Two Important Conversations about the Future of the Regional Food System

What are the next steps for a revitalized regional food system in Massachusetts and New England? Join a group of leaders and visionaries for a pair of roundtable discussions hosted by the Let’s Talk About Food festival and Tufts University to talk about what’s happening now and where we can go from here.

On Friday, Oct. 2, the conversation begins with “Taking Stock: Ingredients for a Regional Food System” at Goddard Chapel, Tufts University, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Joining us to take a broad look at the region’s resource base and emerging planning frameworks will be Robin Alden, director of the Penobscot East Resource Center and an award-winning educator and communicator whose work has had important impacts on reviving Maine fisheries and bringing fishermen, government, and scientists together to “co-manage” natural resources; environmental historian and farmer Brian Donahue, professor of American Studies at Brandeis University and lead author of “A New England Food Vision” (2014), a recent blueprint for strengthening food sovereignty in the region; Bob Perschel, executive director of the New England Forestry Association and a leader in developing approaches to managed forestry for both sustainable biomass harvesting and carbon sequestration; Liz Morningstar, CEO of the Boston Public Market Association, which manages the recently-opened locally-sourced year-round public market; and Greg Watson, two-time Massachusetts Agricultural Commissioner and an active participant in reshaping both the food and energy sectors through both policy and community organizing. The roundtable-style discussion will be chaired by Julian Agyeman of Tufts University’s Department of Urban + Environmental Policy and Planning. The event is open to the public and there is no admission charge.

On Saturday afternoon, October 3, the conversation continues in Copley Square under the big tent at Let’s Talk About Food from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Join Robin Alden, Brian Donahue, Liz Morningstar, and Greg Watson; plus ecologist David Foster, director of the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA and lead author of “Wildlands and Woodlands” (2010), a regional vision for farmland and forest protection in New England, and Catherine D’Amato, President and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, for a moderated town-hall style discussion. Drop in with your lunch, hear and share ideas, and be part of the process of planning the next generation of local and regional food.

At Tufts, the event is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology; Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences; Environmental Studies Program; Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; Agriculture, Food and Environment program of the Friedman School; Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service; Tufts Institute of the Environment; and Department of Urban + Environmental Policy and Planning.

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