Confronting the Food Crisis Teach-in Update

THIS Friday & Saturday! TEACH-IN: “Confronting the Food Crisis: Cultivating Just Alternatives to the Corporate Food System.”

The Teach-In is FREE and open to the public – no registration necessary! Come enjoy part or all of the program on Saturday (we are informally trying to gauge how many people to expect, so feel free to tell us you’re coming by adding yourself to our Evite). Child-care provided on Saturday, ages 4 – 12 (please let us know in advance – call 206.405.4600).

FRIDAY December 5, 2008, 6 – 9pm, refreshments served

Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry St, Seattle – Multipurpose Room
Panel & Community Dialogue: “Confronting the Food Crisis”

• Lucy Jarosz, UW Geography
• Carlos Marentes, Comite for Immigration Reform and Social Justice and Via Campesina
• Sue McGann, Lettuce Link – a project of Solid Ground, and Marra Farm
• Carol Thompson, Northern Arizona University

ALL DAY TEACH-IN: Saturday December 6, 2008, 9 – 5:30pm, lunch served
Seattle Central Community College – 1701 Broadway, Seattle 98122 (In Science and Math building, just North of main building)

Saturday features Hands-on workshops and panels that help us to Understand Corporate Control and Build Just Alternatives with respect to local and global food systems. List of workshops & confirmed speakers below!

*Lunch is free & prepared by Central Co-op’s Madison Market: fairly and locally sourced.
*Also at lunch: Spread Biodiversity! Attend the Seed Exchange! Bring your favorite, most productive seeds to the teach-in and exchange with other Northwest growers!  To make it easier for other growers, bring your seeds in small labeled packages (folded over recycled paper works great!)

Transportation to SCCC:
If you need to drive, for $5 you can park all day in the SCCC lot at the corner of Harvard and Pine (open 7:30 a.m. to midnight).  Limited metered street parking is also available.
Buses: 8, 9, 10, 11 (125 from SW Seattle) 43, 49, and 60 all stop within a block of campus.
Bikes/walking:  Will get you right to the door!

Saturday’s program with Confirmed Speakers (check back for regular updates):

Opening 9AM:

Welcome & Opening Remarks on Confronting the Food Crisis!

Morning Session I: 10:15 – 11:45

Film Screening: The new documentary about Pacific Northwest farmers, “GOOD FOOD”, will be shown with the film makers, Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin, in attendance!

How to Access Food Without Paying for It – One Person’s Trash is…
Ashley Fent, CAGJ- Facilitatior; Dave Giles, Food not Bombs; Benji Rouse, Seattle DIY Collective

The Potentials of Urban Agriculture and Growing the Next Generation
Elizabeth Wheat, UW – Facilitator; Lisa Taylor, Seattle Tilth; Colin Anderson, Seattle Youth Garden Works; Sandy Peterson, Urban Land Army

What Makes Local Just?
Sage Van Wing, CAGJ , BALLE and Locavores, Facilitator; Viki Sonntag, EcoPraxis; Laura Niemi, Garden Program Manager, Seattle Tilth; AJ Hess, Madison Market, Tammy Morales, Acting Food Policy Council

Worker Rights in the Food Economy
Magie Ramirez, UW- Facilitator; Aaron Waldkoetter, Central Coops’s Madison Market; Cindy Richardson, UNITE HERE Local 8; Representative of UFCW Local 21

Toward an Anti-Oppressive Food Politics Bill Aal, CAGJ and Tools for Change – Facilitator; Lottie Cross, Black Dollar Days Task Force; Kelly Horton, Lifelong AIDS Alliance/ Chicken Soup Brigade

Lunch, Organizational Info-Sharing & Seed Exchange 11:45pm-1:00pm

Spread Biodiversity! Attend the Seed Exchange! Bring your favorite, most productive seeds to the teach-in and exchange with other Northwest growers! To make it easier for other growers, bring your seeds in small labeled packages (folded over recycled paper works great!)

Afternoon Session I: 1:00 – 2:30

How to Share in the Food System — Buying and Cooking Cooperatively
Noam Gundle, Wedgewood Co-op – Facilitator, Eden Trenor, Wedgewood Co-op; Scott Behme, The Community Food pantry; webster walker, Central Coops’s Madison Market

Local Hunger, Food Security, and Access to Food
Sue Gibbs, Sustainable South Seattle – Facilitator ; Teresa Mares, UW and CAGJ; Michelle Bates Benetua, Solid Ground/Lettuce Link; Branden Born, UW and Acting Food Policy Council; Kelsey Beck, Food Lifeline

Panel of Local Farmers
Gabrielle Roesch, CAGJ – Facilitator; Barry Lia, Washington State Biodynamic Group; Siri and Jason Erickson-Brown, Local Roots Farm

Challenging the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Lucy Jarosz, UW Geography – Facilitator; Ashley Fent, CAGJ AGRA Watch; Carol Thompson, Northern Arizona University; Shana Greene, Village Volunteers

How Trade Agreements Impact What We Eat
Masha Burina, CAGJ – Facilitator; Cameron Herrington, CISPES; Carlos Marentes, Comite, Via Campesina; Marina Skumanich, WA Fair Trade Coalition

Afternoon Session II: 2:45 – 4:15

How to Grow your Own Food in an Apartment and Feed Your Worms Too
Mike Pierce- Facilitator; Carey Thornton, Seattle Tilth; Katie Pencke, Seattle Tilth; Rachel Bair, Seattle Tilth

Choosing Sustainable Seafood and Meat — To Veg or not to Veg?
Caitlin Henry, CAGJ- Facilitator; Pete Knutson, Loki Fish; Alfredo Quarto, Mangrove Action Project

Farmworker Victories and Organizing in WA State
Julio Gonzalez, Inmigrantes Unidos de Shelton, shellfish worker; Clayton Burrows, Growing Washington; Stephanie Adler, Student Farmworker Alliance

The Challenge of Improving the Farm Bill — Looking Forward to 2012
Andrea Hermanson, CAGJ –Facilitator; Kelly Horton, Lifelong AIDS Alliance/Chicken Soup Brigade; Kevin Fullerton, Institute for WA Future

The Dangers of Corporate Control, GMOs, and Genetic Engineering
Gabrielle Roesch, CAGJ – Facilitator, Mark Des Marets, NW Rage; Carol Thompson, Northern Arizona University; Devon Pena, UW/Acequia Institute

Closing Session 4:30pm-5:30pm
“Building a Radical Food Politics and Ensuring Food Sovereignty for All”