century themes abound in this clumsy, dated film.

Oh, and did Mr. Heston ever figure out the secret to Soylent Green's high-protein success? To paraphrase the 20th Century swamp philosopher Pogo, "We have met the entrée, and he is us."

Yes, as Heston shrieks at movie's end, "Soylent Green is people!"

Or, as modern-day talkshow guests are so fond of saying, "Thanks for having me."

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Charlton Heston in Soylent Green. (Bill Lile/flickr)

A sign on a concrete building reading "United States Environmental Protection Agency."
Credit: marcnorman/BigStock Photo ID: 21123533

New EPA reorganization may quietly dismantle chemical health watchdog

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to gut its independent chemical risk program, potentially stalling regulation of dangerous substances and handing a long-sought victory to the chemical industry.

Molly Taft reports for Wired.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar panels and wind turbones in a grassy field with mountains in background.
Credit: Fahroni/BigStock Photo ID: 462747775

Republican divide over green energy tax credits could shake up party megabill

A group of House Republicans is clashing with party leaders over plans to gut clean energy tax credits, raising the possibility of a GOP showdown.

Kelsey Brugger, Andres Picon, Nico Portuondo and Manuel Quiñones report for Politico.

Keep reading...Show less
Brown wooden gavel on a bed of $100 dollar bills.

Trump moves to shield oil companies from climate lawsuits as states push back

Over 30 states and cities suing oil giants for climate damages now face direct legal opposition from the Trump administration, which has begun suing states to block their cases.

Karen Zraick reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
The U.S. Congress building in Washington DC with a fountain in the foreground during daytime.

EPA freezes environmental justice grants as Zeldin defends budget cuts before Congress

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drew bipartisan criticism in a contentious Senate hearing over whether the agency defied federal law by halting billions in climate and environmental justice grants.

Matthew Daly reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar panels in a green field under partly cloudy skies.

Trump administration moves to raise fees for solar and wind projects on federal land

The U.S. Interior Department plans to revoke a Biden-era rule that slashed costs for renewable energy developers using federal lands, a step back toward fossil fuel-friendly policies.

Nichola Groom reports for Reuters.

Keep reading...Show less
Flattened plastic bottles ready for recycling.

Plastic pollution may be accelerating global warming by disrupting Earth's carbon cycles

Plastic production emits about 5% of global greenhouse gases, but scientists warn that microplastics may also hinder the planet's natural ability to store carbon, amplifying climate change beyond current estimates.

Nicolás Rivero reports for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Damaged beach house with erosion visible at base and metal stilts supporting part of the structure.

Staff shortages at National Weather Service raise safety concerns ahead of hurricane season

A wave of retirements and layoffs has left the National Weather Service scrambling to fill critical roles as the Atlantic hurricane season approaches, raising bipartisan fears about the nation’s storm readiness.

Zack Colman reports for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.