Good Food is Everybody's Business
Every December for the last decade, regardless of the weather, the Montana Organic Association (MOA) has held its annual conference. This year, from December 12-14, about 100 hardy souls gathered in Kalispell Montana to learn more about organic production, seed saving, and GMOs. Some of the participants traveled for hours through blowing, drifting snow and temperatures as low as -35°.
The 10th Annual Focus on Farming event brought together 600+ food and farming advocates and practitioners for a daylong immersion in six areas of focus on farming. Especially inspiring and motivating was Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power, not only gave a rousing keynote presentation, he led four hour-long workshops.
Getting good food from the field to the fork is not a solitary occupation, it takes a team: farmers, food processors, researchers, and retailers. And discussions like the Seeds of Innovation: The Future of Farming and Food should take place more often and in more communities. It’s a must for a good food world.
Alternating between the eastern side of the Cascades and the west, Tilth Producers of Washington held its 2013 Annual Conference in Yakima. Every year, the conference is preceded by a Washington State University symposium, and the two events are attended by hundreds of Washington farmers, ranchers, food processors, and “friends.”
Whether it’s the urge to start a small bakery to sell a better loaf to the community or just a wish to make and eat a better loaf of bread than that available at the grocery store, the poor quality and poor nutritional state of our daily bread sends hundreds to gatherings like the Kneading Conference West to learn more.
Make no mistake about it; good food does not require genetic engineering! Stumbling Goat Bistro’s Executive Chef Josh Theilen, Sous Chef Gunnar Erickson, and Pastry Chef Jens Melin proved it Monday night, September 16, at an intimate fund-raiser. All ingredients used were produced and harvested locally or regionally and, while most were organic, all were GMO-free!
Quinoa, a pseudo-grain closely related to a North American weedy plant, Lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album), was first domesticated about 5000 years ago on the high plains surrounding Lake Titicaca. August 12-14, 3102, researchers, seed breeders, and growers from 22 countries, the US, and Canada participated in International Quinoa Research Symposium, a platform for debate over access to seeds and seed genetics and an information exchange about research projects around the world.
The theme of the conference reflects part of a global social movement response to the enclosure of the biological heritage of humanity by the biotechnology industry – the “Gene Giants” like Monsanto, Dow, and Syngenta – which seeks to privatize ownership of seeds and make all living things patentable.
