DC Conference Follow Up

Last weekend, Brighter Green participated in Farm Sanctuary’s Conference to End Factory Farming. The conference ran from Thursday evening October 27 through Saturday afternoon October 29.

Brighter Green Executive Director, Mia MacDonald, spoke on three panels throughout the conference. On Saturday, she spoke on a panel with Martha Noble, senior policy associate at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Gail Carr, assistant executive director of Urban Farming.

The panel was titled, “Steps Toward a Better Future,” and included summaries of progress and ideas for next steps to counter factory farming, and promote more sustainable food systems.

Urban Farming is a non-profit based in Detroit, Michigan. Its mission is to bring fresh, local produce to inner-city residents by re-purposing abandoned urban land into community gardens. It has created these gardens, called Urban Farming Food Empowerment Zones, all over the country. To find a farm near you, click here.

Martha Noble of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) encouraged citizens to speak out against pro-“Big Ag” legislation, especially with the new Farm Bill on the table. The NSAC advocates policy-makers to pass favorable legislation for small-scale and sustainable farm operations. To learn more about NSAC’s efforts, click here.

For a longer explanation of the issues relating to factory farming and the U.S. food system, check out this bold article by Time senior writer, Bryan Walsh, who spoke at the conference on Friday evening.

Photo by Urban Farming