Displaying items by tag: food system
Fighting our own worst enemy along the way to better seeds and systems
Tennessee Local Food Summit participants were encouraged to bring their favorite heirloom seeds for a seed swap and social. Courtesy Matt Matheson
Tennessee Local Food Summit is a hive for food justice in the Southeast
NASHVILLE — About 70 miles north of Nashville in the town of Red Boiling Springs in Macon County, farmer and educator Jeff Poppen, better known as the Barefoot Farmer, runs one of the oldest and largest organic farms in Tennessee. For nearly 40 years, he built rich soil for his bountiful farm before the second-largest meat producer in the world forced him to move from the 250 acres he’d been farming since 1974.
When his neighboring property owner partnered with Cobb Vantress, a subsidiary of the multinational mega-giant Tyson Foods, to place a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) — aka a factory farm — 450 feet from his homestead and garden, Poppen’s first instinct was to organize.
This self-described “dirty hippie” found unlikely allies in his neighbors — a Baptist preacher, a state trooper, a politician, and what he calls a “chemical farmer” — all opposed to an industrial chicken house moving in.
- tennessee local food
- jeff poppen
- barefoot farmer
- cobb vantress
- industrial farming tennessee
- tyson foods
- olivia cleveland
- southeast sustainable farmers
- long hungry creek
- cumberland university
- cafo
- industrial chicken farm
- native american indian association of tennessee
- feather smith
- seed commons
- tennessee local food summitt
- jim embry
- exceptional water of the state
- foodways
- natalie ashker seevers
- chris battle
- community garden
- food apartheid
- farmland loss
- heirloom seed
- seed bank
- ancestral crop
- cherokee nation
- cumberland seed commons
- food justice
- chris smith
- agrobiodiversity
- sustainable agriculture
- food system
- resilient community
- food mile
- regenerative farming
- local food movement
- battlefield farms
Creation Care Alliance announces the 2024 Winter Symposium
ASHEVILLE — The theme of our 2024 Creation Care Alliance Symposium is “Sacred Symbiosis: Relationships for Eco-Justice.” Our presentations, workshops and conversations will explore the relationships needed to build and nurture justice for all creation–human and non-human. We’re excited to dive in and learn together!
Hosted at Montreat Conference Center in Black Mountain, the symposium will begin on Friday, February 2nd, with a full day of workshops and conversations and will run through Saturday, February 3rd.
Our keynote speaker, Mary Crow of Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), will speak on the 3rd.
Unlike past years, Friday and Saturday’s programs are open to all and will not be limited to clergy. We hope you join us!
Discounts:
- Early-bird discount. Register before December 4th to receive $15 off both days of the conference. If you attend both days, that is $30 savings!
- Group discount. Groups of three or more people from the same congregation are eligible for the group discount of $10 off both days of the conference. If your group attends both days, that is a $20 discount per person. This offer is open until the close of registration on January 19th. The link for group discounts can be found on the symposium registration page (follow the below link).
- Student discount. If you are a current student, you can attend the symposium for a fraction of the cost ($20 on Friday and $30 on Saturday). We hope you will join us!