What can we do to create a more healthy, just, and sustainable food system for our region?
Participants in Food Security Summit 2008 identified 38 action and policy items in four broad categories: Food Access, Education and Awareness, Farm Infrastructure, and Farm to Institution. Ideas for changing our food system include school gardens, farm to school programs, sharing intergenerational knowledge of growing and preparing food, and creating a local foods distribution center.
This page presents a selection of publications, presentations, workshop summaries, and podcasts from Food Security Summit 2008.
• View our Food Security Agenda for Change (PDF) »
• View the complete Summit Program (PDF) »
The foods we eat come to our tables through a complex global system that has developed over centuries. How we eat has serious — and often hidden — implications for our health. Questions raised by these issues include: How do environmental, economic, and social systems work together to bring food to our tables? What are the environmental and social impacts of the food we eat? What are the real causes of hunger, and what can be done about it? What are the potential benefits and risks of technologies such as genetically-modified foods? How can we select food to benefit our health and our communities? Our panel will include variety of experts from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.
• View a summary of the Health Impacts panel discussion (PDF) »
Did you know that in some Nashville neighborhoods you are ten times as likely to see tobacco as a tomato in food stores? Hear about how some neighborhoods are responding to their difficulty in accessing healthy foods. Explore how food mapping has helped to provide a picture of food inequalities and what communities can do to make a just and sustainable food system more prevalent.
• View a summary of the Barriers to Access panel discussion (PDF) »
If eating healthily and in season is important, how can we improve and make prevalent healthy local options? Hear from two farmers and one chef on various outlets for local food in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, including farmers' markets, CSAs, subscription services, and other direct marketing outlets. Hear how chefs have connected with one another and with farmers to forge mutually beneficial relationships where their customer gets the best and the freshest!
• View a summary of the Alternative Markets panel discussion (PDF) »
Our agricultural system greatly impacts and is impacted by our environment. What are the local and global implications of an industrialized food system and how can our consumption favor a more sustainable model? We will explore both traditional and forward-thinking practices for promoting sustainable agricultural systems that promote wildlife habitat, water filtration, and healthy soils, in addition to many more ecosystem services. How is Tennessee agriculture impacted by broader environmental themes, from global climate change, drought, and the decline of bee population? How can we support a more sustainable future by lowering our “food miles” and finding farmers and value-added producers who are employing principles of sustainable agriculture? How can we protect the working farms surrounding Middle Tennessee, preserve farmland, and strengthen the interconnectivity between urban and rural, people and land, and food and community?
• View a summary of the Environmental Impact of Our Food System panel discussion (PDF) »
Why do so many American states and cities have agencies and budgets for everything from trash collection and waste water treatment, to public health and environment, yet few, including Tennessee and Nashville, dedicate serious planning and money toward ensuring that it has a healthy and sustainable local food system where all residents have access to nutritionally adequate food? Local advocates talk about the power of state, local and federal policy and how these policies or the lack thereof impact the entire food system from production and distribution to access. The people on the panel have used many different ways to generate awareness and create grassroots support or programs and policies that will ensure that we all have an inalienable right to access to safe, fresh, nutritious, culturally appropriate foods.
• View a summary of the Power of Policy and the Reality of Food panel discussion (PDF) »
• View Dr. Preston Maring's presentation »
© Dr. Preston Maring
• View Anthony's Flaccavento's presentation »
• Listen to the podcast of this session (MP3)
© Anthony's Flaccavento
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Please note: The opinions presented in Food Security Summit podcasts, session summaries, and other materials do not necessarily reflect the position of the Food Security Partners, our Partner organizations, members, or Summit sponsors.
Food Security Summit program
© 2007-2008 Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee
