Education
for Sustainable Living, Environmental Respect, and Celebrating the Quality of
Life.
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Conference Topics I attended four sessions during Terre Madre: one of water resources, one on edible school yards, one on saving and building soil resources, and one shortening the food chain. The total number of sessions was incredible, i will highlight only a few sessions that were particularly impressive. Water Management The session on water management was entitled "Water resources. Conservation and management spell efficient agriculture". I heard presentations from producers and project managers from Tamil Nadu in southern India who have given up on the green revolution "thirsty" crops and have instead reverted back to organic based production systems, growing varieties that are adapted to the climate, and they are successful. The presenters are show below
A gentleman from the Hopi Nation gave a presentation on the importance of corn and water to their people. After this presentation, I will never look at corn or the role of food in a culture in the same manner again. Corn is sacred to the Hopi nation - corn is the mother to all. It is grown not for sale but for ceremony. It is the first and last food. If one is sick, they lay the ill on a bed of crushed corn. If one dies, they are buried on a bed of crushed corn. Water is critical to the success of their sacred corn, and as such they pray for water and sing to their corn everyday. I learned much about the role of food and culture. Edible School Yards Alice Waters, executive chef and owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley California led a fascinating discussion of the importance of initiating edible school gardens. A pioneer in using locally produced food in her restaurant, Ms. Waters is actively working to make this a reality through the Chez Panisse Foundation. Her goal is to see school lunch radically transformed into a real educational experience. Conceptually her vision and the vision of the Center for Ecoliteracy is to make "school lunch become part of an integrated curriculum using local food systems as a context for learning, while restoring the connection of farms to communities, meals to culture, and health to our children and environment".
She said that her restaurant, Chez Panisse, supports four to five organic farms in the bay area. Click here for more information on Edible Schoolyards. Click here to learn more about Ms. Water's Vision of Slow Food - Slow Schools
Changing the Global - Preserving the Local If one left this session without being completely convinced that the current global food system is broken, I would be very surprised. Speakers for this session included Chiara Boni, Vandana Shiva, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Zac Goldsmith, Percy Schmeizer, and Bernward Geier. Ms. Boni discussed how Tuscany has enacted legislation to ban the use of all genetically engineered organisms. Ms. Shiva was the program chair and talked some of her efforts in India to preserve local food systems. Mr. Schmeizer related to the group his multi-year struggle against Monsanto. But the talk that really ties everything to what we hope to achieve with the Environmental Sustainability Project was the presentation of Ms. Norberg-Hodge and her foundation, the International Society for Ecology and Culture. She described the issues of globalization and its impact on food systems. Most of us think nothing about the fact that our food has traveled more than 1,500 miles before it arrives on the dinner table. Given what we know about the energy issues we are facing, climate change issues, this is simply not sustainable. There is a serious need to shorten the food chain - to reduce the links between farmers and consumers. Such a shift would keep money in the local area, reduce sprawl, and help to rebuild community. Farmers will make a better living, and consumer access to quality food will improve.
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Ms. Waters with students in a
school lunch program. 