Events

In his keynote speech, John Bunker talked about the history of the apple trees of Palermo, Maine, and about his history with those trees. He noted: “As we navigate into the future, our rich agricultural past can guide us, and with the tremendous challenges ahead, trees become more relevant than ever. When we plant any […]

In his keynote speech, Gary Paul Nabhan said that many of the so-called “local” foods he sees in the Southwest are addicted to fossil fuels and fossil water. He sees communities like those of MOFGA as building blocks that balance local with fair trade between watersheds. English photo. Keynote Speech, Common Ground Country Fair, Sept.

2005 Common Ground Country Fair Keynote Speaker John Howe has a plan to get us through “the most important problem ever to face civilization,” i.e., the period following “peak oil.” Peak oil refers to the halfway point, the point at which we’ve used half the oil, the major component of all fossil energy originally made

2004 COMMON GROUND COUNTRY FAIR KEYNOTE “Mission accomplished” referred to reality as Jason Kafka displayed his organic produce at the beginning of his keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. By Jean English When Jason Kafka started his keynote speech at the 2004 Common Ground Country Fair with, “Mission Accomplished!” his announcement

Perrcy Schmeiser, shown here with Sharon Tisher of MOFGA’s public policy committee, brought his David vs. Goliath (Schmeiser vs. Monsanto) story to the Common Ground Fair. He received standing ovations (and a T-shirt) for his moving speech about contamination from genetically engineered crops. English photo. By Jean English In introducing Common Ground Country Fair Keynote

Editor’s note: For her keynote address at the 2003 Common Ground Country Fair, Dr. Sandra Steingraber read the eloquent “Organic Manifesto” that she wrote for Organic Valley Family of Farms, which has published it as an attractive booklet. The Manifesto and accompanying photos by Carrie Branovan are reprinted here with permission of Organic Valley Family

Juvelina Palma, one of four delegates from MOFGA’s sistering organizations in El Salvador, gave a keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair about problems associated with “free” trade. The speech was translated at the Fair by Todd Little-Siebold of College of the Atlantic. 2003 Common Ground Country Fair Keynote Speech A few years ago,

2003 MOFGA Teach-In at the Common Ground Country Fair By Jean English “How do you explain,” asked Sharon Tisher of MOFGA’s Public Policy Committee, “that cancer in this country has increased since 1950 by 35%, excluding lung cancer?” Introducing a teach-in on cancer and the environment at the Common Ground Country Fair in September, Tisher

English photo. By Dennis Merrill Chair, Common Ground Country Fair Steering Committee “You need to sell shirts made in the U.S.” At the 2003 Common Ground Fair’s Country Store, we heard this comment several times. Good point. After all, one of MOFGA’s objectives is to support local production, and if not local, why not U.S.