NORWAY — Food Sovereignty, a public interest forum, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Fare Share Commons, 443 Main St. The discussion will be led by Scott Vlaun of Moose Pond Arts + Ecology.

A billion people are hungry. Industrially produced food is not always safe. Conventional, large-scale agriculture often degrades soils and damages the environment. Small scale farming is precarious everywhere. All are signs of a food crisis. As traditional family farms continue their decline in Maine and elsewhere, rural residents increasingly turn toward sustainable methods. Many work specialty and subsistence farms, rely upon organic methods, save seeds, retool forgotten farm skills and engage in locally based, cooperative food production.

Via Campesina, a coalition of 150 small farmer organizations in 70 countries, introduced the notion of food sovereignty almost 20 years ago. Leading principles include: access to food as a human right, farmers’ right to own and control land they work, protection of natural resources, and governmental policies prioritizing food sufficiency over corporate interests and world market imperatives.

Vlaun uses permaculture methods for his market gardens in Otisfield. As a photographer and writer he has worked in the organic seed movement and has documented organic farming methods and biodiversity conservation in China, Cuba, Mexico and Central America.

The Public Interest Forum, a project of the Maine Peace Council, meets monthly to explore political, social and cultural issues bearing on democracy.

For more information, call Tom Whitney at 743-2183.

Copy the Story Link