28
Apr
35th National Pesticide Forum Begins Today at University of Minnesota!
(Beyond Pesticides, April 28, 2017) Beyond Pesticides’ 35th National Pesticide forum, Healthy Hives, Healthy Lives, Healthy Land: Ecological and Organic Strategies for Regeneration, begins today and continues until tomorrow night at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis, MN! Walk-in registration begins this afternoon at 4:00pm, and the first session, Pesticides 101, starts at 4:30pm. Speakers during the conference range from distinguished scientists, professors, lawyers, public servants, farmers, and environmental organizers. You won’t want to miss out on this important opportunity to share in efforts to build local, state and national strategies to protect human health and the environment.
Registration is $45 for the general rate and $20 for students, which includes access to all sessions as well as organic food and beverages. In addition to spending time with scientists and experts on the cutting edge of research, and the opportunity to network, we will serve light hors d’oeuvres and organic beer and wine tonight, and organic breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks tomorrow. Again, walk-in registrations are encouraged.
Tonight’s events will include two keynote sessions and a book signing. The speakers are as follows:
- Jim Riddle, an organic farmer, gardener, inspector, educator, policy analyst, author and avid organic eater. Jim was founding chair of the Winona Farmers Market Association and the International Organic Inspectors Association, (IOIA), and co-author of the International Organic Inspection Manual. Jim served on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Organic Advisory Task Force for many years and was instrumental in passage of Minnesota’s landmark organic certification cost-share program, which now is a Farm Bill program that provides 75% reimbursement for organic certification costs nationwide.
- Liz Carlisle, PhD, a lecturer in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on food and agriculture, sustainability transition, and environmental communication. Recognized for her academic writing with the Elsevier Atlas Award, which honors research with social impact, Liz has also published numerous pieces for general audience readers, in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. Recently, she is the author of the book Lentil Underground, which chronicles the sustainable agriculture movement in her home state of Montana. She will be signing copies of Lentil Underground at tonight’s reception.
- David Oien, a third generation Montana farmer whose grandparents homesteaded on the prairies of northcentral Montana over 110 years ago. David is a co-founder and the President of Timeless Seeds, Inc., a certified organic pulse crop and heritage grain company that is featured in Lentil Underground. Timeless contracts with dozens of organic farmers in Montana and markets its products across America to customers like Blue Apron, Eden Foods, Stanford University Dining Services, high end and farm-to-table restaurants, and hundreds of natural food stores including the Wedge and the Lake Winds Coop stores in the Twin Cities. David has graciously donated lentils and chickpeas from Timeless Seeds, which will be featured in a dish for lunch tomorrow.
Tomorrow will include important speakers such as Vera Krischik, PhD, a tenured Faculty in the Entomology Department in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, David Montgomery, PhD, a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington, State Representative Rick Hansen, who represents the areas of West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, and Lilydale, Jeff Lowenfels, author of three award-winning, best-selling books on organic growing, and Jeff Moyer, executive director of Rodale Institute. Check out our full speaker list and schedule for more information.
Organizers:
The 35th National Pesticide Forum is convened by Beyond Pesticides, UMN Institute on the Environment, and Organic Consumers Association. Co-sponsors include: Pollinator Friendly Alliance, Giving Tree Gardens, Humming for Bees, Kids for Saving Earth, Blue Fruit Farm, Students for Sustainability, Birchwood Cafe, Seward Community Co-op, The Beez Kneez, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES), Beyond Pesticides Minnesota, Clean Up the River Environment (CURE), Minnesota Food Association, White Earth Land Recovery Project, Midwest Pesticide Action Center, Pollinate Minnesota, and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA).
Again, it’s not too late to attend the forum – walk-ins are welcome! You can view the full program by clicking here. For more information, visit our forum overview page.
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
