Roots of Change

Genetically Engineered Food - To Label or Not?
2012-10-03 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | San Francisco, CA, United States
Californians will decide in November whether or not food that includes genetically engineered ingredients must have labels highlighting that fact. Join us for a debate on the proposition, which was placed on the state ballot by voter signature. Stacy Malkan, campaign media director of California Right to Know, will argue in support of the proposition and Brandon Castillo, campaign spokesperson, No on Proposition 37, will argue against it.

SPUR Urban Center
654 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-4015

Eat Real Festival
2012-09-21 13:00 - 2012-09-23 17:00 | Oakland, CA, United States
From September 21-23rd, Eat Real is transforming Jack London Square into one epic food festival. The Eat Real Festival celebrates all things tasty, fresh, and handmade with a focus on street food, local wines, handcrafted beers, and traditional food craft – all featuring sustainable, local ingredients. And no dish costs more than $5.

Friday

1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday

10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday

10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m

Free entry. All transactions cash only.

NEW Food Systems Course at CAL POLY
2012-07-29 09:00 - 2012-08-17 17:00 | Santa Cruz, CA, United States
This summer, the Center for Sustainability will be co-hosting a new offering through Cal Poly Continuing Education: California AGRI-FOOD and FIBER SYSTEMS. This intensive and comprehensive three-week course will provide an excellent introduction to essential aspects of how food and fiber is cultivated and circulated through our state. Agronomic, economic, social and political dimensions will be covered, including production and distribution. Hands-on skills will be taught.

The course will be held July 29 – August 17 at the beautiful Swanton Pacific Ranch near Santa Cruz, with field trips and visits to area farms and instructional units on the Cal Poly SLO campus. The course will be taught by an interdisciplinary team of instructors from the New Roots Institute and Cal Poly faculty and staff. Students will earn six units of Cal Poly credit for successful completion of the course.

More information can be found at:

http://www.continuing-ed.calpoly.edu/academic/index.html

http://cfs.calpoly.edu/programs/continuing_ed.html

To register, please go to:

http://calpoly.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=4583&int_category_id=1&int_sub_category_id=74&int_catalog_id=0

Winters Farm to School Bastille Day Feast
2012-07-14 11:30 - 15:00 | Winters, CA, United States
A Bastille Day Feast, celebrating local food and flavors in the French style will be served to 175 people seated at a single long, white tablecloth- covered table set between the towering, 150-year old olive trees at the historic Wolfskill Ranch. The Wolfskill USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository is housed here, with a collection of thousands of varieties of grapes, olives, figs, kiwis, stone fruits and more, and its Director, Dr. John Preece will be giving tours of the property prior to lunch. There will also be an auction of one-of-a-kind food and wine related items.

Local lamb from Rominger Ranch is the centerpiece of the meal, and local wines will be poured throughout.

The event is a fundraiser for the Winters Farm to School program whose mission is to help the Student Nutrition Services purchase and serve fresh, local food for school lunch.

Bastille Day Feast
Saturday, July 14, 2012

Wolfskill Ranch 4334 Putah Creek Road – Winters, Ca

Gathering Time: 11:30 A.M.
Tour Of Historic Wolfskill Ranch: 11:45 A.M.
Aperitif: 12:30 P.M.
Bastille Day Feast: 1:00 P.M. To 3:00 P.M.

All participants bring their own tableware – salad, dinner and dessert plates, knives, forks, and spoons, as well as cloth napkins. Wine glasses will be provided.

*Advanced tickets required

Please click on more info below for full menu and ticket prices.

Healthy Parks, Healthy People
2012-06-23 11:00 - 16:00 | Fremont, CA, United States
Come to the second annual Healthy Parks Healthy People Festival Saturday, June 23, 2012, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebrate National Get Outdoors Day at Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area in Fremont!

The Farm Bill: Why You Should Care
2012-06-03 16:00 - 18:00 | Healdsburg, CA, United States
What Does the Farm Bill Have to Do with Me and Why Do I Need to Know about It?

Congress is busy hashing out the details for the 2012 Farm Bill which will have important implications for food and agriculture for the next five years. This is an opportunity for those committed to good, clean and fair food for all to make changes in our food system—by participating in the Food Bill debate and by actively supporting local food. A panel of policy activists will tell us how.

Join Slow Food Sonoma for a stimulating afternoon of conversation, good food, and a book signing! Panel speakers include:

Dan Imhoff: The Farm Bill: Why Federal Policy Matters to All of Us
Michael Dimock: The Farm Bill: Can We Get a Seat at the Table?
David Katz: Local Food Politics: From the Farm Bill to the Dinner Table

Sunday, June 3, 4-6 pm
Bishop's Ranch, Swing Pavilion
5297 Westside Road, Healdsburg

This event is free but please RSVP to Linda at lmcsweyn@aol.com

Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP) Open House
2012-05-22 16:00 | Fresno, CA, United States
You’re Invited

to our Open House

Save the Date!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Join us for food, fun, networking and prizes!

New Office Address:

2110 Tulare Street, Fresno, 93721

Main Office Line:(559) 498-0870

We’re located on the southeast corner of Tulare Street and

Van Ness Avenue in the Rowell Building.

The Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP) is a program of the Public Health Institute and is funded by: The California Endowment, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation.

Meet Your State Legislators to Talk About Sustainable Food
2012-04-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Santa Rosa, CA, United States
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Community Forum on Sustainable Agriculture & Food in the North Bay

Saturday, April 28, 2012
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Featured Speakers Include:

Ralph Grossi, Petaluma Rancher/Farmer, California Agricultural Vision

Michael Dimock, Roots of Change, Future Of California Food Systems

Renata Brillinger, California Climate & Agriculture Network, Agriculture and Climate Change

Stacy Carlsen, Marin County Ag Commissioner

Stephanie Larson, UCCE Sonoma

Leonard Diggs, Shone Farm, Santa Rosa Junior College

Jim Reichardt, Sonoma County Poultry/Liberty Ducks

Michael Paik, People’s Harvest Food Hub

Leah Smith, Marin Agricultural Institute

Dr. Rachel Friedman, Veggie Prescription Project

Larry Martin, Slow Food Russian River

Paul Kaiser, Singing Frogs Farm

Torrey Olson, Gabriel Farm

An increased awareness of sustainable agriculture and what it means to our health, environment and economic vitality is now fueling a growing awareness of obstacles faced by those who wish to farm sustainably. Challenges to our food system and the lack of access to healthier food for many remain key issues for people seeking to live healthier lives.
To address these as well as related issues, Assembly member, Michael Allen has invited a diverse lineup of individuals from academia, local governments, non-profit organizations, public health experts, working farmers and ranchers, specialists in climate change and more.
You are welcome to join along with distinguished speakers and panelists for an afternoon of discussion, sharing of ideas and the formulation of strategies for ensuring a future that is sustainable and viable for farmers, processors, distributors and consumers.
For that desired future to become a reality, we must do what we can to help farmers, growers and ranchers succeed. We must make the necessary infrastructure improvements to develop a more efficient food system network and remove the barriers preventing healthy food from reaching family tables in many neighborhoods.
Please partake in this important conversation about the future of sustainable agriculture with your community.

6th Annual Earth Day Food and Wine Festival
2012-04-20 10:40 - 2012-04-22 10:40 | Templeton, CA, United States
The 6th annual Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is a weekend celebration held in the Central Coast.

Over 200 purveyors of sustainably produced foods and wine will be on hand for a truly unique event: growers, vintners, and chefs coming together to serve out-of-this-world pairings of award-winning wines with one-of-a-kind dishes made with locally-sourced fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, olive oils, chocolates, and more.

Rangeland Soils workshop
2012-04-19 09:00 - 17:30 | San Miguel, CA, United States
Join the Central Coast Rangelands Coalition for a day of exploring rangeland soils through the rancher and ranch advisor’s eyes. The always fascinating mix of researchers, agency personnel, educators, conservationists, ranchers, consultants, and conservation lands managers will convene at the Work Ranch in southern Monterey County for a day of learning and discussion focusing especially on rangeland soils.

**$20 registration ‘at the door’ – helps cover costs**

Reservations required, deadline March 28. To reserve a spot, see:

http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/training/show_train_detail.php?TRAIN_ID=Ce8E8EM

The U.S. Farm Bill: What
2012-04-05 18:30 - 20:30 | Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, CA, United States
The U.S. Farm Bill is the single most important piece of legislation determining what Americans eat. Join the Horace Albright Lecture for a panel discussion on what’s at stake in the upcoming U.S. Farm Bill with:

Michael Pollan

John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism and Director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism, UC Berkeley

Karen Ross

Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture

Ken Cook

President and Co-Founder of the Environmental Working Group

Patricia Crawford

Director of the Atkins Center for Weight and Health and Adjunct Professor, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley

Gordon Rausser (moderator)

Robert Gordon Sproul Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley

This is a free, public event. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Free tickets are available at the Wheeler Auditorium Box Office at 5 p.m. on the day of the event. Doors open at 6 p.m.

An Appetite for Equity: Ensuring Access to Healthy Foods
2012-04-04 10:00 - 2012-04-19 14:30 | Multiple locations, United States
With diabetes rates on the rise, and over half of adults and teens in the state either overweight or obese, increasing the availability of healthy foods can greatly improve the health of our communities. California Pan-Ethnic Health Network’s spring convening series, An Appetite for Equity: Ensuring Access to Healthy Foods, will focus on best practices and advocacy strategies to increase access to healthy foods in our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

April 4, 2012 – San Diego, Sherman Heights Community Center, 2258 Island Avenue, 10:00 am to 2:30 pm

April 5, 2012 – Los Angeles, The California Endowment, 1000 North Alameda Street, 10:00 am to 2:30 pm

April 11, 2012 – Fresno, UC Center, 550 East Shaw Avenue, 10:00 am to 2:30 pm

April 19, 2012 – Oakland, The California Endowment, 1111 Broadway, 7th Floor, 10:00 am to 2:30 pm

Farm Bill lecture and book signing with Dan Imhoff and Ken Cook
2012-03-22 18:30 - 21:00 | San Rafael, CA, United States
Join Dan Imhoff, author of Food Fight and Ken Cook, President of Environmental Working Group at the Dominican University in San Rafael to discuss how we can turn the 2012 farm bill into a healthy food bill.

What: Farm bill lecture and book signing with Dan Imhoff and Ken Cook
When: 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.Thursday, March 22, 2012
Where: Dominican University
Angelico Hall
50 Acacia Avenue
San Rafael, CA

California Ag Day
2012-03-21 10:30 - 13:47 | Sacramento, CA, United States
CALIFORNIA AG DAY: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012
On the West Side of the State Capitol
Sacramento, California

The Good Food Financing Conference
2012-03-15 08:00 - 2012-03-17 17:00 | Chicago, IL, United States
The Good Food Financing Conference brings together national and regional leaders in farming, food production, and finance to create channels for small farms and food businesses to access capital to finance growth. This day helps attendees gain new insights and inspiration from successful farm and food entrepreneurs and learn strategies to grow their businesses. It includes a Financing Fair that encourages investment in farms, food processing, and distribution businesses by connecting businesses with potential funders, investors, and bankers.

Goodfoodfestivals.com/chicago/

California Small Farm Conference
2012-03-04 07:00 - 2012-03-06 12:30 | Santa Clarita, CA, United States
The California Small Farm Conference is the state's premier gathering of small farmers, agricultural students, farmers’ market managers and others involved in the small farm industry. The three day educational conference includes day-long short courses and on-farm tours; focused workshops; engaging keynote addresses and numerous networking opportunities. Everything you need to plan a Big Future.

Slow Money Farm Fest
2012-02-25 15:00 - 21:00 | Petaluma, CA, United States
Join Slow Money Northern California’s Farm Fest at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma on February 25! Learn more about how to support sustainable food systems, meet the Slow Money movers, and have lots of fun networking with entrepreneurs, investors and our local community!

Tara Firma Farms
3796 I Street
Petaluma, CA 94952

Sign up now – space is limited!

For more informaton visit: http://slowmoneynocal.org/

Film screening: "In Organic We Trust"
2012-02-12 11:08 | San Francisco, CA, United States
IN ORGANIC WE TRUST looks beyond organic for practical solutions for me and you. Local farmer's markets, school gardens, and urban farms are revolutionizing the way we eat. Change is happening from the soil up. Get involved. Eat different.

When:

Sunday, Feb. 12, 2:45 p.m., reception 4-6 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:15 p.m., reception 9-11 p.m.

Where:

Roxie Theater

3117 16th St.

San Francisco, CA 94103

Cost: $11

More info:

http://www.bit.ly/sfindie_info

http://www.inorganicwetrust.org

Golden States of Grace: Prayers of the Disinherited - A Photodocumentary by Rick Nahmias
2012-02-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Santa Clara, CA, United States
Diversity, Community, and the Margins of American Society

Thursday, February 2, 7 – 8:30 p.m., FREE

In conjunction with Golden States of Grace: Prayers of the Disinherited, social documentarian Rick Nahmias presents examples of his work, offering unique images and insights into communities found on the margins. He will speak about the creative journey assembling the works, the common human denominators of food and faith explored in them, as well as what those labeled "the other" have to teach us about ourselves.

Rick Nahmias' photography, text, and multimedia exhibitions have been presented at over four dozen museums, universities, and cultural centers across North America.

The Golden Glass
2012-02-04 13:00 - 17:00 | San Francisco, CA, United States
Golden Glass is the annual fundraiser for Slow Food San Francisco. Proceeds will benefit key Slow Food San Francisco initiatives, including the School Gardens Initiative and Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste program.

Celebrate the efforts of over 100 wine producers who strive to protect, nurture, and revive the indigenous and classic varieties of their regions. Slow Food will select the wineries based on their philosophy and their respect for the environment in collaboration with local wine importers.

PlacerGROWN Food and Farm Conference
2012-02-04 08:00 - 15:30 | Lincoln, CA, United States
Each February, PlacerGROWN and the UC Davis Extension co-host an annual Food and Farm Conference – an exciting day of food, fun and workshops on food, farming, agriculture and local sustainability!

The Conference typically features 25-30 workshops, with lunch prepared by the Lincoln Future Farmers of America (FFA), and a trade show. The opportunity to meet and network with other farmers/ranchers and related agricultural organizations is as valuable as the educational content!

Labor Across the Food System
2012-02-03 19:00 - 2012-02-04 17:30 | Santa Cruz, CA, United States
FOOD SYSTEM WORKERS are often a glaring absence in discussions of the contemporary global food system, even though they are employed in some of the most labor-intensive industries within the entire economy, among them agricultural field work, food processing, food distribution, and restaurants of all kinds. The new food localism privileges questions of “where food comes from” over “how” and “who” questions about the conditions under which food is grown, shipped, processed, cooked, served, and sold. Labor Across the Food System will advance research and advocacy by bringing key scholars and advocates to Santa Cruz for discussions of the critical role of labor and social justice in remaking the global food system.

Conference

Saturday, February 4, 2012, 8:30am-5:30pm
Humanities Lecture Hall, UCSC

Labor Across the Food System, organized and sponsored by the Center for Labor Studies in collaboration with the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) and the Food First Institute for Food and Development Policy.

EcoFarm Conference 2012
2012-02-01 09:00 - 2012-02-04 17:00 | Asilomar, CA, United States
The EcoFarm Conference meets every year to create, maintain, and promote healthy, safe, and just food farming systems. With over 1,500 attendees, the three days yield myriad opportunities for networking with colleagues, discovering the newest ecological agricultural development and techniques, and building skills for us as individuals and together as a community.

Launch Party Real Rural: Stories from the Other California
2012-01-31 17:00 - 19:00 | San Francisco, CA, United States
Roots of Change and the Bill Lane Center for the American West are proud to announce the launch of journalist and photographer Lisa Hamilton's innovative multimedia project "Real Rural" — bringing California's rural life to the state's urban public. The portraits, along with surprising, provocative quotes from the subjects, will be featured on BART trains throughout the Bay Area beginning January 30, 2012, and on an interactive web site. We invite you to join us Tuesday, January 31, 2012 to preview her project, meet Lisa Hamilton and hear her talk about the project.

Real Rural: Stories from the Rest of California
Celebration of Project Launch
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
5:00 – 7:00 pm
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street, San Francisco
Free, Open to the Public

Space is limited, please RSVP to rsvp@calhist.org or 415.357.1848 ext. 229

We hope you'll join us for an exciting evening filled with captivating images and stories.

Sustainable Foods Summit
2012-01-17 09:00 - 2012-01-18 05:00 | San Francisco, CA, United States
The food industry is under growing pressure to reduce its environmental and social impacts, however what practical methods are successful and what role do eco-labels play? How can sustainable ingredients contribute to the ecological / social footprint? What are the gamut of sustainable packaging options available to food and beverage companies? What are the best-practices in the industry? The next edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit aims to address such issues in a high-level forum.

Kitchen Table Talks: In Solidarity with the Occupy Movement
2011-12-15 18:30 - 20:30 | San Francisco, CA, United States
On Thursday, December 15, 2011 please join the next Kitchen Table Talks in San Francisco for a thought provoking and stimulating exploration of the context, implications, actions, and promise of Occupy for the food movement.

When: Thursday, December 15, 2011; 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Food and drink at 6:30 pm; Discussion at 7:00 p.m.

Where: Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. (between Valencia and Guerrero Streets), San Francisco

Tickets: $10, available at Brown Paper Tickets
A limited number of sliding scale tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis at 7:00 p.m. on the night of the event.

Farm to Fork Series
2011-12-01 09:00 | Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Ag Innovations hosts Agriculture in Santa Barbara County: The Farm to Fork Series. A series meant to inform and educate local residents about food and farming practices in the county, looking at agriculture from the production, processing, distribution, and consumer perspectives, among others.

The Speakers Corner : The Politics of Food
2011-11-30 18:30 - 21:00 | Santa Rosa, CA, United States
What are the political forces shaping the food system? Join two of Northern California's dynamic food activists, Michael Dimock and Dan Imhoff, for a wide-ranging discussion on topics such as the future of animal agriculture, the Farm Bill, the local food and Occupy movements. From veggie prescriptions to the fight to end animal factories to the ins and outs of artesinal food production this is sure to be a stimulating conversation and an excellent kickoff to Summerfield's lecture series.

OxFam Hunger Banquet
2011-11-13 17:30 - 19:30 | Berkeley, CA, Berkeley, CA, United States
On Sunday, November 13, 2011, the San Francisco Bay Area Oxfam Action Corps will host a
Hunger Banquet and screening of the documentary Africa’s Last Famine at the David Brower
Center in Downtown Berkeley.

WHEN: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 5:30-7:30pm
WHERE: The David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Ste 280, Berkeley, CA 94704
Tamalpais Room (2nd floor)
RSVP: oxfam.sf@gmail.com.
FOOD PROVIDED BY: Stella Nona Catering, Gather Restaurant and Cancun Taqueria

The Hunger Banquet allows participants to experience the inequalities in our world, the disproportion of food, wealth and resources and how our decisions affect others. Guests draw a ticket at random that assign them to either a high, middle, or low-income tier, based on the statistics about the number of people living in poverty in the world. Each income level has a corresponding story and meal (of differing portions).

Educate, Advocate, Celebrate!
2011-11-08 18:00 - 20:30 | Menlo Park, CA, United States
Grazing in the Grass:

Creating a Sustainable Food System

through Pastured Livestock & Poultry

Join Slow Food South Bay for an eaters' event celebrating pastured livestock and poultry and learn some simple actions you can take to create a healthy and sustainable food system. Guest speakers Michael Dimock, president of Roots of Change, and Dan Imhoff, editor of CAFO, the Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, will discuss industrial food fallacies, facts about the importance of biodiversity and show you how to vote with your fork for healthy food.
