7 Oct 2023

Kiwi film-maker lifting the lid on California's pistachio wars

From Saturday Morning, 10:35 am on 7 October 2023

Pistachio nuts have become a popular snack around the world but a new documentary about where they come from and how they're farmed might make pistachio lovers think again before shelling their next nut. 

Dunedin film-maker Rowan Wernham has teamed up with US journalist Yasha Levine to tell the story of a bitter battle being waged in California where 90 percent of the world's pistachios are produced.

Pistachio Wars is an investigative documentary into billionaire pistachio farmers and water barons Stewart and Lynda Resnick, who it's alleged are flagrantly bending the parched state's political system and privatising water to feed their vast farming empire in the desert. 

Pistachio Wars co-directors, Rowan Wernham and Yasha Levine

Pistachio Wars co-directors, Rowan Wernham and Yasha Levine Photo: Pistachio Wars