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Sharing Our Story at MOFFA

Posted at 2:13 PM on March 2, 2008 by Donna McClurkan

This weekend’s MOFFA (Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance) conference kicked off with a film called The Organic Opportunity: Small Farms & Economic Development by local filmmaker Chris Bedford. This short, uplifting film captures the essence of what is possible – economically, environmentally and socially - when a community comes together to enhance its local food system for the benefit of growers and consumers.

On Saturday, while talking with exhibitors and attending a wide range of educational sessions, I was struck by the diversity of the attendees in which soil scientists, growers, aspiring farmers, food retailers, Michigan State University faculty, etc. all came together to teach, talk and learn about organic and local food. We heard riveting keynote presentations by Tim LaSalle, CEO of the Rodale Institute and Cheryl Rogowski of Pine Island, N.Y., the first farmer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (the “genius award”).

Thanks to our involvement in Locavore Nation, I had the honor of co-presenting the consumer side in a session called “Why Purchase Local and Organic?” with Dr. Michael Hamm, C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainability at Michigan State University. A lot of ground was covered in this 45-minute interactive dialogue, though we barely scratched the surface. How do you address life-changing experiences in 45 minutes?

When I returned home late Saturday evening, My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables) was waiting in my inbox. This NYT op-ed piece details some of the challenges small farmers face in trying to expand production to meet demand for local food. Clearly, much needs to be done before we can realize the economic, environmental and social benefits of fixing our broken food system. As consumers, we can do our part by voting with our forks and our values.