It's widely acknowledged that we are in the middle of a world food crisis. Skyrocketing food and fuel costs, water scarcity, and population explosions have communities worldwide in the grip of hunger and dire food shortages. Come listen to four of the foremost authorities on the subject as they share forecasts and potential solutions for this immense global challenge- Slow Food Nation
Bio
Anya Fernald
Anya Fernald served as Program Director of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) for three years. At CAFF, she led three primary projects active in six regions of California: a Farm-to-School program active in over 90 schools; a social venture produce distribution company; and the California Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign.
Fernald came to CAFF after five years with Slow Food International. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Fernald spent a post-graduate year of study as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.
Corby Kummer
Corby Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he has established himself as one of the country's most widely read, authoritative, and creative food writers. Kummer is the restaurant critic for Boston Magazine and the former restaurant critic for New York magazine. In addition to The Atlantic, Kummer writes regularly for Martha Stewart Living, The New York Times Magazine, and Food & Wine, among others.
Kummer is the author of The Pleasures of Slow Food: Celebrating Authentic Traditions, Flavors, and Recipes. His Atlantic series on coffee was nominated for a National Magazine Award and led to his book, The Joy of Coffee. Kummer is the recipient of three James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.
Raj Patel
Raj Patel holds a doctorate in Sociology from Cornell University and has worked at the World Bank, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations.
He is a writer and activist concerned with land reform politics, development studies, and food sovereignty. He authored Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. His most recent book, The Value of Nothing, was on The New York Times best-seller list during February 2010.
Carlo Petrini
Carlo Petrini founded the International Slow Food Movement in 1989. He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's opening by the Spanish Steps in Rome
He is an editor of multiple publications at the publishing house Slow Food Editore and writes several weekly columns for La Stampa. He was one of Time Magazine's heroes of 2004.
Vandana Shiva
Born in India in 1952, Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned environmental leader and thinker. Director of the Research Foundation on Science, Technology, and Ecology, she is the author of many books, including Water Wars: Pollution, Profits, and Privatization (South End Press, 2001), Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge (South End Press, 1997), Monocultures of the Mind (Zed, 1993), The Violence of the Green Revolution (Zed, 1992), and Staying Alive (St. Martin's Press, 1989).
Shiva is a leader in the International Forum on Globalization, along with Ralph Nader and Jeremy Rifkin. She addressed the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle, 1999, as well as the recent World Economic Forum in Melbourne, 2000. In 1993, Shiva won the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (the Right Livelihood Award). The founder of Navdanya ("nine seeds"), a movement promoting diversity and use of native seeds, she also set up the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in her mother's cowshed in 1997. Its studies have validated the ecological value of traditional farming and been instrumental in fighting destructive development projects in India .
Before becoming an activist, Shiva was one of India's leading physicists. She holds a master's degree in the philosophy of science and a Ph.D. in particle physics.
Great conference! To say it bluntly, corporations like Monsanto are only interested in their development of technologies that increase their hold on the means of production which will guarantee their profits. Until we tackle this issue of government regulation that requires a corporation to guarantee profits to their shareholders(an idealization ). Any other social focus such as world hunger will be slow progress or set aside until profit goals are fulfilled for the cycle.
Eric deCarbonnel has written and talked about the coming food crisis. I have been growing a lot of my own food for the past 8 + years. I'm expanding my gardens and greenhouses as I expect to have family and friends who are not prepared for what is coming.
As far as GM food crops are concerned, I've read a bit about these in various science journals. There has been precious little study done on the safety of these altered DNA crops. Almost no unbiased studies have been done. I'm reminded of a study by the Heshey's Chocolate Co. saying that chocolate doesn't cause acne. Maybe not. but I don't trust the study. Europe has a much more highly educated populace than here in the USA. They overwhelmingly reject GM foods. If they are so safe, why not require them to be labeled on the packaging and on the store shelves? Freedom of choice in food is a basic human right. There are a number of interesting articles in the below link:
According to Pimentel D. Environmental and economic costs of the application of pesticides primarily in the United States. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2005;7:229–252; there are environment public health impacts from pesticides and fertilizers as they contaminate soils, groundwater, and streams.
The trade off between intense diverse production and extensive mono culture is a direct result of industrialization. Fewer tonnes of food off fewer acres grown by fewer farmers so the rest of the people could move to cities. I do not see that trend reversing itself, although there has been a recent revival in city gardens.
Fertilizers and modern farming methods in north america do not degrade soils, if anything reduced tillage technology developed over the last 20 years has improved soil structure and tilth visibly in my fields.
GMs are fine, not the final solution just yet. Our understanding of plant genetic engineering is far greater than the speakers suggest. Suggesting kindergarten knowledge is insulting.
member. 
