Fall Speakers Forum November 16-19

Western Piedmont Community College will host the 2009 Fall Speakers Forum-Ervin Constitutional Issues Program November 16 - 19 on campus in the Leviton Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public. Receptions will follow each of the evening presentations. Sign Language interpreters will be at each event.
 

This year's topic is "Food for Thought-Reinventing our Food System for a Healthier World" and will feature several distinguished speakers to discuss the political, environmental, ethical, and health issues involved in our food system.

On Tuesday, November 10, the college will be showing the film Food, Inc. prior to the speakers forum. The film will be shown in the Leviton Auditorium throughout the day. The showing is open to the public and students are encouraged to attend. This film also features Joel Salatin, a farmer, author and food activist, who will give the opening presentation for the Speakers Forum.

In conjunction with the forum, WPCC's Sustainable Agriculture Program and the Burke County Cooperative Extension will host a free workshop on Monday afternoon titled, "Entrepreneur's Guide to Success in Sustainable Agriculture with Joel Salatin". The workshop will be from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm and will be held at the Burke County Extension Office in Morganton. Events will include a panel discussion, farm projects tour, exhibits by area organizations involved in sustainable agriculture and a presentation by Joel Salatin. Registration is from 12:00 pm until 1:00 pm. For more information on the workshop, please contact Chip Hope at chope@wpcc.edu or 828-448-3554 OR contact Donna Teasley at donna_teasley@ncsu.edu or 828-439-4460.

The following issues will be discussed. All presentations are in the Leviton Auditorium located in Moore Hall on the main campus of Western Piedmont Community College.

Monday, November 16, 7:15 pm-Food Emancipation: A Call to Grass Roots Activism-Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin, 50 is a full-time farmer in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. He is a third generation farmer and the family farm, Polyface, Inc. services more than 1500 families, 10 retail outlets, and 30 restaurants. He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively for magazines related to food issues. His farm has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, and Gourmet, as well as radio, television, and print media.

Salatin has been profiled on Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, and remains a sought after conference speaker who addresses a wide range of issues from "creating the farm your children will want" to "making a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the country".  He infuses humor and theatrical performances into his presentations while maintaining a realistic approach to the issues at hand. He has authored six books and passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm.  Salatin will also present at a workshop on sustainable agriculture in conjunction with the speakers forum. It is sponsored by Western Piedmont Community College and the Burke County Cooperative Extension on November 16 from 12:00pm until 5:00pm.

Tuesday, November 17, 7:15 pm-Grub: What's Wrong with our Food System and How Can it be Made Right?-Anna Blythe Lappé

Lappé is a national bestselling author and sought-after public speaker, respected for her work on sustainability, food politics, globalization, and social change. She has been featured in The New York Times, Gourmet, O: The Oprah Magazine, Domino, Food & Wine, Body + Soul, Natural Health, and Vibe, among many other publications.

Lappé, with her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, are the founding principals of the Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute, an international network for research and popular education about the root causes of hunger and poverty. The Lappés are also co-founders of the Small Planet Fund, which has raised over $500,000 for democratic social movements worldwide, two of which have won the Nobel Peace Prize since the Fund's founding in 2002.

Lappé is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio and appears frequently on television from PBS to CBC in Canada and FoxNews. She is the host for MSN's Practical Guide to Healthy Living and is a co-host for the public television series, The Endless Feast. She has participated in more than 300 events, from community food festivals to university lectures. She has also authored several books showcasing the social movements around the world regarding food issues, the ecological and social benefits of sustainable food, healthy diets, and advocacy for these global concerns. She earned an MA in Economic and Political Development and has served as the Food and Society Policy Fellow with the WK Kellogg Foundation. Her third book, Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It, will be published in April 2010 by Bloomsbury.

Wednesday, November 18, 12:00 pm-Grow Your Own Food and Medicine...Starting Right Where You Are!-Chip Hope

Chip Hope is the Coordinator of the Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture programs at Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton, North Carolina. Before coming to Western Piedmont, Hope coordinated the Horticulture Program at Blue Ridge Community College for 12 years. He has presented workshops throughout the southeast on horticulture and sustainable agriculture and is the site coordinator of the Organic Growers School. This annual one day event is in its 17th year. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Organic Growers School and Certified Naturally Grown.

With his family, Hope is building a sustainable family farm and business in Burnsville, North Carolina, Appalachian Seeds Farm and Nursery, and specializes in growing and selling heirloom crops and heritage livestock. They are particularly well known for their diverse selection of heirloom tomatoes which have been featured in Southern Living, Mother Earth, Back Home, Blue Ridge Country, Bold Life, and Journal of Extension magazines.

Hope earned his Master's degree in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University and his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1981, Hope was selected as one of twelve people worldwide to attend the Findhorn Garden School in Scotland.

Thursday, November 19, 7:15 pm-The Global Food Crisis: The End of Plenty-Joel Bourne

Joel Bourne is a contributing writer for the National Geographic. A former Senior Editor for the Environment, he has covered major environmental issues for the magazine, including the logging of California's redwood forests, oil exploration on Alaska's North Slope, the future of New Orleans, and the rush to biofuels. He has broken several stories in the national media, including the results of the only oil well drilled in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the weaknesses in New Orleans' rebuilt hurricane protection system.

Bourne's 2004 feature on Louisiana's wetland loss opened with a hypothetical scene of a hurricane flooding New Orleans that was eerily similar to what happened when Hurricane Katrina hit the state ten months later. Most recently, Bourne was writer for the Redwoods cover story, text editor and essayist for National Geographic's  special issue on climate change, and a contributor to the book.

Bourne has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including CNN's American Morning, CNN International, the National Geographic channel, and NPR. Prior to his tenure at National Geographic, Bourne's work appeared in National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Audubon, Science, Outside, and many other publications.