warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Good Food Convention Seeks To Inspire Organic Movement

Elysia Rodriguez |
November 7, 2012 | 4:40 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

 

Panelists discuss building community through food at the Good Food Conference. Photo by Elysia Rodriguez.
Panelists discuss building community through food at the Good Food Conference. Photo by Elysia Rodriguez.
Foodies gathered to embrace the eco-friendly, socially responsible and delicious spirit of the so-called “good food” movement at Saturday’s Good Food Festival and Conference held at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. 

The conference defined “good food” as “delicious, healthy, and accessible food produced as close to home as possible, by family farmers and producers that use sustainable, humane, and fair practices.” It sought to connect those involved in the good food world through three informative panels where speakers presented their work and talked together about issues affecting their movement. 

Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW’s weekly radio show Good Food, moderated the day’s first panel exploring food’s ability to uniquely build community. Kleiman said, “the food community is integral to [overall] community maintenance and building,” and highlighted the food community’s reaction to hurricane Sandy as a prime example of how such simple commodity can unite people. 

Others discussed how they have personally used fresh food and healthy eating habits to bring together people in various environments, from children in the classroom involved in Kelly Meyer’s Teaching Gardens to chefs, customers, marketers and educators at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market

D’Artagnan Scorza said his work with 100 Seeds of Change, an organization that puts community gardens in Inglewood, “started from a place of need”. He realized his childhood home was a “food swamp” and shortening the lives of its’ residents by 10 years compared to those their neighbors in Palos Verdes.  “We have food, but we have poor food options. We have food that is killing us,” he said.

Panelists discuss jobs in the good food industry. Photo by Elysia Rodriguez
Panelists discuss jobs in the good food industry. Photo by Elysia Rodriguez
The second panel entitled “Good Food=Good Jobs” explored the often overlooked part of the good food equation, the workforce that cultivates the actual product. 

Steve Murray of Murray Family Farms, presented his business as a company that provides “jobs with integrity”. He emphasized the fulfilling and rewarding nature of the job by saying “many of the things you gain from these farming jobs aren’t tangible.” 

Executive director of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition Michael O’Gorman, also explained the satisfying aspects of good food jobs, especially for veterans who find farming healing and therapeutic. 

The conference finished off with the liveliest discussion of the day, a panel dealing with the implications of genetically modified foods and California’s Proposition 37. Although four out of five panelists staunchly opposed all GMOs and labeled them as “toxic”, the largely one-sided discussion elicited the most excitement from the crowd.

David Murphy, founder of Food Democracy Now, was met with cheers as he proclaimed the simplicity of Prop 37 and the potentially harmful effects he believes genetically modified foods carry.

Anne Gentry spoke from the place of a chef, mother, cookbook author and restaurateur when she said “my motto is, if you tell people what’s in the food you’re serving them, they will be loyal to you forever.” She, along with the other panelists, believe that it is both the consumer’s right and need to know what is in the food they eat.

In between panels, LACMA docents led food themed tours of the museum’s art. Conference attendees appreciated the chance to learn about everything from food’s place in 19th century France to the changing palette of the Dutch, all through art. 

Throughout the day panelists emphasized the need to move society’s reliance on cheap and easily manufactured food towards healthier and more socially responsible consumption choices. Through their inspiring personal stories of success and passion, speakers surely ignited a desire in the audience to become agents of change themselves.

Reach Elysia Rodriguez here


 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness