Who Owns the Future of Food?: From genetically modified organisms to seasonal organic

Dear community,

I am organizing an event (not an official Local to Global event) sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee Los Angeles on seeds, seasonal foods, genetic modification of food, and the connection of these issues to local and global peace. If you are around, come join us! See details below.

Peas and carrots,

Nisha Namorando Vida

Local to Global Life Works Founder/Director

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Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012

Time: 7:00-8:30 pm

Event title: Who Owns the Future of Food?: From genetically modified organisms to seasonal organic

Organized by: American Friends Service Committee

Address: 634 S. Spring St., 3rd Floor. Los Angeles, 90014.

Cost: Free

Description:

What is in your food? In the United States, purchasing an industrially farmed, processed and packaged food item containing ingredients shipped several times across the globe and requiring laboratory work (in the form of pesticides and genetically modified seeds) is oftenfar cheaper than purchasing a locally grown carrot or tomato from the neighborhood farmer’s market.  Industrial agriculture is a primary contributor to global warming, behind automobile and factory exhaust, and highly processed foods resulting from the industrial agricultural process are a primary contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart problems and other illnesses. Over 70% of foods eaten by Americans contain genetically modified seeds, and the farming of soy is a primary contributor to the massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Food is traded as a commodity on stock exchanges, meaning that it is grown and sold to raise a profit for business people. In response, urban communities across the United States have started to grow their own food from organic and heirloom seed.

What exactly is a ‘genetically modified seed’? What is 'heirloom'? What does growing one’s own vegetables have to do with peace in one’s community and world peace? Who owns the future of food? Join the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Friends Peace Dialogue to address these questions. Come learn something new and contribute to this important conversation. Our featured speakers for the evening are Megan Bomba and Deanna Marie Weakly.

Megan Bomba:

Megan is a UC trained biologist, who helped coordinate the founding of the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA), helps manage it currently, and is spearheading the effort to create a branch of the library in Northeast Los Angeles. SLOLA serves as a way to collect and catalogue heirloom and non-genetically modified seeds grown by Los Angeles basin food growers for current and future generations of Angelenos.

Deanna Marie Weakly:

Dee is a Master Gardener who started the rooftop garden at the LA Community Action Network. She continues to work with Skid Row and other downtown Los Angeles residents to grow edible plants and is also working with City Year on a school garden project at Compton Elementary. Her goal is to start an urban farm on the Angel’s Flight hillside in downtown LA. This urban farm would be accessible to all downtown Los Angeles residents.

The Friends Peace Dialogues is a monthly speaker series sponsored by the AFSC for the community. Learn about AFSC's Friends Peace Gardens at Los Angeles area high schools here: http://rootsforpeace.blogspot.com/.

Come join us!