Silent Killer

SILENT KILLER begins in the 100-degree heat of South Africa's Kalahari Desert. Three members of the Khomani San tribe-commonly called Bushmen-search for, and find, the Hoodia, a cactus-like plant with appetite-suppressant properties. The razor-thin San use the cactus to fend off hunger, but now, a pharmaceutical firm has patented the appetite-suppressant properties of Hoodia and is using it to make a diet product for obese Americans and Europeans. The Hoodia is a metaphor for a world where some people have too much food, but millions of others have far too little.