“EcoFarm is Thirty…and Still Dirty” - Unofficial theme of the 30th annual EcoFarm Conference, Jan 20-24, 2010

By Zoe Brent

With the sky falling and the ocean rising along central California's
beautifully rugged coastline, the Asilomar Conference Grounds hosted
farmers, retailers, processors, consumers, advocates and sustainable
agriculture enthusiasts this past weekend. The event was sold out and
despite flooded roads and fallen trees, more than 1600 attendees
flocked to the Ecological Farming Association's annual conference in
Pacific Grove, Ca.

Perhaps the only thing that was not being celebrated on this 30th
birthday of EcoFarm was the new management of the conference center
itself. This year Aramark, one of the nation's largest industrial food
service providers cracked down on conference regulations and prohibited
the event planners from providing alternative food options. So in the
brief hour of sun that miraculously arrived at lunch time on Wednesday,
we sat and ate processed ham and cheese sandwiches, Lays potato chips
and rice crispy treats out of non-recyclable containers before we
returned to our discussion of sustainable business models and healthy
food choices. A survey is still out to help decide whether or not the
conference will remain at Asilomar under Aramark management or whether
EcoFarm will seek out a host who is more in line with the spirit of the
event.

While the Aramark irony reminded attendees of the significant work
to be done to transform the food system, there was much enthusiasm for
the future of food - both in the way we structure new sustainable
businesses and the way we frame the growing movement for food justice.

The Business of Sustainability

Wednesday's pre-conference workshop this year provided a diverse
line up of speakers and workshops to delve into the many issues facing
sustainable businesses today. One highlight included a panel on
"Building an Equitable and Just Workplace" with presentations by Jim Cochran of Swanton Berry Farm, David Lively of Organically Grown
Company, Joseph Tuck of Alvarado St. Bakery and Ron Strolich of
California Institute of Rural Studies (CIRS). A multi-media production
by CIRS highlighted the troubling labor conditions prevalent among farm
workers across the nation. However, success stories like Swanton Berry
Farm's collaboration with the United Farm Workers Union, the Alvarado
St. Bakery's more than 20 years of successful worker ownership and
profit sharing, and the Organically Grown Company's growing Employee
Stock Options Program (ESOP), extensive employee benefits and generous
annual charitable contributions, these businesses offer inspiration and
proof that excellent labor standards can be achieved while turning a
healthy profit in the food sector.

Later in the day a presentation by Dana Harvey and James Berk of
Mandela Foods Coop in Oakland offered insight into a concept that
subsequently popped up in numerous speeches and conversations over the
course of the weekend - Non-profit/For-profit Partnerships. A strong
bond between the non-profit, "community leadership incubator", Mandela Marketplace and the for-profit grocery store, Mandela Foods Cooperative, enabled a community of workers with minimal funds and slim to no credit, to establish their own business, based on ideals of social justice, ecological sustainability and sustaining healthy local economies and people.

Out of Wednesday's discussions, two key themes emerged: 1)the use of
worker-owned cooperative models to create just labor conditions and
economically viable business structures, and 2)the use of
non-profit/for-profit partnerships: to strengthen organizational
capacity, to provide alternative financing structures where low income
communities gain access to grant monies for use as start-up capital for
local businesses, and to ensure a commitment to social justice and
environmental sustainability among local business owners. Tangible
details and the real stories that practitioners shared over the weekend
offered a clear map of some of the paths people are taking to create
socially, economically and environmentally just food businesses.

Planting the Future

The official theme of EcoFarm this year was "Planting the Future," and Thursday's plenary speakers indeed planted seeds of hope. Three young leaders spoke about their own trajectories and in so doing framed their work in the broader context of a movement. Barbara Finnin of City Slicker Farms in West Oakland spoke frankly about issues of race and the importance of placing social justice at the forefront of the food movement. Nikki Henderson, the new Executive Director of People's Grocery in Oakland shared her view of the potential for social change from within the food sector. To her, to transform the economy of food in West Oakland is the way to strengthen and reinvigorate the community. She spoke eloquently about the food movement as a whole, comparing it to a forest in which the seeds of the new generation have been planted and are ready to rise up to revitalize our nation. Sharing the words her father once said to her, she summed up the power of intergenerational collaboration. The resonance of her words was strong in a room of activists and farmers spanning many generations, yet bound by a common cause. Anim Steel of the Food Project in MA also shared a
lens with which he likes to see the movement. Touching on similar
themes of multi-generational activism, he said, "In a movement, there are those who come before, and there are those who come after." He echoed Finnin by insisting that this really is a food justice movement, with roots both in racial/social justice and in organic agriculture and environmental sustainability. Calling on history Steel highlighted the link between these two causes, urging us to take this moment to bring these concepts of good food and justice together and build on the power of that convergence so that all people have the choice and the means to eat healthy food that nourishes the person and the planet.