held May 8th and 9th at the BU Law School.
The conference, which was organized by the Institute of Human Sciences, served as a forum for professionals interested in the global issues of food and sustainability, to highlight some of the current problems with our food systems, and suggest possible futures. IHS organized this conference in response to the growing concerns of local communities in both the US and Europe over the global food crisis, and presented a dialogue about what can be done to stem it. Participants gathered to see how they could shape the the current food system into something that is sustainable, and safeguards cultural and biodiversity, while providing safe, healthy food for all citizens both now and in the future.
Friday, May 8th, included the lecture and workshop "Wild Fermentation" by
Sandor Ellix Katz, followed by another lecture and cooking demo with
Bryant Terry. The day ended with a screening of King Corn, introduced by filmmaker and followed by a discussion with director,
Aaron Woolf.
Saturday featured 5 panel discussions, starting at 9am and running until 9 pm. The panels addressed a myriad of issues, including food production, agribusiness, food security, food safety, climate change, and the ethics of eating.
Satish Kumar, nuclear disarmament advocate and editor of
Resurgence Magazine, gave an excellent keynote address, and also spoke on the panel about the ethics of eating. Kumar is well known for his having accomplished an over 8,000 mile Peace Walk through the capitals of nuclear superpowers-America, England, France and Russia.
While he shared many interesting insights on the issue of food sovereignty, his statement,
"If you don't have enough time to bake Bread, you don't have enough time to Live," seemed to strike a particular chord with conference participants.
Other presenters of note were
Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap;
Tim Wise, director of Research and Public Policy at Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute; Benedikt Haelin, president of
Save our Seeds;
Jim Harkness, President of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy;
Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of Center for Food Safety;
Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of International Society for Ecology and Culture;
Sandor Ellix Katz, author of
Wild Fermentation and
the Revolution Will not be Microwaved,
Harriet Lamb, executive Director of Fair Trade Foundation, and finally
Michael Ableman, farmer and author of
Fields of Plenty.
Another interesting topic that was touched upon in discussion by the third panel was the GMO debate. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists report "
Failure to Yield" by
Doug Gurian-Sherman, genetically engineered crops do
not in actuality increase yields! See the press release
here.
It was helpful to compare and contrast US food policy and reports with those from other places, especially from the EU. There was so much information to absorb, and the presenters were very knowledgeable and approachable!
Of course there were multiple coffee breaks, and breakfast and lunch were provided-with lots of things to nibble on. Fair Trade Coffee, hummus, and vegan cookies galore! Also
Taza Chocolate had a booth, as did
Gnosis Chocolate.
A video of the entire conference will be available on the
website soon so that you can shape
your future of food and eat the revolution!!!
BU now has a farmers market right on campus, in front of the GSU! At 775 Commonwealth Ave., it runs on Thursdays from 12 pm - 4 pm, from June 25 - October 29. Read our previous post about it.
However, if you are otherwise occupied on Thursdays, or if you would like to venture beyond the grounds of BU for local produce, we have conveniently mapped the farmers markets that are in the Boston area! Go the the map link here.
