Live from the Bioneers Conference

I’m live tweeting from the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA all weekend. You can follow along at @vanlenning, @Ecolocalizer or get the ecolocalizer Twitter widget Box.

Founder Kenny Ausubel coined the word bioneers in 1990 to describe “an emerging culture of social and scientific innovators who are mimicking nature’s operating instructions to serve human ends while enriching the web of life.”

Of course I’ll be following up with a report back of the most inspiring and exciting ideas and projects.

You can also see the Bioneers keynote speakers streamed live Saturday and Sunday morning.

Check out some past videos on the Bioneers Youtube Channel.  Here’s Brock Dolman from Bioneers 2009 speaking about water & conservation, appropriate for today’s Blog Action Day theme.  Dolman is a watershed and permaculture expert at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center‘s WATER Institute.

10/10/10 Global Work Party Oakland Style: Food Justice Bike Tour!

Just a reminder about the Food Justice/Urban Ag Bike Tour for 10/10/10.  Its HELLA grassroots and free, fun, and for-surely-inspiring!  I hope many of you can make it.  Please spread the word, facebook, personal invites to friends you want there, etc.  Start out with a bike ride in the morning, then head over to the Laney College party organized by Bay Localize, Ella Baker, Oakland Climate Action Coalition, and Communi-tree.

For those who aren’t too tired out after the work-parties, bike rides, and concerts, some of us will also be hosting another “Radical Film Night” at the Newton House (285 Newton Ave., starting around 6:30) where we will be showing the film “Gashole” or a series of film shorts highlighting innovative alternative sustainable economic enterprises.

Here are the details:

Join Planting Justice, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, People’s Grocery, Phat Beets, and other community organizations on a Food Justice Bike Tour on October 10 as part of 350.org’s Global Work Party to highlight innovative local urban agriculture and food justice initiatives while burning fat, not oil.

We will start at Planting Justice’s rooftop garden in Temescal (5252 Claremont Ave., next to DMV) and from there we will visit inspiring sites in West and North Oakland, including a worker-owned food coop, community gardens, a greywater project (possibly), a greenhouse, and other sites that demonstrate local sustainable food projects.

Oakland Food Policy Council Turning a Year Old

I’ve been following the course of the Oakland Food Policy Council off and on since the formation of its founding councilmembers last fall. I checked in again in the spring as they hammered out priorities.

This week’s meeting marks the end of its first year of council meetings and introduction of new councilmembers.  I’m excited to hear more about its plan for action.

Raising Our Awareness about Food Insecurity in the U.S.

Have you had your three square meals today? How far do you have to travel to access healthy food? When you get there how much can you afford? Finally, if you can afford it, do you have the time and skills to cook it?

September is Food Desert Awareness Month and has also been designated Hunger Awareness Month by Feeding America.

Alarming statistics reveal more and more Americans are going hungry or are food insecure.  Over 1 in 10 Americans (about 41 million) now participate in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka food stamps). Millions rely on emergency food assistance and report being forced to choose between paying the utility bill or paying for food–all this in the “land of plenty.”  And for millions of other Americans an over-abundance of junk food outweighs the benefits those calories provide. It is often cheaper and easier to get a bag of Doritos from the corner store or a Big Mac and fries than to buy or prepare dishes with fresh vegetables.

Peoples Grocery asks, “What does Food Justice Mean to You?”

This weekend’s Eat Real Festival was an overwhelming success, with an estimated 100,000 people coming down to Jack London Square to enjoy live music, demonstrations, contests, and of course, a delicious diversity of local food.  Peoples Grocery shares videos of folks answering the question, “What does Food Justice Mean to You?”

Warning: mouth may water!

Part I:

Better food for all: Oakland Food Policy Council prioritizes goals for 2010

Tonight I attended a meeting of the Oakland Food Policy Council, whose mission is to promote a sustainable and equitable food system. It was the council’s second public meeting of the year and the top agenda items included reviewing a first draft outline of its strategic plan, hearing reports from working groups and narrowing its goals to a manageable list for the year.

Formed last fall, the council’s goals are to increase healthy food access and security, cultivate public health, support regional agriculture, promote energy efficiency, support protection of natural resources and promote a “closed-loop” food system.

Figuring out how best to achieve those goals is the challenging part and what the council will work on during the coming year.