Roots of Change

3rd Regional Regenerative Meat Summit (morning & afternoon sessions, incl. breakfast, lunch, reception)
2024-11-18 10:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, Sacramento
Roots of Change, UC Davis Institute of the Environment, and IC-FOODS, in collaboration with Mulvaney’s B&L, welcome all meat producers, processors, chefs, butchers, and buyers to a full-day summit. We will again introduce new market opportunities, present project results, and new resources. We will end the day dialoguing about the future and celebrating success. This event will culminate three-years of USDA funded work to develop high-value regional meat supply chains in Northern California. REGISTRATION LINK TO FOLLOW.

3rd Regional Regenerative Meat Summit (all day, incl. breakfast, lunch, reception & dinner)
2024-11-18 10:00 - 20:00 | Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, Sacramento

3rd Regional Regenerative Meat Event: Reception & Dinner
2024-11-18 17:00 - 20:00 | Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, Sacramento
Join us at the 3rd California Regional Regenerative Meat Event: Celebrating Successes and Exploring Expanding Opportunities! Roots of Change, UC Davis Institute of the Environment, and IC-FOODS, in collaboration with Mulvaney’s B&L and Cream Co. Meats, welcome the public, along with all meat producers, processors, chefs, butchers, and buyers to a reception and dinner. Join in an evening of dialogue about the future and celebrating success. This event will culminate three-years of USDA-funded work to develop high-value regional meat supply chains in Northern California.

Food & Farm Policy Champion & Scorecard Release Ceremony
2025-02-05 17:30 - 19:30 | Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, Sacramento
Roots of Change, in collaboration with the California Food & Farming Network, along with close to 50 organizations working across the food & farming system, are excited to celebrate our annual Food and Farm Policy Champions, along with the release of the 2024 Food & Farm Scorecard. The scorecard annually tracks the voting records of California state legislators on key food and farming policies and honors a select few legislators that have stood out.
Please join us in celebration!
2024 award recipients are

Assemblymember Mia Bonta

Assemblymember Damon Connolly

Doors open at 5:30pm, program begins at 6pm. Appetizers will be served; no host bar.
Please RSVP by February 1st, 2025.

Food & Farming Presentations @ Bioneers Conference 2025
2025-03-27 - 2025-03-29 | Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, CA, United States
→ 20 % discount available for Roots of Change Network. Please request the discount code via mail@rootsofchange.org.

The Bioneers Conference has always, since its inception 36 years ago, had Food and Farming as one of its core domains of interest, realizing that the impacts of agriculture on our ecosystems, of the food we consume on our health, and of the dramatically unequal access to food on social inequity , are so immensely consequential that without radically reshaping our food systems we will never solve some of the key fundamental crises we face: climate unraveling, biodiversity plummeting, hunger still far too prevalent, and epidemic levels of diseases attributable to poor diets and environmental toxicity.
March 26th | 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (pre-conference day long tour)
Bioneers is delighted to be once again partnering with Bay Area Green Tours, who will be offering another of their immensely popular East Bay Foodscape tours as a pre-conference day-long outing. These inspiring and immersive excursions visit select some of the most innovative social enterprises and non-profit urban farms stewarding the land, supporting their communities; providing education and job training to help nurture living wage jobs; generating local solutions to the climate crisis, food waste, and healthy food access; and much more. A locally-sourced lunch is provided. Note: A separate fee and pre-registration is required for this event.
March 27th | 9:00 am to 12:30 pm (DAY 1)
This year, one of the keynote speakers is Doria Robinson, Executive Director Urban Tilth in Richmond, CA, one of the most exemplary community-based organizations dedicated to cultivating a more sustainable, healthy, and just food system in the nation. Doria, who is also one of the most respected longtime social and environmental justice activists in Richmond and is currently serving on its city council, has a long history in healthy food production, having worked on organic farms in Western Massachusetts where she attended college and later at Veritable Vegetable, the groundbreaking, women-owned organic produce distribution company, as well as at Real Food Company and the Mixed Nuts Food Co-op. A Certified Permaculture Designer, Bay Friendly Gardener, nutrition educator and yoga instructor, Doria also co-founded the Richmond Food Policy Council and was formerly co-chair of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance Western Region and a member of the Climate Justice Alliance, Food Sovereignty Working Group.
March 27th | 9:00 am to 12:30 pm (DAY 1)

Another keynote speaker is Wade Crowfoot, Natural Resources Secretary, State of California. On the frontlines of environmental leadership throughout his long career in the public and non-profit sectors, California’s Natural Resources Secretary since 2019, leads efforts to conserve California’s environment and natural resources, overseeing an agency of 25,000+ employees spread across 26 departments, commissions, and conservancies charged with stewarding the state’s forests, natural lands, rivers, water supplies, coasts, wildlife and biodiversity, as well as helping oversee its world-leading clean energy transition, including a commitment to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters by 2030. Secretary Crowfoot has led efforts to navigate California’s record-breaking droughts, floods, and wildfires and has initiated a new era of partnerships with the state’s Native American tribes.

March 27th, 3:00pm to 4:15pm (DAY 1)
Bioneers is also showcasing the work of some visionary food entrepreneurs from very different parts of the world working in very different domains in two afternoon workshops and one special interactive event.
—Chocolate Rebellion: Creating a Global Value Chain Based on Economic Justice (3:00 pm to 4:15 pm)
Chocolate is a pleasure, but the cultivation and harvest of the cacao bean is hard, skilled labor, a labor most often undervalued by an international commodity market that rewards middle-men and end producers while exploiting the cacao growers of Africa, South America and the Caribbean. In this session, Gillian Goddard, founder of The Chocolate Rebellion, will describe how she has helped bring economic equity to small growers in Trinidad and Africa by developing a network of value-added chocolate enterprises. She will be joined by Laura Ann Sweitzer, Director of Sustainability and Strategic Sourcing at TCHO, a Berkeley-based, organic, Fair Trade, certified B-corporation that produces a full line of quality chocolates and invests in the communities where cacao is grown by partnering directly with technicians and scientists worldwide and paying premiums to farmers to create better quality cacao. There will also be a Delicious Allure of Chocolate Tasting.
—Food entrepreneur extraordinaire: Reginaldo Haslett Marroquin (3:00 pm to 4:15 pm)
An innovative farmer and President of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, a Minnesota-based organization that creates partnerships throughout agricultural supply chains, will explain his model in this session: Tree Range Farms: Stewarding a Regenerative Future.
Friday, March 28th (DAY 2)
Food and Farming-related films
—Food Justice in LA (6:45pm)
This 15-minute pilot episode of the upcoming documentary series From Soil to Soul delves into the heart of food justice and community-led food sovereignty initiatives in Los Angeles, highlighting case studies, including a community garden in Compton, a food forest in a former abandoned alleyway in Fullerton, and the planting of native edible and medicinal plants in lawns for local food resilience. The From Soil to Soul series will present powerful stories of Black, Indigenous and People of Color farmers, regenerative practitioners, food activists, thought leaders and communities reclaiming their right to control their food systems and transforming their relationships with food, land, and each other. The From Soil to Soul co-founders, Ankur Shah, Margaret To and Jahnavi Mange, along with producer Rachel Allen and cinematographer Eldon Arena, will be on hand to introduce the film. (Running time: 15 minutes)
—Common Ground (7:15pm)
This powerful film by award-winning documentary filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell and their company, Big Picture Ranch, fuses journalistic exposé with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of movements fighting for healthy and equitable food systems to unveil the dark webs of money, power, and politics behind our toxic, destructive, and dysfunctional agriculture. The film, which features many past speakers at Bioneers, reveals how unjust practices forged our current system in which farmers of all backgrounds are literally dying to feed us and profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, Black, and Indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy…before it’s too late. (Running time: 105 minutes)

Live Flipping the Table podcast @ SF Climate Week
2025-04-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Manny’s, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Join us from 5pm to 6pm on April 19th in San Francisco for a conversation with Loren Ponica, a regenerative rancher and owner of Stemple Creek Ranch, and Duskie Estes, a chef, farmer, rancher, owner of Black Pick Meat Co., and fierce proponent of regenerative agriculture. Hear about how their work heals the climate and the land.
This is a FREE event and is part of SF Climate Week.

RFSI Data Gathering & Listening Session - Ukiah
2025-05-27 11:00 - 13:00
Join us in Ukiah for a meeting to discuss building strong and adaptable food system infrastructure!
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Mapping (RFSI) project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities.
By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Institute of the Environment (UC Davis), and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.

RFSI Data Gathering & Listening Session - San Luis Obispo (SLO)
2025-06-02 11:00 - 13:00
Join us in San Luis Obispo for a meeting to discuss building strong and adaptable food system infrastructure!
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Mapping (RFSI) project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities.
By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Institute of the Environment (UC Davis), and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.

RFSI Data Gathering & Listening Session - Riverside
2025-06-04 11:00 - 13:00 | 4500 Glenwood Dr A, Riverside, CA 92501, United States, 4500 Glenwood Dr A, Riverside, CA, 92501, United States
Join us in Riverside for a meeting to discuss building strong and adaptable food system infrastructure!
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Mapping (RFSI) project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities.
By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Institute of the Environment (UC Davis), and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.

RFSI Data Gathering & Listening Session - Los Angeles
2025-06-05 11:00 - 13:00 | Larta Institute 1149 S Hill St, Unit 900, Los Angeles, CA 90015, Larta Institute 1149 S Hill St, Unit 900, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us in LA for a meeting to discuss building strong and adaptable food system infrastructure!
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Mapping (RFSI) project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities.
By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Institute of the Environment (UC Davis), and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.

RFSI Data Gathering & Listening Session - Clovis, Fresno
2025-06-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Valley Community SBDC, 390 West Fir Avenue #300 Clovis, CA 93611 United States, Valley Community SBDC, 390 West Fir Avenue #300, Clovis, Fresno, CA, 93611, United States
Join us in Clovis for a meeting to discuss building strong and adaptable food system infrastructure!
Led by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Resilient Food System Infrastructure Mapping (RFSI) project focuses on enhancing resilience across the middle of the food supply chain by supporting local and regional producers with an emphasis on small and underserved businesses. The initiative seeks to expand capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, support the development of value-added products for consumers, fair prices, and fair wages, and to create new and safe job opportunities.
By creating more and better market opportunities and new streams of revenue to small and mid-sized agricultural producers this program will also result in thriving local communities, strengthen food security, and promote fair economic opportunities. Together with Roots of Change (ROC), Institute of the Environment (UC Davis), and infrastructure financing experts, this project will serve to improve supply chain resilience for small and mid-size regional producers, positively impacting historically disadvantaged communities.

ROC Meat Pavilion @ Terra Madre Americas 2025
2025-09-26 - 2025-09-28 | SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, 1400 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814, Sacramento, CA, 94720, United States
Join us at ROC’s Meat Pavilion at Terra Madre Americas on September 26-28, 2025. The program will include live interviews, cooking and butchery demos, and a celebration of regenerative agriculture. You won’t want to miss it!
This year’s Terra Madre gathering will continue to build on the momentum of connecting diverse food communities across the Americas, focusing on agroecology and community wisdom throughout the continent.
The area dedicated to agroecology will show how deeply it is rooted in the reconstruction of relationships between people, agriculture and environment, food systems and society. The space will showcase the interconnections with agroecological systems in the USA and the richness of projects and initiatives of the Slow Food network in Latin America.
With a wide range of participants and activities, Terra Madre Americas will highlight regional and global food systems, sustainable agriculture, and food justice movements. The event will emphasize collaboration, education, and the celebration of food sovereignty, bringing together farmers, cooks, activists, academics, and policymakers from across the Americas.

Food Policy Champion Awards & Scorecard Release Ceremony
2026-02-03 17:30 - 19:30 | Mulvaney’s B&L, 1215 19th Street, Sacramento
Roots of Change, in collaboration with the California Food & Farming Network, along with close to 50 organizations working across the food & farming system, are excited to celebrate our annual Food and Farm Policy Champions, along with the release of the 2025 Food & Farm Scorecard. The scorecard annually tracks the voting records of California state legislators on key food and farming policies and honors a select few legislators that have stood out.
2025 award recipients are

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez
Assemblymember Alex Lee

Please join us in celebration
Doors open at 5:30pm, program begins at 6pm. Appetizers will be served; no host bar.

Bioneers Conference 2026
2026-03-27 - 2026-03-29 | Various (Berkeley, CA), Berkeley, CA, United States
The Bioneers 2026 conference will feature an exciting line-up of visionaries, authors, and activists across a diverse spectrum of social justice movements and in the area of food and farming. The Bioneers team realizes the importance of agriculture on our ecosystems and health. Bioneers is generously offering a 20% discount to the Food and Farming Community (apply in registration):
DISCOUNT CODE: 360b20
This year’s food and agriculture highlights include:

—Raj Patel, award-winning writer, film-maker and academic, one of the world’s leading experts on sustainable food systems and global food inequities, author of: several major books, including: Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

—Leah Penniman, groundbreaking Black Kreyol farmer, food justice activist, founder of Soul Fire Farm, author of Farming While Black, and a leading light in movements for community self-determination, solidarity, and land and food sovereignty.
—Note: Raj and Leah will also engage in dialogue together in a historic session on the afternoon of Saturday, March 28th.

—Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of so many highly influential books about food, including: This is Your Mind on Plants, How to Change Your Mind, Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Botany of Desire, though this year he will be discussing his most recent work on the topic of consciousness, not on food-related issues.

— Bay Area Green Tours will be offering another of their immensely popular East Bay Foodscape tours as a pre-conference day-long outing. These inspiring and immersive excursions visit some of the most innovative social enterprises and non-profit urban farms stewarding the land, supporting their communities. A locally-sourced lunch is provided. March 26th | 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Note: A separate fee and pre-registration is required for this event.

Our afternoon workshops and panels will include:
—Regenerative Landscaping with leading permaculture practitioner Erik Ohlsen who will explore how to repair the environment by combining permaculture with cutting-edge regenerative practices, not only on farms and gardens, but on even larger landscapes.
—How Farming Affects the Nutritional Quality of Food and Human Health with Dan Kitteridge: founder of the Bionutrient Food Association and Mary Purdy of The Nutrient Density Initiative.
—A panel of Leading Visionary Companies working with farmers in their supply chains, including Dr. Bronner’s whose Les Szabo will share the firm’s new, groundbreaking Purpose Pledge (https://www.purposepledge.org/about). Other companies to be announced soon.
A Post-Conference Regenerative Landscaping Workshop
This daylong workshop at the Permaculture Skills Center in Sebastopol, CA, will include regenerative theory, demonstrations, and hands-on activities, as Master Permaculture teacher and designer, author of The Regenerative Landscaper, Erik Ohlsen, shares his expertise on how to repair the environment by using permaculture and regenerative practices. March 29, 10:30 am – 5:30 pm. Note: A separate fee and pre-registration is required for this event.
For details and registration links for the Restorative Food Systems programming, visit: https://conference.bioneers.org/food-farming-at-bioneers-2026/
To review the schedule, visit: Daily Schedule – Bioneers Conference
Bioneers is generously offering a 20% discount to the Food and Farming Community: discount code is 360b20 (apply in registration).
