Transforming the Food System
The world faces a confluence of crises—climate disruption, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity, seed industry consolidation, dying oceans. Fixing the global food system would make one of the most significant contributions to mitigating many of those calamities. A truly stellar, eclectic group of food systems thought leaders/activists/innovators will share creative responses to transforming the food system so that it genuinely serves people and the planet. Hosted by Arty Mangan, Director of Bioneers’ Restorative Food Systems Program. With: Gary Nabhan, author, researcher, professor, farmer, genius, one of our era’s greatest agricultural ecologists and ethnobotanists; Karen Washington, co-owner of NYC’s Rise and Root Farm, one of the nation’s legendary pioneers of urban farming; Severine von Tscharner Fleming, Director of Greenhorns, founding Board President of the Agrarian Trust, one of the nation’s leading advocates and activists for young farmers; Naomi Starkman, founder and the editor-in-chief of Civil Eats.
Sausalito Room
October 19th | 2:45 pm to 4:15 pm
Introduced by
Arty Mangan
Restorative Food Systems Director
Bioneers
Arty Mangan, Bioneers' Restorative Food Systems Director, joined Bioneers in 1998 as Project Manager for the Restorative Development Initiative. A former board president of the Ecological Farming Association and member of the Santa Cruz GE Subcommittee that banned GE crops, Arty has worked with farmers and agriculture since 1978, first as a partner in Live Juice and later with Odwalla, where he was in charge of fruit sourcing.Panelists
Gary Nabhan
W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems
University of Arizona
Gary Nabhan, Ph.D., is a world-renowned, award-winning agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan brother and orchard-keeper. A leading pioneer in the local food and heirloom seed-saving movements, he co-founded Native Seeds/SEARCH; helped create Ironwood Forest National Monument; was founding Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments; and founded the Center for Regional Food Studies. Author of 30+ books, his most recent is: Food from the Radical Center: Healing Our Lands & Communities.Karen Washington
Co-Owner/Farmer
Rise & Root Farm
Karen Washington, co-owner/farmer of Rise & Root Farm, has been a legendary activist in the community gardening movement since 1985. Renowned for turning empty Bronx lots into verdant spaces, Karen is: a former President of the NYC Community Garden Coalition; a board member of: the NY Botanical Gardens, Why Hunger, and NYC Farm School; a co-founder of Black Urban Growers (BUGS); and a pioneering force in establishing urban farmers’ markets.Severine von Tscharner Fleming
Executive Director
Greenhorns
Severine v T Fleming, Executive Director of Greenhorns and a leading organizer and cultural worker within the young farmer movement for 12+ years, co-founded the National Young Farmers Coalition, FarmHack and Agrarian Trust. A part-time farmer and board member of the Schumacher Center for New Economics, her work has spanned many media to celebrate, bundle and broadcast the voices and life-ways of young agrarians.Naomi Starkman
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Civil Eats
Naomi Starkman is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Civil Eats, a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. A former Journalism Fellow at Stanford, she co-founded the Food & Environment Reporting Network, worked as a media consultant to many leading publications, and served as the Deputy Executive Director of the City of San Francisco's Ethics Commission.
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