Good morning and welcome to our
second annual leadership and

moth a faith symposium.

My name is Deanna Womack and

I'm a faculty member at
Emory University's School of Theology and

also the director for
the leadership and program or lamp.

Lamp is a joint endeavor
between Kamler and

the I have an Allen College of
Liberal Arts here at Georgia Tech.

And it's made possible through the
generous support of H. Bruce make up for

the foundation for Religious Literacy and
the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation's.

Lamp aims to promote understanding and
moral leadership in our

religiously plural society to that end
we have developed curricular programs

on the Emory and Georgia Tech campuses.

And a series of public symposiums that
seek to bring together both campuses and

the larger Atlanta community our first
symposium in the spring of two thousand

and fifteen centered on compassion and
leadership and a multi-faith world.

Today's program on food farming and they
will explore the current practices and

ethical challenges of food production and
consumption from religious

scientific historical and
public policy perspectives.

We invite you to join this
conversation during the question and

answer sessions following each of the
panels and also by live tweeting during

this event at hash tag lamp twenty six.

I'm now delighted to introduce.

Our facilitator and respondent for

this morning's panel on local
initiatives in food and farm.

We've asked each one of the panel speakers
to speak specifically about their

farming practices at the local level and
how they use them to build community.

Mindy is a clinical professor of law.

Director of the Turner environmental
laws clinic and interim director of

the environmental and natural resources
law program at Emory Law School or.

Work focuses on sustainable energy and
climate change land use and conservation

sustainable agriculture and urban farming
protection of natural resources and

access to information she has successfully
litigated cases before the D.C.

Circuit Court of Appeals and
various district courts and

she has testified before
several federal agencies

Mindi sits on the board of wholesome
wave Georgia and global growers

she is the co-chair of the Georgia Public
Interest Environmental Law Coalition and

a member of the Institute for Georgia
environmental leadership class of twenty

fifteen welcome Mindy.

Thank you thank you for
such an honor to be here and

I'm really excited to introduce you to
a series of our panelists here today who

are going to talk to you a bit more about
what they do and what they're interested

in after that panel is off a chance to
speak we will then open it up questions so

our first speaker is Nathan Stuckey Nathan
is director of the farm unary project at

Princeton Theological Seminary and an
ordained minister in the Mennonite Church

now I think grew up on a farm
in Kansas where his love for

the Christian faith in agriculture
first took root after earning a B.A.

in music from Bethel College Nathan spent
six years doing ecumenical youth ministry

on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and
two years farm back in Texas or Kansas or.

You know my band not the same place Nathan
are in a Masters of Divinity degree and

a Ph D. from Princeton Theological
Seminary his most recent scholarship

considers the integration of
theological education in Agra.

And he sees the farming area as
a look as for an acting that in.

Thank you good morning again my name is.

And I serve as director of the project and
I thank you many it is a great privilege

to be here I will describe the farming
area in a bit more detail in a moment but

first I want to outline
the content of my presentation.

I want to focus my remarks here on
a principle that lies at the heart

of any healthy ecosystem
namely that life and

death relate interdependently I want
to connect this permit principle

to the formation of a vibrant community
that is emerging at the farm and

every I mean idea is this community
forms vibrantly through the farming

area because it provides a space where
the interconnectedness of life and

death is unveiled or the that
interconnectedness can be evaluated and

where the community is invited into a more
honest and faithful participation in that

interconnectedness mark
the challenges us to own up

to the fact that the quality of our
common life our community depends on our

relationship with death this
sounds more morbid that it is.

The state my thesis a third way
I am asking in the firm and

helps me ask if it might be the case that
a more honest relationship with death

leads to a more vibrant life and
more vibrant community.

Straight this I want to make three
moves in the remainder of my time

first I want to briefly describe
the farm and second to I want to

tell a story of community formation of
the the farming area and third I want

to link the interconnectedness of life and
death to a definition of community

that is informed both by agrarian ism and
the Christian theological tradition

as a side note I approach the question
of community formation and

agriculture at the farm unary as
a Christian practical theologians.

And as a Christian theological educator
my hope in transparently communicating

the influence and the importance of the
Christian theological tradition on my work

is that such transparency opens rather
than closes dialogue with colleagues and

coworkers and other free traditions
the idea it seems to me is ecological

diversity enhanced rather
than threatens our by telly.

Now for those three aforementioned.

Description of the farmer
the farm is a new project

that integrates a logical education.

Regenerative agriculture it grows from
the conviction that the skills and

proficiency of an adept agrarian
broadly overlap with the skills and

proficiency of a good church leader or

world leader both at the Adept agrarian
and the church leader know how to

pay attention to seasons you know how
to tend life you know how to persevere

through failure you know how to plan
the know how to exercise patience

you know how to hold in reverence
to interconnectedness of life and.

The main focus of our integration
of theological education and

agriculture is a twenty one
acre seminary own farm.

That is located about two miles from the
main campus the farm includes a includes

a pond a number of outbuildings and
Woods overgrown Christmas trees

fields this one year ago I taught
the first ever seminary course at the farm

in order to avoid the dead of winter and
get in our requisite contact hours

the class met in six six hour blocks after
the spring reading week the six hour

blocks were divided into
an hour of discussion.

Two hours of gardening.

And another two hours that looked
a lot like classroom time but

took place in a block barn on the farm.

The promise of the course was
that agrarian thought and

practice helps us think and
rethink how the.

Church our church leaders teach scripture
in face communities each week we held

up agrarian literature and practice
next to the categories of educational

philosophy and we asked how agrarian
as a might influence education for

example how does agrarian isms
understanding that a healthy ecosystem is

biodiverse contribute to one's
understanding of a healthy congregation or

how my elderly upholds example of
paying attention inform the care that

one gives to prisoners how might
the practice of attending an onion or

a tomato or a cucumber form proficiency
is within our students which

are precisely the proficiency that might
also yield healthy faith communities

more to the point of this presentation
how might the interconnectedness of life

on the farm reshape the way we think
about the interconnectedness of life and

death within a congregation or
other peace and unity.

The pedagogical power of the farm was
that it gave us the space to embody

the curriculum we were not merely
studying communities of faith and

asking how thought and practice
influenced education in those settings we

were a community of face that was engaging
in agrarian thought and practice for

the sake of a transformed learning
community the farm provided a lab for

testing if it's going to work out
there at house to first work in here.

Are two story from our.

We sense the impact of the farm on our
learning community almost immediately.

At the close of our first session at the
farm with its garden time meal time and

barn time we engaged in a bit of matter
met a reflection to evaluate how

the time had gone one third year student
who was just a few short weeks from

graduation raised his hand he said I feel
like I've gotten to know people better in

the last six hours than I have
over the previous three years.

We saw a similar dynamic at
play throughout the semester.

Time in the garden and

time at the table positively transformed
the quality of our learning community.

In many ways this is not rocket science
the garden and the table open space for

community to grow in the garden students
work together toward a common mission

turning soil spreading compost
building a fence planting seeds and

all of this in a way that
necessarily engaged their minds and

their bodies the public space for students
to serve one another show hospitality

to each other in both cases the learning
learning environment also allowed for

simple community nurturing conversation so
have you ever before

where did you grow up and
what are you doing after graduation.

The simplicity of these questions should
not distract us from the from the import

of their contrast to what can be
the status quo in education through these

questions students humanized each other
the fact that these questions emerged

while students tended the land and shared
a meal is not incidental agrarian and

ecological literature points students
to their common dependence on the land

students read about this dependence and
then they enact it they learn that apart

from healthy soil we have no healthy food
all that we come all that we eat comes

from Depends on and
ultimately returns to the soil.

Or.
The Internet connectedness of life and

death faces us both explicitly and
implicitly.

Explicitly we face of a biological
fact our lives depend on death

to paraphrase Professor Norman.

Out there is going to be
somewhere close by or soon.

He says in order for us to eat
countless other beings both seen and

unseen must die.

Implicitly education information in this
context challenges some functionally

dominant understanding regarding
educational philosophy.

Shared work in the garden and
shared meals at the table challenge.

Industrial and consumer models of
education the idea of student as mere

producer of papers or degrees or
achievements or honors the idea of student

as mere consumer of ideas texts theories
etc passed away teacher as mayor and

partner of information passed away in the
terms of this presentation we sought and

continue to seek the death of the image
student as autonomous learner and

in its place we seek the vitality of
student as interdependent learner and

therefore member of
the learning community.

This of course raises
an all important question

what do we mean when we say community.

Here in the case of the farming area
the import of the Christian theological

tradition comes to the fore.

It seems to me that
regenerative agriculture and

the Christian theological tradition both
point to an understanding of community

that necessarily includes
the interconnectedness of life and death.

Well as Christian theology and agrarian
ism insists that a healthy community

necessarily makes space within itself for
death not for deaths sake but

for the sake of the ongoing vitality
of the community or ecosystem.

The compost pile illustrates this well on
the farm the compost pile takes within

itself that which is passing away at
the very passing of the banana peel

egg shell and coffee grinds holds
within itself the promise of a new life

in next year's garden Lent and Easter
illustrate this within the Christian

calendar during Lent Christians remember
that they come from the fertile soil

of the earth and that they will
again return to that same soil.

This remembering anticipates the passion
of Jesus and also his resurrection

here again life and death interconnect
resurrection presupposes death

while insisting on life as
the broader tell us of the movement.

This.

Is precisely the movement of.

The farmer.

We are seeing.

The interconnectedness of life.

We are holding that interconnectedness
in reverence and in.

Life Community take shape Thank

you.

For this there.

Thank you.

That was really helpful and
I'd like to introduce next.

Charge.

Is an apprentice at
Stony Point small scale farm in

the Hudson River Valley New York State she
has a degree in environmental geography

from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
and is a certified master gardener at

Stony Point center part of
an intentional community that

focuses on Earth Care through the lens
of Abrahamic faith traditions.

The development of curriculum
an educational experiences that connect

the Islamic faith and.

Muslim and

Christian walk into a green sounds like
the beginning of a really bad joke.

It's not I promise that just describes
the beginning of my normal day at work.

Center and I was asked here today to share
with you a little bit of what it is that

I.

Am Stony Point is a conference in retreats
center that is home to the community

a living tradition a multi faith
intentional community committed to

the work of social justice nonviolence and
Earth Care That's.

The mission and work of the community of
living traditions is to practice radical.

Engage faith and cultivate nonviolence and
justice in the world.

Through the lens of
the Abrahamic faith traditions.

That mission comes to life in the work
each community member does as we as we

assist in running a conference center so
working the front desk from social media

and web design working in the kitchen
transportation and program development to

name just a few alongside alongside
the work of engaging our own and

each other's faith traditions to
textual studies creating space and

intentionality for
questions and dialogue and

the simple but powerful act of living and
working together as Muslims Jews and

Christians toward a common goal
of being social activists and

peacemakers in the world.

On the thirty five acre suburban
property of the conference center

you'll find a network of gardens that
makes makes up a small scale farm

consisting of eight hundred chickens and
an acre of land and

production producing over ten thousand
pounds of food last year the food

produced in the gardens is used to
supplement the needs of the kitchens and

feed the guests and
community of people that live there.

Resource of having a working farm
with real live chickens greenhouses.

Compost piles maple syrup production and
fields of a larger a of flowers fruits and

vegetables allows for plenty of experience

learning this farm fits into
the vision of the conference center and

the intentional community as a as a living
breathing teacher of sustainability

interconnectedness and growth and one of
those experience no education programs

is what brought me just on a point
center in the first place.

Farmland the spirit is a summer and to
program that brings together young adults

who are committed to
their Jewish Muslim and

Christian faith tradition as participants
we would spend several weeks living

in community working the morning hours
on the farm getting hands on experience

with small scale food production.

Regenerative and sustainable farming
practice that the afternoon hours would

be dedicated to teaching sessions
focused on peace justice nonviolence and

Earth Care guided by by faith
leaders of the three traditions and

it was to say the least and enriching and
beautifully challenging experience.

It was a space in which I could finally
weave together my love of gardening and

work the earth into my faith
tradition in an intentional way

the pharmacy in its first
season that year and.

They were looking to start
an apprenticeship program and so

I signed on for the farms first formal
apprenticeship program and I and

I have one full season
under my bouts as of today.

I.

What's what's unique
about point center and

the community of living traditions is not
that you have Muslims Jews and Christians

living and working alongside each other
rather it's that you have Muslims Jews and

Christians working and
living alongside each other.

Who want to actively engage
in their own tradition and

want to support each other in doing so.

And a really meaningful example for
me is the experience of fasting

through the month of Ramadan while farming
so passing for Muslims during this month.

Or last year means no food or
water between dawn and dusk and

at that temp year the days of fasting
range from seventeen to eighteen hours and

it's also one of the busier times
of year on the farm down there.

So when planning our summer
institute program we schedule for

the students in the late afternoon.

Periods of time and

give them the way to do what they felt was
best as individual student share that they

appreciate appreciate it simple act active
taking their practice into consideration.

When one planning the experience and

another shared with me that that
be able to work with the Earth and

having the time to reflect Belfast made it
one of her most engaged and spiritually

enriching Ramadan she had ever experience
even though she was working really hard.

As the farm Apprentice I was given the
space to do as much as I felt I could and

and that space given to me
opened up an experience

of endurance patience and
angry and reflection that I

had never quite experienced before
in all my twenty years that.

I was fully supported in the practice
of my religious obligations and

I was empowered to push forward or
take a step back whenever I needed to.

So after working the cooler morning hours
and situating our days so that would be

inside in the hottest hour I would head
back to my house as everyone gathered for

lunch and do my afternoon prayers cool
off maybe take a quick nap before

the afternoon work would get and
it soon became very apparent to me that

I was lacking in more than just two and
water at those lunch hours.

What I was missing was
the genuine community building

that happens when gathering around.

I found myself by passing an afternoon out

to just sit with my
fellow community members.

Connex people gathering to eat
together both physically and

socially nourished those around the table

as someone who was intentionally removing
myself from the normal rhythm of eating

I was able to see a web of connections
that can be enhanced when people share.

Whether you're growing it eating it or
fasting from it the community

the community that can be created around
who did Newport to our health and

well being.

It's.

Another significant experience that speaks
to the Muslim Jewish Christian dynamic.

That meat production.

As an apprentice I was given
the opportunity to take part in Harvest

chicken.

I've never done this before I was glad for
the encouragement and the opportunity

I realised I knew very little about
the experience of animals water and

as a Muslim I follow meat processing
practices so I realise as experience.

That I would need to learn
the fine details of that.

So I did my research animal must be
offered water it must be as calm as

possible not in the state of fear
a simple prayer in recognition of

God is sad and the slaughter must be done
with an extremely sharp knife and then

the blood must be drained and the animal
before the before the analysts process.

As a share these details with our
farmer to see if you would be feasible

I found that the only major difference
in how the process place with the words

that were spoken I came to understand that
all of our traditions around animals water

whether strictly written out as in
the Jewish and Muslim faith or practice by

ethically minded Christian farmers point
to the practice of small scale meat

production in order to keep in accordance
with coal and religious obligations.

Despite my research emotional
mental preparation for

this we did end up hours for
many different reasons but what I learned

that through that experience shed light on
our responsibility as people of faith to

examine our traditions as we endeavor to
live more sustainable and conscious lives

we might just find answers we're looking
for within our own religious teachings.

And so next one of our newest educational
programs is our food justice retreats

It's a program geared towards faith based
base faith based groups of children and

young adults the retreat offers
an introduction to sustainable.

Reproduction and issues around justice
through hands on farm work interactive

learning activities film screening and
multi-faith birth care teaching.

This summer we had a Presbyterian youth
group take part in one of our retreats and

I want to share with you
just one last thing.

It's.

One of the many moments that
speak to the potential for

community building in this multi letting
one of the projects we had with a student

was to harvest bamboo you began I shared
with them the reason we were harvesting at

the Jewish holiday the code's
was the following week.

And every year we help
our community members

build up a temporary structure and
celebrations.

It was during this activity that one

brought to our attention
a unique Namak occurring.

A Muslim myself was leading a group of
Christians and to harvest bamboo to help

our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate
within their religious faith tradition.

We've learnt that simply creating.

And comfortable space for people of faith
to interact with each other's traditions

opens the door for
genuine questioning dialogue and.

What might seem like the unknown.

Not only do I get a chance to walk into
a greenhouse and farm every morning but

we as a community have the opportunity to
work alongside each other in our tents to

live out our faith tradition and
broaden understanding of each other.

While getting your hands nice and
letting you see.

Them.

Was really really remarkable it's
wonderful that you're all going.

We're going there our next
presenter is Jennifer craft

Leavy Jennifer is the integrated
science curriculum coordinator for

the Georgia Tech College of Sciences where
she has served as a faculty member in

the school of biology since two thousand
and five she grew up in Decatur and

earned her B.S. from Georgia Tech in
one thousand nine hundred and a Ph D.

from Emory in two thousand and one she
is the director of the Georgia Tech

urban honeybee project an
interdisciplinary educational initiative

with the goal of recruiting and retaining
students in STEM careers the study of how

urban habitats affect honeybee health and
how technology can be used to study

away.

Don't look at this.

You're not seeing this you're not saying
I don't know OK All right all right here

we go thanks everybody and
thanks to the organizers and Mindy for

inviting me to be here today I got to tell
you a little bit about the Georgia Tech

urban honeybee project so I'm a biologist
so we're going to sort of switch gears

a little bit I'm going to talk about
community mostly rather than say and

I'm going to tell you how studying these
social insects these communities of

insects as inspired us to
build community on campus.

Right person to start
with a little biology so.

We all know the story of honeybees and

their importance in food production
right so honeybees basically store

as lying matchmakers plants right plants

are firmly rooted in the ground they
can't walk over to their neighbors and

say I want to go on a date that's just
impossible but these as they go around and

collect nectar and pollen to consume
also pick up pollen granules from

the male parts of one plant deposit them
on the female parts of other plants and

seeds form and forms around that seed and

it produces food for
us about one third of all the.

One in three bites of food
comes from this process from.

So by the time the fruit forms of course
the bees are long gone when a bee

leaves a flower it returns
back to its high and

starts telling its sisters about
the floral resources that it's found.

So the bees do this using a symbolic
language called the waggle the ants

where they communicate not only
the location of a floral resource but

also the quality not unlike.

Yeah right so here are communicating
where this food is and.

They do it in support of
the colony as a whole so

these bees are sisters ninety five
to ninety nine percent of the bees

in any given colony are made up
of sterile female worker bees and

all of the work they do from foraging for
food to.

Being corpse bearers removing the dead
from their have to building the caring for

the young It's all done in support of the
colony as a whole these workers themselves

don't reproduce but their mother
the queen beat us and in biology just as

I imagine in theology as well
we define this as altruism

when there are all kinds of
interesting biological laws that have

to do with altruism OK so
that's a base on basic the biology

we know that these are important but
we also know that bees are threatened.

This was the New York Times
headline from Friday

in advance of a report that
was released by the UN.

Stating that up to forty
percent of pollinator species.

Are threatened with extinction so

honeybees are not native to North America
there are however poor thousand other

species of bees that are native to North
America and many of them like bees and

and Orchid bees blueberry be swept bees
carpenter bees these are excellent

pollinators and they are important for
pollination of a lot of our crops and so

it doesn't matter how many honeybee
colonies we can produce there are still

going to be other be species that
are threatened by a variety of

different insults one of those insults is.

Disease OK So honeybees in the US well and
around the world for

that matter are suffering primarily
from a terrible parasitic might called

the destructor mite and this might.

It be on developing B..

People form a B. and spreads viruses
when it does so them this isn't

an image of a B. An Adult B. that has
emerged with the formed wing virus so

that might spreads the virus to the bee
and it emerges as an adult it cannot fly

and it cannot support
the health of the colony.

This is exactly analogous to
a human disease seek a virus so

that's been in the news a lot
exactly the same mechanism you have

a parasite a mosquito takes a meal
from a human transmits a virus to

a developing fetus in that mother and
then the baby is born

perhaps with the scientific link
it's not completely there yet but

it's possible that it could
be causing microcephaly.

The next insult for B.S.
is toxins in the environment.

Pesticides mostly right and
it's not without irony that

increased pessimist pesticide usage this
season might be a real factor as people

are trying to control the mosquitoes
that's for the sake of Iris.

And finally bees face
threats from Habitat loss so

on the left we have a Google Maps image
of South Georgia Moultrie Georgia where

most of the bees in the eastern US come
from and where our piece came from and

the image on the right is downtown
Atlanta the stars are our hives here at

Georgia Tech on a couple comments building
and at the historic Westside gardens so

you can see just visually that the
habitats are different South Georgia and

we have beautiful fields
full of flowers for

the bees to find nectar and
pollen trees for the bees to.

Make nests and in urban areas we just
don't know what the effects are going to

be on on the nutrition and nest sites.

And how do we find the answers
to these questions how do we

solve these problems that
are threatening our food supply.

Often times we turn to science.

And engineers to help us
with these problems and

hence we have another problem based on an
interest I'm in the business of educating

that students science technology educate
and engineering and math students and

the number of jobs available to graduates
of STEM programs is increasing every

year we have lots of jobs available lots
of problems for the students to solve but

unfortunately students are leaving STEM
majors at rates up to forty percent and

the problem is worse if you look at
representation by women and minorities and

stem women and minorities are grossly
under a President did in STEM fields so

as an educator how do we go about
increasing the number of STEM graduates

it can be done by retaining
STEM majors it can also be done

by recruiting more students into
STEM majors to begin with right so

the problem begins before college course.

At Georgia Tech what we're doing
is trying to address this issue by

providing an authentic important
relevant I call logical problem for

students to solve in the context
of their own disciplines.

And we have beehives on the roof we
started with beehives on the roof of our

undergraduate learning commons building
across Commons and even in advance of

getting these on the roof we had
a community form of students faculty and

staff from all different departments
who were interested in these so

here are some photos from our
our beehive installation day.

Almost immediately you saw Georgia Tech
students doing things that

that Georgia Tech students don't
normally do so here we have one of my

students harvesting honey we harvest honey
and bottle it and sell it to the local

farmer's market on campus we are building
hives so we're collecting swarms where.

Planting seeds we're starting
to look sort of like bees.

We have students doing research evaluating

evaluating the effects of herbut
habitats on bees in terms of.

Accumulation of toxins and honey.

This student.

Produced a a line map
analogous to the beltline.

Corridor through Atlanta that
would these are good sites for

conservation that might allow
beast to travel through the area

we have students developing
technologies to study bees.

We have outreach to the community so
our volunteers.

Recognize the importance of reaching
students before they get to college and

so from the earliest children in
elementary school through middle school

even hosting high school students
in projects about bees and

high school teachers in developing
curricular materials relating to beast and

finally and most importantly this has been
the most rewarding and unexpected part of

this project for me is that we have
neighbors nearby that have urban farms and

community gardens that came to us and said
we need for a variety of different reasons

each garden is different each garden has
its own reasons for needing bees be it for

pollinating their crops be it for
providing educational and

economic development opportunities for
their residents in the lower right

hand corner is the urban fresh
garden in the Bankhead neighborhood.

In West Atlanta and
corner of his is historic Westside gardens

we can be used for a couple of seasons at
the Wall Street Park Community Garden and

it's neighborhood near the.

Turner Field and then we've been fostering
the bees over the last season at

truly living well we've Street Garden as
well and that's in the upper left hand.

So that is pretty much it
we've looked at these.

Actual insects as inspiration for
our community and I think there's a lot

that we can learn thanks.

Try to be on this side change
it up a little bit for

our final two speakers I'm
pleased to introduce Carl.

Carl is an associate professor in
the digital media program in the school of

literature Media and
Communication at the Georgia Tech in

technology at Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech he directs the public design
workshop which is a research studio that

explores socially engaged design
practices in several media

this work includes the grow
bot garden project and

data hack a thons in Atlanta both
of which employ communication and

design technologies in support of local
food issues in food systems Charles first

book adversarial design is part of
the design thinking design theory series

at MIT Press.

So thanks for the introduction and
thank you for inviting me here today.

Building off the last presentation
I'm also going to share with you some

different perspectives based upon work
that's happening here at Georgia Tech and

and rather than talking about education
particular what I want to do is

share with you a project today that's an
ongoing project that we've been doing with

collaborators in Atlanta that
really has one primary goal repeat.

Three times which is the question about
how do we model a kind of critical and

engaged research that looks at.

At a Technology Institute but

does it in a way that takes seriously the
alternative food that might be presented.

And questions and
provides answers to ways and

thinking differently about food ways and
food systems and

the role that technology might play
in that as a research institute so

my work or the work and we're talking
about today has to do with foraging so

forging is an odd thing to talk about in
terms of agriculture in a way forging is

maybe the absence of agriculture or
doing is the idea of collecting fruits and

vegetables from places other than arms or
orchards So this might be like

apples from apple trees in parks or
blueberries from bushes along the roadway

wore figs from trees in people's front
yards for no longer want them and

over the past three to four years I've
been working with concrete jungle

which is a local foraging organization and
plan to to ask a question about how my

technologies and designs be brought to
bear on the practices of fortune so

there's really three ways to think about
foraging The first is as an individual

activity so I go out and
let's say Paris or apples or

service berries and I consume them myself
a second way to think about foraging or

to practice foraging is I go out and
I collect something often in small amounts

and I sell it to others so people do
this part of it for example mushrooms or

various Kline's citrus fruits or
you collect these and you can sell them

at a higher cost because of the sort of
cachet that comes around for its goods and

often because there's a special
about its being with mushrooms or.

It's.

So the third kind of foraging the kind of
foraging that concrete jungle engages in

is really foraging at a larger scale and
the question that they're asking is

how can they collect enough fruits and
vegetables from places like

parts that they can actually
contribute to the food security and

resiliency of the local community so they
collect thousands of pounds of fruits and

vegetables every year and
they give them to food shelters to church.

Is the other sorts of sites that
are oftentimes getting the kinds of things

that we donate such as cans of Dinty Moore
beef stew or boxes of rice a roni and

not getting out more pears berries greens.

So foraging is a is a is an interesting
sort of activity to engage in as a kind of

agricultural practices it is a communal
practice it's a collaborative

practice makes use of the abundance
that is in our environment

we often find our ourselves in these sorts
of situations where on a Saturday or

Sunday or propped up on a ladder
with people we don't know

reaching precariously hoping often all
over well we try to get some piece of

fruit that we may not
even know what it is.

To give it away to others so there's
an aspect of forging that's that's very

romantic Let's go out and collect this
give it away the interesting thing

is when you begin talking about foraging
at scale it becomes not a romantic

problem becomes actually fairly
boring with just its problem.

This is an image of one eighth
of the in-town neighborhoods and

these are all the trees and
bushes that concrete jungle maintains.

These are all the places that they forage
for all the publicly accessible places

that they order and on here as every kind
of berry and every kind of apple tree and

the challenge for them if they want to
actually keep this up as a practice is how

do we find the time to do all of this as
a volunteer organization precisely because

foraging us not like a farm you can't
just walk out and look at the fruits and

vegetables and find out whether or not
they're right going to these locations and

trying to figure out.

When there's a time to pick
is sort of a challenge so

over the last several years we've been
engaged in a series of projects that say

how do we take seriously this notion of
this kind of creative foodways how do we

think about the ways in which technologies
that are being developed for industrial

scale agriculture might be rethought
redesign and re practiced at this.

Smaller scale sort of alternative Agger.

And so we've done this as a series of
funded sponsored research projects by both

corporations and by the National Science
Foundation again with this idea of saying

this is a site to take seriously this is
there's real research that can go on here.

So some of the research has been.

Useful and some of it has been ridiculous
one of our more ridiculous ideas was

thinking about using drones for Remote
Sensing in and around the city of Atlanta.

Drones actually work really great you can
send the Droid out and it can see a piece

of fruit on a tree and it can actually
tell the relative size of that but

due to existing regulations are drone
project was quite literally grounded so

we've gone from drones to thinking about
well if we can't do this what are ways

that we might be able really inexpensive
low cost sensors that can go in an apple

tree or a pear tree again with the idea of
letting the folks a concrete jungle know

hey this tree is ready to be picked you
should organize a pick around it and

send people out at the right time and so
working together with them we've developed

these sensor packages that
are very inexpensive cost.

Relatively cheap to make relatively robust
and then working together with concrete

jungle actually going out into the field
with our colleagues like this is

Craig Durkin here if I could jungle
climbing into a pear tree over and

like Claire and strapping these sorts
of sensors on to trees to begin to take

measurements in this case measurements
of when the branches bending and

looking and saying can we use that as a
cue for knowing when the fruit is ripe but

actually engaging the forger's
themselves as research partners as

exploring how do we begin to think
about taking seriously this practice

through monitoring putting things in
trees and letting them sit there over

the course of the summer we've
begun to develop some actually.

Some technical innovations that some
people in engineering of all places.

Are taken seriously.

So in addition to thinking about drones
and sensors We've also thought about

other technologies that are used in
large scale agriculture such as maps and

different ways of sort of mapping
the environment and even going so

far as to build visualisation tools and
technologies that allow people to take

pictures of the fruit to monitor its
growth over time so that in addition to

being able to know when to do these
picks concrete jungle is actually going

to be able to develop a body of data
about environmental conditions and

compare those from year to year and
offer those up to others.

So all of these tools we could
talk about all of these tools and

if if I was perhaps in another room at
Georgia Tech I might talk to you about

the ways in which the sensor was designed
or sort of the algorithms that we use for

the vision on the drone but I think what's
important today is to think about what's

really happening here is looking at
research at places like Georgia Tech

as an opportunity not just to continue on
with the status quo in agriculture and

food systems but to ask questions about
how we might use those skills and

talents and commitments that we have
here to fundamentally reimagine

what it means to do act tech development
in an institution like Georgia Tech

to think about and takes these sorts of
context seriously context where people

are coming together to collect fruit
from places in the environment to

collect fruit from their own communities
to give back to their communities

to collect fruit that actually builds
community around it what would it mean

to model a research practice
that met all of the demands

of having a research practice of
the place like Georgia its funding and

publications innovations whether or not
we want to question that model I think we

can do that whether or not it's right to
even think about introducing technologies

into these contexts you can ask those
questions as well but it's considered

these kinds of agricultural practices as
ones that are worthy of attention and.

Even though the sorts of yields the
organization like concrete jungle produces

and and if you can see this but this is a
by year breakdown until twenty thirteen of

the places in which they're distributing
they're to take seriously this level

of commitment to food and food ways and
communities as being worthy of

our attention as researchers at Georgia
Tech and a fundamentally ask the question

not just how can we improve I could
culturally but to ask the question about

how can we contribute to communities of
care these are the kinds of things that

we're interested in doing in our
research group as scholars here at Tech

thanks.

I'd like to introduce
our final panelist for

today nursery Rashid is the founder and
C.E.O.

of truly living well Center for natural
urban agriculture and its forty years of.

Growing experience where she has observed
local food economies around the world

while managing public private and
community based in agriculture businesses

and over thirty five countries
His work has included management

the thirteen thousand acre Nation of
Islam farm in the state of Georgia and

national service as a deputy administrator
in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and

senior advisor in the Department of
Commerce she has a board member of Georgia

organic Yeah local food initiative and
the urban pit abundance movement.

It's quite a resume or
he is also one of the people who helped

get me started in this work so
it's truly an honor to introduce and.

Greetings everybody.

God's peace be unto all of them.

It's really amazing it's not often get to.

Talk and actually be able to speak
in face and I love you in this room

Christians Jews Muslims Hindus Buddhists
and it's all I can.

Your coffee.

And.

Ask Indiana you know how we should
approach this talk you know that title is

food farming and faith but
you say you talk about community and

that means all clicked for me because this
is what this work is about is building

this is what might light work that I've
been engaged in is understanding what

community is how it's connected in each of
these and just because that preceded me.

Said things that that helped
me even better understand

the connections between
all this work that we do.

Here in building this local
food system in the land.

To stop.
Talk about yes in I always thought that if

you asked somebody was the opposite of
death connected life death and I say

it's birds come in that is like a lot of
questions what you're going to do and

you got such a short time in the context
of the entire creation our relationship to

a tree or a rock the amount of time
that we have on this planet in this

plane to do something that's very very
small late what you're going to do and

I think the work that we engage in is that
commitment it is the way to demonstrate

our space.

To talk about the.

Abrahamic tradition.

Was brought the spirit in Muhammad the
community almost like I'm the only one.

And it and there's only one sometimes
I love it when I have an atheist comes

out to the farm and
says I don't believe that like a tree.

Really simple victory you
can do that I worship you so

far haven't had to do
that it's great that.

The intimacy of the meal she talked
about how she came during Ramadan and

the time of the year to Ramadan
is now is tough we go eighteen.

Food water and
some things that are prohibited.

During that run with it but
there is in my experience there's nothing

more intimate the sharing a meal with
somebody to do that you sit down you know

if you mad at someone you sit down to have
a you're going to get to know them a whole

lot better you can see them on a very
humane level that helps to build that was

as you test these bees.

Teach us very much about
community they our community.

They taught they show us
the importance of outreach and

communicating with one another and
most important lesson I get from.

Watching B. is the fact that.

It's amazing how much you can get done.

These give up their lives for each other
and as though we stand ready to see me

see me doesn't happen to be
high they all work together and

we benefit because they produced.

We wouldn't have the production we
have in this country without the bees

that gives them wonderful honey which
has so many attributes I knew a man of

his label and trained.

In the honey put on.

The end of Sept one to.

Forging demonstrates the efficacy of urban
It shows you can grow food anywhere and

we have a very neat opportunity here in
Atlanta with all its open land then is

the greenest city in America by virtue
of respect take a million acres.

Of land twenty three twenty five
thousand to produce all the best

it is their culture.

That.

Place so for me I got into
this work many many years ago.

It came out of God spoke to me that
you can see the tape being a child of

the sixty's were talked by the nation
didn't want to build a nation got it.

Really that simple I can't be a husband or
father if I can't.

My family.

The community food for me.

Farming and fate.

This is how I got to do is work God's and
learn every.

Experience so in my first week of
university was put in organic garden.

Back on Earth.

And I always say people think I'm crazy.

Just not and
that's when you go into orbit.

And.

I mean just nasty stuff.

Going to some eco this organic but
now we have we have a higher standard

we have a higher standard organic
natural methods that we utilize

your US higher standards commission in.

And then as many said I've had
the chance to travel the world.

And see how local food systems are
conducted and created and I brought that

work I brought that now is back to
the work that we do is true of well.

How we work community most people
think they think of us as a garden and

we get more sites around town.

But the truth of the matter is
we are really a training and

education institute we use food as the
plate on which we serve our educational

programs that our program
services director is here.

With a wonderful job here's the beauty
of community she came to us as a VISTA

volunteer.

Working with peanuts.

And has worked away and got several people
who were my help put together herbs

garden herb and flowers that we sell so

we use the food production as the plate
in which we serve our our programs and

this last summer we had seven sessions
of summer camp for young people.

Six to fourteen years old if their
mother working in the garden you can.

And they grow taste it they're going
to bring their mom and dad out there.

That you taste this food I want some of
that and it's a beautiful thing to say we

see you know wonderful woman who helped
develop that those programs for us.

She's been with.

We started to start summer said to be the
other day to sound so good it's a rush you

to start the second decade you're in
the second decade of your work you know.

Still Stan gantry well in the midst of
just before the biggest recession this

country is in just the Great Depression
we still standing I think great pride and

it's not me it's God's grace that
is the neighbor last time being

in the right place right time and having
the right people doing the right work

to make it happen so
that is that is a blessing for us.

We have done we have five afterschool
programs we are reaching upward of.

One hundred young people week.

We are training programs that we teach.

People how we have six.

Twelve week program program we do a boot
camp for folks come in and get practical

education in how to grow food in the urban
agriculture techniques everything we

can be done with the whole rake in the
shop and people go out we also give them

classroom training entrepreneur training
is a part of that part of the curriculum.

We start at three.

We've got co-ops over in the community
where folks have an average

income of five thousand dollars a year
five thousand dollars a year and

you don't have to so
we got them with you just about

ready to run it themselves they're
getting fresh food out of our gardens we

collaborate with the dilemma
of Community Food Bank drive.

And they're building community
within their community so

all of this is coming
together what else we do.

Those are the principal principal areas
I spend a lot O. in here is last I got

a mini which they removed from downtown
the site we had downtown was too expensive

it was built on the first faith based
low income housing project in America.

Gardens down there and over the last five
and half years we've been we've been to

demonstrate the efficacy of urban
agriculture be able to stand and

say Here we are in the shadow
of the downtown skyscrapers and

see what we can do with urbanite.

It's been a real privilege but
now we're going to move to a new space and

the beauty of it all that.

For me is to have a place that will
be rich and nobody can move and

we're also moving into the West Side West
which is very much up and

coming we hope to be part of that
community anchoring that community.

If I control you control you so
we want to help people.

Deficiency.

In that neighborhood by
God's Grace thank you.

Thank you.

Iran gets seated I was getting
take a quick moment to talk for

those of you who know me you know that I
love a microphone and I have spent this

whole time wanting to say so many things
but but waiting for the right time and

so I wanted to first thank all of you for
this incredible talk I was

going to talk for a few minutes about
what I heard and what I thought then.

Upon A couple people from the audience who
are going to give their reflections and

then we'll open it up to you guys for
questions and answers.

What I was struck by when I listen to
all of our panelists today talk was that

food means so many different things to so
many different people I heard about

it obviously as an opportunity to feed but
also as an opportunity to build faith

as an opportunity to leverage technology
as an opportunity to build communities and

as an opportunity to build a better
environment and a better city and

I also heard about food at
various different stages

of its production we
talked about pollination.

In harvesting and then composting in ways
that comes at the end of the cycle and

so I was just struck by how many
different things food encompasses and

how many different ways it touches all
of our fields and all of our lives.

I am the director of
the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at

Emory Law School and one of our
initiatives is to represent folks seeking

to build sustainable food systems our work
touches upon things at the national and

local level and I think a lot of what
we do is based on what you heard here

today were not when folks come to me the
first question I ask is Is there a legal

barrier to doing what it is you seek
to do and the second question I

ask is Is there a better policy to
help encourage your practice is so

at the federal level right now we are
working with the F.D.A. and the national

sustainable agriculture coalition tell
to make sure that our food safety laws.

Act food health in her head take the
health of people while still encouraging

organic and sustainable
practices we're also working on.

Voluntary regulation or voluntary
decommissioning unit get annoyed at sides

that's a side that has been a tribute
it to the collapse of these and

the colonies across our country I'm
proud to say that Home Depot and

Lowes have voluntarily withdrawn Unix from
their shelves and Emory University for

became the first university in
the country to voluntarily the N.D.O.

on.

At the local level we are working with
the city of Atlanta we helped arises only

first for farmers markets and
then to allow her community gardens

we are working on streamlining
composting regulations on

encouraging farm to school programs
within the city of Atlanta and

negotiating to procure a contract that
allow for local food production and

we are also working to decrease barriers
to land access for our farmers in and

around the city so all of that.

Means a lot of different things
to me as well and I'm honored and

excited to talk more about
it with all of you so

with that thank you.

I have my.

Thanks I appreciate a chance to
pose a question to you all and

let me start by thanking you so much for
your comments about to start with.

The proficiency is over the Dept of.

Thank you for starting that
because that really resonates for

me as an anthropologist.

A survey of apology and I've done
research both in Latin America and U.S.

with farmers and
the skills and proficiency.

With ideology.

Add it to its values it connects
with a sort of economic reality and

it also connects with practices of
knowing what to do year after year when

the weather's different world and
and I really appreciate it also

the way each of the five panelists
helped us see new dimensions of

community and I'm thinking about all
this in the context of the fact that

one hundred years ago in Georgia the vast
majority of people would have been for

years and all of this would have been
second nature in every family and yet

we've become very distance
from that agrarian past and so

we're in a challenge right now with
our religious and education is really.

That community around.

Skills habits and it's so.

It's so much the way in which.

Helped us see the review
process religious lines and

Jennifer helping us see that we
cross the lines of the human and

more than human world and the giving that.

Has done with.

Technology and then of course
the relieving of lost class and

race that we see both with foraging and
with the wonderful work of

truly living well.

To go to one of the things that's really
dear to my heart with my question about

economics because farmers are different
from like me who get a salary

whether I do it well or
I do it badly whether I.

Whether the sun shines or doesn't shine
where the rain comes and there's that and

it's a salary that comes
on a regular basis and

a farmer if lucky gets
the pain once you're in.

In times of production and

so farming communities develop
knowledge of frugality and

planning and as a society we've
moved away from the tremendous and

I think many religious communities affirm
that you know words of this economic

reality long term planning savings
deferring gratification so

much in making that.

And that's connected to.

Respect.

The manual labor of farming which I
honestly am astonished at the way

in higher education and through all these
non-profits we've seen a revival of

respect for farming as an occupation and
it's as I recollected that in a way that

if you had told me twenty five years ago
this was going to happen I said no way but

I'm also keep Julie where that we are not
all on this page that well there's

a wonderful of a hoard of love working so
well there's a whole lot of people

still don't spend that much so
if you're my questions.

First of all.

You are in the process of rebuilding
a new narrative of what is a good life.

How do we as faith communities and

educational institutions nonprofit
organizations how can we support that

new narrative more effective how can
we support those more frugal economic

practices.

And what's to take several questions.

To which ever one resonated.

Was.

Going to the right idea OK So our second
community responded his body to winter.

Hi My name is Bobby too went
sorry I'm losing my voice but

I'm with food well Alliance
here in Atlanta we represent

a collective of educators
community organizers and

local food options noise that
all share the same vision

to leverage local food to
build healthier communities.

Together I think we believe we're a part
of what we call the local food movement

and underneath us is basically
the local food system that we're

trying to build for better local economic
development opportunities to bilk

community by Tallaght the to be greater
stewards at the environment and

to build greater access to health and
nutrition all of your work speaks to so

much of that but I was wondering
as you're doing such great work

in your education and building community.

Do you perceive your
role as a role to help to

strengthen the local food system
whether it's in the Hudson Valley or

in Atlanta or in your respective city and

do you see that as a role of
the institutions that you represent

you.

Know community member is Rebecca Watts.

I am what I'm or

so much yes.

I'm going to attempt to.

Summarise your questions but if.

You can.

Address any or all of them back
up to you but what I heard from

this kind of how does your work.

What.

Obvious how

does.

That me.

I think question how to do it how does
this fit within the context of our.

Life and what is your work.

So.

To.

Tackle.

That last one because we have so
many people in this room.

And policy aspects of
this that it goes to.

Three years ago it was illegal to grow.

Yet a garden next door and
I didn't like what you're growing.

Right now we have the most
progressive urban

ordinance in.

Mario.

Everywhere he goes.

Mario is the he director
Urban I directed for

the city and
out of the office of sustainability.

That's powerful.

If you start to think about where we were
I mean he's new I mean days you got a.

Ninety day he goes around just
trying to learn the community who is

doing what nearby beats him up
how come y'all not doing this and

not doing that this late here Peggy
Barletta is very special and I have been

work with her since almost day one I got
here she helped found the Atlanta local

food an issue we created a manifesto
ten years ago to still standing and

listing what the problems were of
the different areas that are involved

Bobby the winner of the food well Alliance
made her whole purpose is to finance and

fund urban agriculture with
the thought that if you're.

So yes the our work is
intimately intertwined in.

Policy and I think as we move forge ahead
you will see that that language around

the local food system will
start including water housing

it already does jobs economic development
community development these are all

the issues that relate to the work
of urban agriculture and and the and

and superior projects that each of us is
engaged so you can't separate the two and

I think that's it's a mistake if you try
try to do that and however there are a lot

of policy makers and folks with money
who do see it is separate and I think

it's our job is to help bring about the
integration so there's some clarity but

clarity is one.

So the question about what's obligation
our institution we all come from

different types of places right and so
clearly Georgia Tech is not going to be

a major money producer for
the city of Atlanta and

that's just not feasible we're
not interested in doing that.

But we certainly can advocate for policy
in different ways especially you know as

a biologist you know policy that's
based on sound scientific foundation so

I do see that as a role.

I guess it's.

Like.

What we're doing contributing to this.

And we're small scale right like really
small scale where we're focusing on this

one conference center in terms of what
we're producing a tangible production but

I think what's what's most important when
we're talking about our system is that

education aspect of it and
that is connecting people in.

Whatever area you can chew systems to
the system of growing food just that basic

Yes we planted the seed it's going to
sprout we're going to put it in the ground

as a transplant and then going to watch
it grow when you're going to eat it and

also connect to people having people
recognize the systems that are involved in

the production and armors workers I
think is also really important and

just bringing an awareness
starting from a young age and

myself I am doing lots of
learning right now and

I think that is that is what we're doing
that's how we're contributing to that

gives you an educational lines
because we have this resource is

that.

So with regards to the institution.

You know I can make institutions to.

Teach and research they need to.

I mean.

I.
Don't we begin to shift the focus of what

you know with research that happens yes.

It's just it's it's the looks
of these other contexts but

by a large It has a look at why.

On ever and how do we begin to

you say the majority of my time as
a professor is actually not spent

teaching students I think everyone knows
that even Not everyone wants to say it but

the majority of my time is
actually spent doing research so

what is it that I am attending to what
is it that my other colleagues are and

how can we have that playbacks
of that does contribute to its

modeling that is an important
twosomes showing that it's possible

to do this as a legitimate research and
I think in that way back

to you what the community is at the same
time I would also say you know the thing

about tech is that it's increasing
its commitment to communities so

you now have a ten year plan around server
and sustain which is a major plan that's

going to shape undergraduate education
over the next decade that's specifically

committed to sustainable communities we
just brought in funding from the Mellon

foundation part of which is to look at
questions about civics again how do you

bring these into part of what experiences
at Georgia Tech How do you shift what

it is kind of its use and so
we definitely have those commitments but

partially what we also have to do and
I think what we're both doing Jennifer and

I are trying to say how do you create
examples that other people might

be able to take up that is.

Now we're just at.

Speaking for the whole exhibit which
I'm of Prince of the seminary.

Is there is this basic ecological
principle that you can do to once a like

it all in her back somehow or and
it's you know one of the spirit

runs through all of our stories is that
when you start messing around food

you don't read very our port reaches out.

It's so.

You know with what we're doing we have
this twenty one acre farm It's zoned

agricultural So when we first went to the
local township board and said we want to

do this sort of educational thing you know
they said well you can't miss out on that

occasion and it's like OK so
we can farm a dollar.

Anyway so you know it's just but
it is the policy and

the things it gets to to
to neighborly things and

how what does it mean to be a good
neighbor within its its community and

I mean like and part of the reason the
farmer exists first place is because it

wasn't just the idea for the farmer but
there were also students who were saying.

The cafeteria is a problem.

And we're not supplying food to our
cafeteria but there's an idea about what

would that look like so
it is all very much like that it's about.

Trying to be careful about what's
what narrative are what is the story

that we're telling and
what sort of you know you just heard like.

And just trying to sort of steward all
of the actions that emerge as well.

Thank you all and so we are now open it up
to have any questions or any of ours but.

Maybe some of them I would like.

Hello my name is Dana and I'm sure they'll
even well and I'd like to thank everyone

on the panel and actually to everyone that
took the time to attend today I actually

want to address the question to me but
I do appreciate Jennifer you bringing up

the aspect of the the the deterioration of
the pipeline of individuals that are going

into the urban agriculture professional
just agriculture profession we

recently had a meeting with the Department
of Agriculture here in Atlanta and

they shared with us the thousands
of jobs that are the economy.

They'll of old in the next several
years and not having a pipeline of

young professionals to go
into this profession and

what I want to ask you in
those of of the panel is

have you guys consider coming together
to support a policy driven be an issue

that can speak to the national level of
how we can create some incentives for

all of our you to go into
the urban agriculture profession

is specially it reference to
you know we have to teach for

America I'm having some programs
that are possibly surrounding

addressing these available professions
that are coming up because of the work

that we're doing here today we're going to
meet the you to come in in the field that.

So I couldn't agree more
are harming population is aging and

it's aging quite rapidly and there is
a lack of young folks who are coming

are starting to do farming and
that to me is unsurprising

our system is set up in a way that farming
is an incredibly difficult profession

it's credibly difficult to make a living
even when everything is perfect but

are barriers to land access for
new farmers to be able to get land

to afford land to to then be able to grow
make a living is really a problem so

yes that's your answer is I have
a lot about it right now our

government is thinking about it as well
there are there are U.S.D.A. grants F.D.A.

grants and a provision in the farm bill
all encouraging young farmers I don't

think that is enough but I do think it
is a step in the right direction to

get the conversation started there's an
organization here in Atlanta hope global

growers that is dedicated and
committed to opening an incubator far.

We're working with them
to negotiate Bill and I.

Access agreement and then all the other.

The idea is that on that farm young
farmers new farmers can get training

him learn to.

March or pieces and then our hope
is to help them negotiate leases or

long term purchase agreements so they can
move out and start to build up the system.

We can't have a lot of.

Farmers and
we need to do a lot more to get there.

I'm a little bit on that so
a lot of the way that.

You know college based education or
farmers that's traditionally

done through Lancre are or
are merely located in rural areas and

so you know in this state a lot of
initiatives I'm very interested where.

It's just so

if you're trying to reach populations
that maybe aren't tied to those.

We do need to to rethink
the way that I live.

Is generating so.

I guess to kind of draw a person so

I completely agree with you what
I would say is I'm not sure.

I.
Don't think that is the right institution

but I would say.

And I think the truly
living well the institution

that is doing you should be commended for
you as an example.

I have a child who wants to.

Dozens of opportunities for

her to take STEM education classes
over the summer robots up development

like that there's exactly one in
the entire state of Georgia opportunity.

With four.

And so and that's true so so

thinking about what are those
institutions and how do we begin to.

At the same time meet the needs of
STEM majors but also recognize.

That we're going to need other
kinds of case an experience is and

how do we support that how do we make that
available to people is really important

but it's going to take all of us
standing up and say yeah we need that in

addition to these other and it's going to
be an unpopular discourse because it ites

against the idea that you should be doing
some work you should be doing college it's

going to have jobs so
that's not all the same.

You keep them out.

Or.

So I would agree with you and I would
say first hand knowledge yet those those

opportunities don't exist and it's
shocking especially in this state it's.

It's.

It's quite panel My name is I need
a sharp and I'm a journalist and

I have a question specifically for
Rashid and

that is given all of your
experience in local farming.

And also the ten years he's been talk
about lation are the tensions and

I'm not sure what
the right word is between.

Giant agricultural companies and
increasing the local.

Small independent arms.

Wonderful question.

You know I last couple years
I've come to have difficulty

with the term sustainable state
of millet if you go to Monsanto's

website it will tell you they are
sustaining in the Jews or matter is they

are one of the most sustainable company
companies in the history of the world

because they've got farmers going back
year after year to biology new MO hybrid

all of the chemicals that they
produce that pesticides herbicides and

they make big bucks so
what do we mean by sustain.

And.

When I was a younger man.

I would have been up in the street
corner holding a sign protesting.

Companies like Monsanto I will act and
it actually was twelve years hard

I went to cardio because I want to see
how food is moved around the world

they do that better than anybody else but
I had to suspend some of my judgments and

knowledge one specific I ran that
soybean processing plant up engine

will see to you that time we can
question fifty hundred tons of soybeans

a soybean and I don't know if you know
that all of the most vegetable oil

that you eat is extracted by
fixing hexane is the same chemical

to use to get the grease out to use what
is when you put them into the plains and

then they send it to the deodorizer so
you can't smell it or

goes into the crystal bottle
that you buy and store so

is what is the connection as I said years
ago I probably would have been hold up

signs protest and but now I've decided
that the most appropriate thing for

do with this stage in my life and
I am a seasoned citizen.

Is to work to create and
build the world that I want to see for

my grandchildren rather than spending
my time protesting what they do and

let's build what it is that we think needs
to be done and it's not something that's

going to happen overnight I said very
personal I mean I've done all this stuff

thank you for the one reading on my resume
the very first thing that was put in

community gardens and we had to fight
because this is over forty years ago so

to stand here today and see
the tremendous progress that has happened

over time it's very it's very rewarding.

Yet those giant institutions that we have
to I mean you've got Bill Gates paying for

the seed to go into stores in Norway

that's rough terrain that used in cases a
catastrophe that's good that's controlled.

Ling the seed for
the future will even Grossi now that will

regenerate the whole concept
of tithing and many.

Religious organizations come from saving
the planet see it grow as you say we tend

to put it weight and if you don't do
that if we depend upon cardio months and

life.

For us and then that's a very dangerous
thing so you question is how do we

how do you juxtapose it is it
juxtaposition but we're you know.

We had a discussion at the food well I and
media thing I've been looking for

a word and I got it now.

We call this the local food movement but

I think we're beyond being a movement
movement is something that's just getting

started you know we are we are we need
to talk about what we are doing and

we are building a local food system that
is happening it's not something that's

not a pipe dream it's not
a academic theoretical.

Treatise posture posit proffer legal terms

we do in this work and
everybody appears in is involved in so

many of you have been the audience so
those big guys and it's ironic for

me the man who runs Cargill today it was
my boss in Singapore and I was there for

three even the smartest human beings
I've ever met the only man I'd ever ask

a question that stopped me dead in my
tracks he was so spot on I said wow I had

no idea where that came from
the great page is a very bright man

he's built that company I just happen
to not agree with what they do

I think that they.

You know they're crude contributing to.

The killing of the planet you know and
actually not the planet

it's one of the thing people always
they want to save Mother Earth.

I'm not to worry about Mother Earth at all
the earth has been here a minute because

Illian years is going to be here again
zillion years after we're gone problem is

we don't change our ways we're going to
kill a human being and that's the issue.

So.

That's why it's

all in a moment and I'm with
Emery's Urban Health Initiative and

first I want to bring greetings to you all
from Dr Charles Moore our director was

real hero in that community he started the
healing community center where people for

arms in our community can't come or

physical that I have your own
health specialty here yet

health care and
we've now expanded neighborhood so

we're really deeply engaged in that
community and two weeks ago supergiant

food one of the main grocery stores in
the northwest Atlanta area was change

which meant our garden was change
the bank has now let us open it up and

tomorrow we will be removed
moving as many truckloads of dirt

raised beds all sorts of office
supplies over to our new

site we're just going to be colocated
with Northwest youth power.

Well indeed facts and Grady.

ACNC clinic so
we're moving to child care where three and

four year olds in two weeks
are going to have their first.

And they're going to learn to grow and so
on that these I think the kids learn to

tend to these but we're in a place where
there's not much bloom it can come so

we have basic knowledge deficit and
are one and

number two when we look at the social
determinants of ill health and

we remove poverty the next one
that pops up is transportation so

we have been exploring a community
supplemental transportation

initiative in the area you're talking
about and we wonder are you having

the same sorts of concerns about
trans lack of transportation to

groceries laundromat
doctors dentists where.

And is there a way that we could partner
to expand our transportation initiative to

support work that all of you are doing.

There's your I'll take you.

Yes.

So I think you're absolutely right one
of the things that we have seen over and

over again is that food matters for health
outcomes access to fresh healthy food

means better educational outcomes in the
classroom students who are hungry right

now nourished can't learn or don't well
it increases sickness which in turn

receive absenteeism from school
again another problem and

so what and there's there's many many more
so one of the things we say to folks is

get out there write your farmer's
market and buy food and even for

those folks who are lucky enough to
have a farmer's market somewhere

in their city they often can't get
there right because even if on a map it

looks like it's close they may be walking
through neighborhoods that are saying.

They may have multiple children at which
point if you're holding little it's hands

a lot harder.

And so we found that transportation
to local farmers' markets to operate

fresh local food is it right away for.

An organization called wholesome
wave Georgia Their mission is

double the value of its stance at
farmers markets across our state and

one of the things that we are piloting now
is transportation programs because we have

found that that need help
getting to the markets or

it's so yes I think you absolutely get
a major problem that's also a problem

I think with the term food desert
that will hear a lot of folks.

Who desert is oftentimes based
on an arbitrary this is.

A lie right so they'll say you're
here if you within one mile or

two miles there's no grocery store and
what take into account is those one

to two miles matter right in some places
a walk of one mile is actually not the.

Think of it you know and in other
places too lots can be really really.

Awkward and it's really hard when you're
trying to make your out Terry Nation or

trying to look at why everything.

Every neighbor is different.

I can add to that I get on to things.

Thank you very much first of all we
need to begin with the children so

the fact that you move in the garden with
children I think is a crucial significant

great thing is transportation if I
indeed heard received a I did not

like that term as it was so
often puts a color you can or

people of color living in a neighborhood
and all that and get it out and

then it at a roach at a gas station and

the fact two things the folk that live on
the north side have to go just as far to

get their grocery stores open south side
the differences you can jump in a Lexus or

Mercedes you live up north down a sausage
you got take a bus to trains to get to

get to the food so
it's access it's about economics but

education again this is
wrong policy issues.

Become involved and.

It used to be we live within walking
distance of where food is consumed

now that we become urban society urban
agriculture becomes more important

bread basket and
I say the wrong term the most and

significant agricultural producing region
in the state of Georgia southwest Georgia

and here's the joke worst hell statistics
in the state are in southwest Georgia

the people who should be eating well
having good quality food they got to jump

in and pick up trucks and go for miles to
get to the local Piggly Wiggly ideate and

if any dollars ever been in the picking
we're idea you probably turn around

a come back out real quick and
they will have a thing where the.

So transportation is a major.

Issue but that trait what underlies
the transportation of economic

issues you know and how we are going
to organize a sit society so

that we're taking care of the least of us
how are we going to build community and

I think what's important to all the work
that we're doing is in understanding

the quote we must be a right
instead of a privilege and

the privilege that people
who have wealth and

education get good fruit it is do
go in and open it don't look for

the un educated go hungry and
this is we've proven we've seen this

in the food co-ops that we said
we had three food co-ops and

the average income of the folks there
is five thousand dollars a year.

Five dollars.

That's hard to think of they got to
take they got to buy food clothing

transportation pay their rent and
that's all the money is roughly.

What I think on that is it's not just
the transportation of consumers but

also the farmers themselves and
getting that to the market so that that's

a concern we can ease at the Pittsburgh
garden there is a work day with no

tools no you know because there wasn't
transportation in those two sites.

As protection problems I mean.

If they have time for one more.

I name is he.

And I'm.

In the way side Rashid this coming
as the garden King and King and

yes hoping that we can work together
to make this work of the wayside.

One of my.

I won't call it a problem but
your problem right now is that I notice

that if you don't have it
gravy behind your name.

With all.

The numbers that you're not so
much recognize it's.

I am seventy two years old.

I have been farming for five generations.

That means what I was born
I was born as a farmer.

I have been to school college and
everything University is a fifty

years of my life but
I love farming so much

I never stay there long enough to graduate
to get all those the grades right.

Now that we have throughout the state and
so many universities around Atlanta.

I went right for you to recognize
the farmers I coined the phrase.

Modern day farming is not slavery
it is actually garden fire.

I have a program called
Bridging the gap between.

The seniors and the you.

Believe Poverty Truth saw stain ability
of the one that doesn't really and

I too much and
I'm starting in the West and.

There are so
many farmers every now and then.

At an airport.

That you hire.

Right.

Very.

Well to be really part of
the area in which the garden.

Now with all the education that is
going around here what I would request

is that all those that have all the grades
that comes out of the little farms

off the people who are born farmers
from some may break down and now come.

To the gardens and.

And get.

Old and everything and.

I know how I am but
if there are people who wants to get.

The green and you cannot.

You say the transportation.

Money so that we can.

Tell you giving away free food.

And people will want to come.

And help.

When you have something.

At that time you can catch.

Their minds and you teach them and I him.

Right now.

And I am doing it all in.

Community so.

I.

Thank you going on

thank.

You.

Thank.

YOU THANK.

You.

And.

You

know.

What.

I.

Mean.

Out.

That.

You.

Get.

A.

Subtext.

To.

Become.

A little pressure

against.

Well.
Like you list.

Most people's lives.

And.

Very successful but it will get
interesting you know into a very carefully

and give you one example where it
wasn't done carefully we got in

George argument I was on
the board of Georgia seven years.

Chairman for a few of those and
one point we got involved with

work past your hoster poetry and.

We.

Collaborated with a group that wrote
a little booklet on the subject.

And I are bored got.

Quite vexed at the staff for
the brouhaha that developed

because the brochure beat
up the chicken industry in

Georgia instead of just being
positive about pastored poetry.

So that dichotomy that distinction needed
me let's talk about what we're doing.

How we're doing it why we do
it we can't if we spend time

trying to attack those
giants they will crush you.

Crush us so we had that experience so
it's a very.

There's a line you don't want to
cross because in many instances.

Some of those very.

Big companies commercial AG
they can lend some resources

to help folks get their work done.

And you know knows that this is I got my.

Good Friend Will Allen got millions of
dollars from Wal-Mart they had a whole lot

of folks that he wanted to share with
people his and now we don't want them all.

So who.

Elon Musk who's on the board of Georgia
again as you said maybe tainted money you

know is timing this it may be
tainted money but it ain't enough.

Those are the kind of issues that we
have very well to I would like to.

You are correct but.

Not all.

But it's not a small amount and we've seen
a lot of kind of incredible successes

the organic movement I think is one the
fact that you can find organic products

all of our major stores now it was
not something that I took lightly and

it's growing rapidly I think you're
seeing it again in the debate.

And it's quite seriously and
it's causing whether or not you know.

It is successful I still think that.

You could consider doing yourself
a disservice by underselling

the story that you.

Work with.

From.

The states.

But right now there is a community.

For

healthy.

I.

Almost.

All of.

All.

This is.

This.

Is.

Our civilization that.

Went to Egypt.

And.

The Metropolitan Museum.

To.

Egypt.

And.

For the boxes in.

Boxes.

In their life in this in this.

Box but there were.

Three.

This.

Is how.

What are.

Their miniature men
wearing white sand said in

me it's really hard like.

It's like.

Who's.

My mustache neighbor job this
is standard crew you know.

And so on the march through much of
your very nice abundance on their feet.

They were gone in drawers.

For their help some Me and me feel.

Like they're brothers.

Or years ago they tried to get.

A child.

Out.

Of the.

House that never.

Really wonder.

What I want to write rather than my.

Work is the one.

That is like having it is more thought
of food we should have we should get

this out does this.

Really Help us.

This is called one of my
favorite things when I come back.

Is.

Our home.

And so this is fresh.

This is Lucille.

For sure.

He's.

Gotten rave.

Curly brown over by.

Briggs' everything but it sure colors.

Spray.

Strange other away from my kids maybe in.

Their.

Life.

Or to my hand and just for a minute.

Rule.

And Twist dark tunnels and I.

In my natural

appetite.

This is from Heaven God who
I think teaches it you know.

Where they are he's the one who spoke.

For itself.

And this is how ode to Paul.

I would be here without you.

Without you I beat up
seemed like a lifeless lot.

You struck around my ribs even
when I treated you like an adult

during their.

Blues because well I think you know me.

But still you brought down slow
as hell it's all the stuff.

Anyway you come Friday.

To with what you know of your life.

Maybe.

For your every.

Day get.

Sick.

So called you murder she steps
sister dress you up clear you want.

Help but you always come back songs to me.

I don't sell even really
to see how deep the stuff.

You're given is the only one for.

All of her scene your four letter.

The next big.

Hit.

You know that.

This is how.

It's really your.

Last three.

Seasons then you might know your heart.

Goes a little flower for the love the.

First thing.

You get just.

Out at the end of the week
were very hard like my side.

Of the alley by Klaus the storm.

You'll regret.

Is over the horizon.

In this wave of terror alerts
that take it refuge there if you.

Really need yes there.

Are some.

Black House slog through the mud or.

Right.

Side.

You saw some places it would have dropped.

A smile like the other little years.

Of experience for.

The modest living really heard of their.

Life it was your home he did celebrate.

Thank.

You.