Each day of the Common Ground Country Fair, MOFGA presents a keynote speaker at 11 a.m. in the Common. Friday features a MOFGA grower, while Saturday and Sunday feature others working in food, agriculture and the environment. This year MOFGA welcomes John Bunker, Jeffrey Smith and Gary Paul Nabhan.
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| John Bunker |
Friday
John Bunker – Long-time MOFGA board member; creator of the Maine Heritage Orchard at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center; Fedco Trees coordinator; and author of Not Far from the Tree: A Brief History of the Apples and the Orchards of Palermo, Maine, 1804-2004. John was recently the subject of a feature article in May issue of The Atlantic magazine titled, “Beyond the Macintosh” – a terrific snapshot of our own “apple whisperer.”
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| Jeffrey Smith |
Saturday
Jeffrey Smith – International spokesperson on the health dangers of genetically modified organisms; author of the international best seller, Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating and more recently, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods; director of the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America from the Institute for Responsible Technology, where he is executive director; producer of the docu-video series The GMO Trilogy; and internationally syndicated columnist of "Spilling the Beans."
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| Gary Paul Nabhan |
Sunday
Gary Paul Nabhan – Writer, lecturer, ethnobotanist and world-renowned conservation scientist, co-founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH and a leading voice for conserving and renovating native plant agriculture in the Americas.
Over three decades, Nabhan has worked with more than a dozen indigenous communities on cross-cultural initiatives to revive indigenous foods to prevent diabetes, to restore ancient agricultural landscapes and to honor traditional knowledge.
For this work and his related writings, he has received a MacArthur Fellowship (the “genius award”); a lifetime achievement award from the Society of Conservation Biology and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He is author of 20 books including Coming Home to Eat and, most recently, editor of Renewing America's Food Traditions – Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods (Chelsea Green Publishing).