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Amir,
Greetings from
Washington, D.C.!
We are just one day away from
the Food Tank Summit in partnership with The George
Washington University on January 21-22!
The event is completely sold out with 75+ incredible
speakers. You can view the complete agenda by clicking HERE.
We invite you to watch the event on FoodTank.com via
livestream which has been graciously donated by the Barilla Center for
Food & Nutrition Foundation (BCFN).
Recently, Food Tank asked many of the summit
speakers to answer the question: “In 140 characters or less -
what is the most important thing we can all do to help change the food
system?”
Read some of their answers below and
we encourage you to submit your own responses on Twitter,
Instagram, Google+, and/or Facebook using #FoodTank. We will
share several of the most creative and compelling answers throughout
our entire network.
Also please feel free to share our speaker
responses:
Chef Jose
Andres, @chefjoseandres: “To eat today is a political
statement. We vote with the food we choose to eat, and this is a power
we need to use wisely and efficiently.”
Che
Axum, University of the District of Columbia, @udc_edu:
“Stop expanding agriculture’s footprint, close crop yield gaps, use
resources much more efficiently, shift diets away from meat, reduce
food waste and move toward a 'networked food system'.”
Laurie
Benson, 1% for Women, @TossTheStone:
“Through education and building awareness, we can help women find
their voices and access the same resources available to their fathers,
brothers and husbands, creating a better future for all.”
Jonathan
Bloom, Author, American Wasteland, @wastedfood: “Connect
with your food. Becoming a more educated eater tends to convert us
into food activists (and make it much harder to waste food).”
Steve
Brescia, Groundswell International,
@groundswellint: “Support family farmers to spread agroecological
farming, strengthen local food economies, and create enabling
policies.”
Haley
Burns, GWU Student, @GWTweets: “Walk the
talk. If the story behind your food scares you, find something else to
eat.”
Jean
Buzby, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
@jbuzby, @USDA_ERS: “We hope the Economic Research Service provides
some of the needed information to individuals and policy makers
wishing to address this issue and find solutions.”
Sarah Buzogany, City of Baltimore: “Build unlikely
partnerships. Collaborate across the food system. Change agents can
exist everywhere if you help cultivate them.”
Jahi
Chappell, The Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy, @MJahi, @IATP: “We all have multiple backgrounds
& identities; serve your community, but also be & build
bridges between different local communities!”
Mike
Curtin, DC Central Kitchen,
@mikecurtindcck, @dcck: “Use food as a tool to strengthen bodies,
empower minds, and build communities.”
Scott
Davis, Panera Bread, @SDavisPnra,
@panerabread: “Be aware of what you eat! What you eat is how you
feel.”
Mia
Dell, United Food and Commercial
Workers, @UFCW: “We should agree that the problems are many and
complex, and work together to find solutions that address them
all.”
Dennis
Dimick, National Geographic, @ddimick,
@NatGeo: “The first thing each of us can do to help change the food
system: Stop wasting food.”
Helen
Dombalis, National Farm to School
Network, @FarmtoSchool: “I truly believe that promoting farm to school
programs is a key to changing the food system.”
Diana
Donlon, Center for Food Safety,
@coolfoods, @truefoodnow: “Find out the story behind your food.
Methods of production have varying impacts on human & climate
health; Organic is usually best choice.”
Barbara
Ekwall, U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization, @UNFAO: “I would highlight governance as most important
issue, meaning inclusive participation, empowerment, rule of law,
transparency and accountability.”
Jordan
Figueiredo, Feedback, @EndFoodWaste,
@UglyFruitAndVeg: “The most important thing we can all do to help
change the food system is to focus on the easiest way to mitigate
climate change, hunger, and waste all at the same time, and that is to
focus on preventing wasted food.”
John
Fisk, Wallace Center at Winrock
International, @ngfn, @pastureproject: “Make connections: Be a
conscience consumer, speak on behalf of your beliefs, vote for a
healthy food system, talk to your farmer, and stay connected to
nature.”
Sam
Fromartz, Food and Environment Reporting
Network, @fromartz, @FERNnews: “To change the food system, we need to
become knowledgeable, engaged and networked -- with good food on hand
to fuel our work.”
Chandler
Goule, National Farmers Union, @NFUDC:
“Buy local when possible, learn where your food comes from
(Country-of-Origin Labeling), and support farm bills.”
Eric
Hansen, The National Young Farmers
Coalition, @NYFCNYFC: “Help farmers feed their communities and manage
student loan debt. Demand loan forgiveness for farmers!
#FarmingIsPublicService”
Pamela
Hess, Arcadia Center for Sustainable
Food & Agriculture, @ArcadiaFood: “Reject processed and fast food.
Buy from great farmers. Cook from scratch. Insist Congress funds SNAP.
Donate to Bonus Bucks programs.”
Jason
Huffman, Politico, @JsonHuffman,
@politico, @morning_ag: “Educate the public about where their food
comes from and how much it takes to get it to their table.”
Saru
Jarayaman, Restaurant Opportunities
Centers (ROC) United, @sarujayaraman: “Eliminating the tipped minimum
wage for tipped workers.”
Ivy
Ken, GWU Urban Sustainability,
@GWTweets: “Get large corporations out of the food system.”
Brian
Lipinski, World Resources Institute,
@WorldResources: “Our food system can only change through everyone
doing their part; smart individual choices need to be joined by larger
societal shifts.”
Jeremy
Lowery, ROC United DC, @jeremiahlowery1,
@ROCDC: “Do your research and eat at restaurants and shop at
businesses that have good workers' rights policies.”
Richard
McCarthy, Slow Food USA,
@RichardSlowFood, @SlowFoodUSA: “Recognize that the elephant in the
room is a cow.”
Tom
McDougall, 4P Foods, @4PFoods: “Plant
something. Anything. Help two others in your community do the same.
Have them each help two more. Nurture, care, and watch “it” grow.”
Aaron
McNevin, World Wildlife Fund, @WWFUS:
“In the developed world, we need to purchase seafood products that
are certified through the Marine Stewardship Council and the
Aquaculture Stewardship Council.”
Brad
Nelson, Marriott Hotels & Resorts,
@chefnb, @Marriott: “Use less, see more, share stories, engage with
food with purpose for tomorrow.”
Jose
Oliva, Food Chain Workers Alliance, @foodandlabor,
@foodchainworker: “Run for office, win, become the government to
transform our food system from one that puts profits before people and
the planet to one that puts our health, environment, agriculture and
labor first to avoid the collapse of our planetary ecosystems.”
Tom
Pesek, International Fund for
Agricultural Development, @tompesek, @IFADNews: “As a global
community, we can increase awareness that the future of global food
security depends on small farms and smallholder farmers.”
Congresswoman
Chellie Pingree, @chelliepingree: “Tell
your elected leaders how important sustainable, affordable, locally
produced food is to you.”
Nora
Pouillon, Restaurant Nora,
@restaurantnora: “Take a moment to think about how the food got to
your plate.”
Bernie
Prince, FRESHFARM Markets,
@freshfarmmktsdc: “Buy your food from local farmers and producers and
teach your children to grow and cook fresh, healthy foods.”
Vicky
Rateau, Oxfam America, @vrateau,
@OxfamAmerica: “What does a fair food system look like? The right to
food is realized. This includes stopping land grabs, investment in
farmers, & responsible use of natural resources.”
Vicki
Robin, Author, Blessing the Hands That
Feed Us, @vicki_robin: “Buy, cook & share food from local farmers;
by changing habits, menus & policies we restore our bodies &
food systems to health”
Jessica
Rosen, Forum for the Future, @feedjess,
@Forum4theFuture, @forumfood: “There is no one thing, but being more
conscious eaters, consumers, and citizens more generally will go a
long way.”
Frank
Sesno, Planet Forward, @franksesno,
@planet_forward: “Better information means better food, nutrition, and
access. Grow well, eat well.”
Liz
Shuler, National AFL-CIO, @LizShuler, @AFLCIO: “Recognize
the importance of workers who grow, harvest, process, distribute &
prepare our food. Food quality relies on their dignity &
safety.”
Ben
Simon, Food Recovery Network,
@foodrecovery: "Tell one college student to bring Food Recovery
Network to their campus to feed people, not landfills"
Coach
Mark Smallwood, Rodale Institute,
@rodaleinstitute: “Read the science. Help spread the vision of an
Organic Planet. Work to make it a reality.”
Megan
Stasz, Grocery Manufacturers Association, @MStasz,
@GroceryMakers: “A sustainable food system depends on all of us.
Working together as consumers, businesses, & NGOs we can reduce
waste and drive innovation.”
Roger
Thurow, Chicago Council on Global
Affairs, @rogerthurow, @ChicagoCouncil: “Raise the clamor, spread the
outrage, be an inspiration.”
Shen Tong,
Food-X, @shentong, @foodXhealth: “We need to empower the little guys
in food to make big changes in the way we eat.”
Baldemar
Velasquez, Farm Labor Organizing
Committee, @SupportFLOC: “Spread the word and grow the movement for
self-determination of the oppressed. Hasta la victoria!”
Luca
Virginio, Barilla Center for Food &
Nutrition Foundation, @BarillaCFN: “Sign up to the Milan Charter for
EXPO 2015, a global deal to fix our broken food system. It’s time to
take action, now!”
Also, while the Food Tank Summit is
completely sold out we still have a few tickets left for our special
reception tomorrow night with Chef Jose Andres,
Washington Post’s Joe Yonan, Congresswoman
Chellie Pingree, and more at Farmers Fishers
Bakers restaurant. You can purchase them by clicking HERE.
Please take a moment to share what your answer is at
#FoodTank. Watch the Summit live HERE.
Attend our reception tomorrow night HERE.
And ask questions to speakers live by emailing [log in to unmask].
All the best,
 Danielle Nierenberg President, Food Tank foodtank.com

Please
connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter,
and Pinterest
Watch the Food Tank via Livestream and join the conversation using
hashtag: #FoodTank. Email questions to [log in to unmask]. Please
click HERE
to read the full agenda. The livestream was made possible
thanks to the support of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition
Foundation.


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more...


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