Will Sugg, Jim Hightower, Heather Spalding, Rusty Sugg. English photo. In introducing keynote speaker Jim Hightower at last September’s Common Ground Country Fair, MOFGA’s executive director Russ Libby said, “Jim has been out there for the last 25 years talking about agriculture and democracy, and he’s put it into practice. I was sitting with some
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.
Jeffrey Smith told of Monsanto scientists who switched to drinking organic milk when they learned about the dangers of Monsanto’s recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (now owned by Eli Lilly); about research showing health dangers from genetically engineered foods; and about a plan to get genetically engineered foods out of the market. English photo. Jeffrey Smith,
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oil refers to the halfway point, the point at which we’ve used half the oil, the major component of all fossil energy originally made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
Thirty Years at the Fair by John Bunker, MOFGA President Copyright 2006 One way or another, whenever September rolls around, I find myself at the Fair. Although I’ve never served as Fair Director or been on the Fair Steering Committee, I have had the privilege of participating in a number of different ways, and the
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,
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