Press Release

For Immediate Release July 8, 2008

Contact: Richard Muhammad, (773) 616-5058, richard@elpnet.org

The conference, to be held at North Carolina State University, will include national experts, authors, farmers, business leaders, academics, social activists, government officials and artists.

"The current crisis is an opportunity for America's leadership and all of us to examine how our food system is not working and what can be done to fix it," said Kimberly Roberts, ELP executive director. "Today the system is not good for the environment, rural communities are struggling to survive, urban neighborhoods are engulfed in food deserts and often unable to get fresh fruit and produce while overall diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are at very high levels. There has to be a better way to engage in food production and distribution and deal with related issues that impact people on a daily basis," Roberts said.

The conference will provide a mix of stimulating conversations, best practices, research and real talk about what needs to be and can be done to help resolve problems. National and local leaders and activists will lead discussions and participants will leave with a better understanding of opportunities to impact local and national food systems.

Some conference themes include:

    • "Examining the tensions and prospects for organic agriculture, genetically engineered crops and local versus international agriculture and centralized versus decentralized systems;
    • "Evaluating agriculture's role in supporting vibrant communities and healthy ecosystems including; access to healthy food;
    • "Considering questions of racial and socio-economic equity and justice in the U.S. food system, including subsidy programs for agriculture, farm and factory labor practices, industrial pollution and public health risks; and
    • "Looking at the implications of climate change and rising energy demands for agricultural production.

"We are looking forward to an exciting conference that will not only be stimulating discussions but we hope to foster new partnerships and encourage collaborative efforts to tackle this critical aspect of America life," said Roberts.
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The Politics of Food conference schedule includes:

Monday, September 22nd
8:00 am	Registration opens/Continental Breakfast available
9:00 am	Welcome
9:30 am	Keynote Address
10:30 am	Break
10:45 am	Workshop Session I • From Oil Age to Soil Age • Role of Government Policy in Industrialization of Livestock Production • Politics of Campus Dining • The Farm Bill Uncovered • Worker Justice as an Element of Sustainable Food
12:15 pm	Lunch
2:30 pm	Plenary Session: The Business of Sustainability
4:30 pm	Networking Opportunity
5:30 pm	Reception Hosted by Park Scholarships
6:30 pm	Dinner with Keynote Speaker - Sowing the Seeds of Hope Against Hunger: The U.S. Perspective

Tuesday, September 23rd
7:30 am	Registration opens/Continental Breakfast
8:30 am	Workshop Session II • Slow Money: Financing Sustainable Food Systems • Impact of Organic Agriculture • Achieving Agricultural Justice and Domestic Fair Trade • Global Perspective on Agricultural Policy: Focus on the Food Crisis • More Than the Corner Store
10:00 am	Break
10:15 am	Buses Depart for Field Trips
12:45 am	Buses Depart to Return to NC State
2:00 pm	Plenary Session: Debating the Politics of Food
4:00 pm	Networking Opportunity
6:00 pm	Dinner w/keynote speaker - Sowing the Seeds of Hope Against Hunger: The Global Perspective

Wednesday, September 24th
7:30 am	Continental Breakfast
8:30 am	Workshop Session III • Growing Healthy Food Without Frying the Planet • From Pilot to Policy: Promoting a Sustainable Food System • Food and Health Care System • Kitchen Table Revolutionaries: How Food Activists are Changing the American Food System • Roadblocks Ahead: How Disaster Assistance Programs Prevent the Growth of Sustainable Markets
10:00 am	Coffee Break
10:30 am	Plenary Session: Equity and Justice in the American Food System
12:30 pm	Lunch/Networking Break
2:00 pm	Plenary Session: Do we need Genetically Modified Organisms?: A Conversation with Vandana Shiva and Gary Comstock
4:30 pm	Closing and Evaluation

The Environmental Leadership Program is a national non-profit that is growing a new generation of environmental leaders characterized by diversity, innovation, collaboration, and effective communications. ELP connects environmental leaders through regional and national networks, training and learning opportunities, linkages with experienced environmental leaders and mentoring opportunities, activity grants and technical support for projects and by highlighting the need for the environmental movement to nurture new leaders.