farming our future - it was a good Saturday

So I see everything through food goggles, right?  The more I learn about the industrial food complex that we’ve all grown up with, the more I want to know about the person producing my food.  Yesterday I attended the (1st annual) Farming our Future conference out at Taconic CSD.  That is, once I got us on the correct Rt. 23 going in the correct direction…  I should not be responsible for directions pre-coffee.  Luckily once we arrived, a fellow participant named Ejay (seeing the desperation on my face) pointed me in the direction of coffee  – thanks Ejay!

food in the middle of everything...

The morning began with the keynote speech by Steffen Schneider of Hawthorne Valley Farm, followed by a panel discussion.  The Register-Star covered it thoroughly here.  They didn’t mention the best nickname of the day, “Naked Swimmer”.  You had to be there.   The conversations were philosophical more than practical – which is what this very diverse crowd seemed to want.  After lunch and visiting the numerous exhibitors ( Cornell Cooperative Extension, The Sylvia Center/Katchkie Farm, Hudson Valley Bounty, Amy Cotler/The Locavore Way, Project Native, Friends of the Farmer, etc etc), two workshop sessions happened.  I attended  The Right Fit: Matching Food & Farm to Market and Sharing Resources – The Cooperative Way.  Both provided great food for thought.  This was followed by a World Cafe, encouraging participants to gather in small groups of 4 to discuss questions posed by the moderator.  By 4:30pm, my brain was full.

Identifying myself as an eater, I want to know more (and more) about where my food comes from.  As the daughter of a farmer having grown up doing farm chores, there is no way I’m going to return to the farm.  What I can do is make smart choices as an eater, a consumer.

What can you do?

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