Thanks to Kevin Riley of RileyDesigns.com, we now have a great new website and logo design that incorporates the feeling of a grass roots community based organization that values small local farms and quality food produced locally. Looking forward to the evolution of this project and this website!
Maharishi University of Management has recently started a new program to purchase produce locally. The purchasing criteria, called Fairfood, was developed by Sustainable Living faculty member Dr. Appachanda Thimmaiah, who wrote the organic standards for the country of Bhutan. The new standard prescribes no genetically modified foods, no synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, using hot composting for soil fertility, and other sustainable growing practices. This new standard allows local farmers who are not certified organic to sell their produce directly to MUM.
November 14-15, 2014
Fairfield Arts and Convention Center
200 N. Main St., Fairfield IA
#WFAN2014
Women, Food and Agriculture Network held our 2014 annual conference,Women Doing Democracy: Building Grassroots Coalitions to Grow Healthy Food and Farming in Your Community, Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15 in Fairfield, IA. More than 200 people attended, making it our largest annual conference yet!
Friday attendees enjoyed field tours, on-site intensives, local food meals, and a screening of Terra Firma followed by a panel discussion.
On Saturday, keynote speaker and New York City native Karen Washington of Black Urban Growers opened the day with a presentation about Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide. Then participants chose from concurrent session options on topics including air and water monitoring, coalition-building, livestock confinement activism, tenant-landlady relations, resources for female beginning farmers (including veterans), the new farm bill, food safety regulations, and more. Diane Rosenberg of Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors, Fairfield, spoke over lunch on Relationships: A Cornerstone of Anti-CAFO Advocacy. More workshops followed in the afternoon, and the conference closed with a community discussion facilitated by WFAN executive director Bridget Holcomb.
