The Politics of Food Conference will be held in Raleigh,
North Carolina on Monday,
September 22 through Wednesday, September 24, 2008.
Click on the Unhide/Hide feature to view the descrptions.
As part of the registration
process, you will be asked to select which workshop you plan to attend.
Please read the descriptions below.
Monday, September 22 10:45AM-12:15PM
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From Oil Age to Soil Age
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This workshop seeks to introduce the concepts of "carbon farming" and holistic management and explore their potential as significant sources of carbon sequestration while also building soil fertility. Sequestering carbon in soil created through sustainable farming and grazing practices could play a significant role in stabilizing our climate.
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The Politics of Campus Dining
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This panel will investigate why and how some colleges and universities have made their dining services use local food sources while others have not.
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The Role of Government in Factory Farming
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This workshop will look at the politics and key federal programs that support or constrain the industrialization of livestock production and markets. The role of government in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), the consolidation of meat packing, and food safety policy such as cloning will be addressed. Participants will explore the dynamic and often conflicting role that agricultural agencies play in both regulating and, in some cases, supporting animal factories throughout the supply chain and the consequences of doing so.
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The Farm Bill Uncovered
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This workshop will attempt to answer the following questions in relation to the U.S. Farm Bill: What Made it IN, What was left OUT, and What needs to CHANGE for 2012?
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Worker Justice as an Element of Sustainable Food
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This workshop will provide participants information about how and why the concept of "sustainable food systems" must include not only farmer justice (i.e. fair prices and/or contracts) and ecologically-friendly food production, but also just and healthy working environments for those who cultivate, process, prepare, and serve food. Labor Conditions along the food supply chain, from farm to fork, will be discussed.
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Tuesday, September 23 8:30AM-10:00AM
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Slow Money: Financing Sustainable Food Systems
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This workshop will examine the financial challenges and opportunities in restoring and nourishing sustainable food systems. The discussion will focus on emerging efforts to finance sustainable food systems and seek opportunities for collaboration and learning among non-financially oriented people working on food system issues.
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The Impact of Organic Agriculture
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Organic agriculture - both as it relates to agricultural production practices and consumer marketing
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Achieving Agricultural Justice and Domestic Fair Trade
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This workshop will focus on the intersection of social justice and sustainable agriculture, and the collaborative initiatives underway to achieve a more equitable and fair food system for small-scale farmers and farmworkers.
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Global Perspective on Agricultural Policy: Focus on the Food Crisis
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The volatility in global food prices has caused riots in some places and famines in others. While countries develop their own food policy--balancing benefits for producers against the needs of consumers-- this past year has proven that the globalization of the food system impacts the food availability and price of food in each country. Countries are grappling with a host of tough questions concerning their food policy. This panel will explore how these issues vary between developing and developed countries and focus attention on the recent global food crisis.
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More Than the Corner Store
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In many low income communities the only place to buy groceries is the corner store which often has few healthy, fresh foods and high prices. This workshop will allow participants to learn about programs that exist to increase the number of grocery stores in low income communities, but rural and urban.
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Wednesday, September 24
8:30AM-10:00AM
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Growing Healthy Food Without Frying the Planet
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This workshop will offer participants the opportunity to learn about strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change through support for small farmers's movements globally.
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Roadblocks Ahead: How Disaster Assistance Programs Prevent the Growth of Sustainable Markets
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This workshop will provide participants with an increased understanding of the relationship between crop insurance, disaster programs and access to credit, and how the structure of these programs prevent farmers from transitioning into markets for sustainable products.
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From Pilot to Policy: Promoting a Sustainable Food System
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This workshop attempts to promote/support a sustainable food system by highlighting examples of specific state-level and city-level policies that have been implemented and can be replicated across the country.
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Kitchen Table Revolutionaries: How Food Activists are Changing the American Food System
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An examination of how food activists, through demands for local, organic and vegan foods, have impacted food policy and industry in the U.S
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Food and the Healthcare System
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This workshop will follow the food chain from the farm to hospitals and discuss how food affects our health. In so doing, it attempts to draw out the correlation between unsustainable farming practices and the implications they have on our healthcare system.
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Conference registration includes conference program and materials, field trip,
three breakfasts, three lunches and post conference report. Dinner on Monday and
Tuesday night are an additional charge, with proceeds going to benefit the Food
Bank of Central and Eastern NC and the World Food Programme.
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| Dinners for Monday September 22 and Tuesday September 23 are an additional $50 for registered conference attendees. For non-registered conference attendees dinner will be available for $50 for each dinner.
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