Empowering your Fork

Every moment you have choice — a choice to pay attention, to keep your mind steady, to act on what you believe in and walk your walk.  My yoga teacher repeats this phrase over and over to her students.  I was reminded of her mantra at the 13th annual Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA) conference held recently in Landsdowne, Virginia. Future Harvest-CASA is a network of farmers and people who care about real food and the folks who produce it in the Chesapeake Bay region.  This year’s gathering attracted a surprising number of up and coming young farmers that showed up searching for innovative farming techniques and marketing tools, political empowerment, and a network of kindred spirits.  What popularized as local food culture and back-to-the-earth mentality is moving rapidly towards a political movement with energetic and civilly disobedient farmers taking a lead role.  Listen for yourself how food activism is making its way from farm fields to the legislature –check out this inspiring podcast of Baltimore radio favorite, Marc Steiner, hosting a lively panel of advocates at the conference:  Will Morrow of Whitmore Farm, Joan Norman of One Straw Farm, Lucie Snodgrass of Future Harvest-CASA, and Brian Snyder of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.