November 29th, 2011 By Eric Cohen
In the 10 weeks since that momentous spark in mid-September, what began as an audacious protest, call to action, and singular act of civil disobedience on Wall Street, has quickly taken root worldwide. Capturing the hearts of those negatively impacted by the current economic and political system, speaking passionately for the disenfranchised, and uniting arms in solidarity with protest movements around the world, the Occupy movement has become a lightning rod and catalyst stimulating a long needed dialogue. Economic and social justice, corporate control and profiteering, and systematic corruption are just part of that discussion.
On Thursday, December 15, 2011 please join us in San Francisco for the next Kitchen Table Talks for a thought provoking and stimulating exploration of the context, implications, actions, and promise of Occupy for the food movement.
When: Thursday, December 15, 2011; 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Food and drink at 6:30 pm; Discussion at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. (between Valencia and Guerrero Streets), San Francisco
Tickets: $10, available at Brown Paper Tickets
A limited number of sliding scale tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis at 7:00 p.m. on the night of the event.
Joining us in conversation will be:
Raj Patel, thought leader, writer, academic, and activist who has worked for the World Bank and WTO, and now protests against both. Raj is currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’sCenter for African Studies and a fellow at The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First. In addition to numerous scholarly publications, he regularly writes forThe Guardian, and for many mainstream publications. He is the author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System and The Value of Nothing, is a New York Times bestseller.
Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director for The Center for Food Safety. Prior to joining CFS in 2000, Rebecca founded and co-owned Purisima Greens organic farm in Half Moon Bay and served as a director at Green Seal, the first U.S. product eco-labeling organization. She champions California policy initiatives at the state level and coordinates public outreach campaigns to promote healthy, safe, and sustainable food systems. She is associate editor ofFatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture and Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food.
Sarah Treuhaft, Associate Director, Policylink. Sarah collaborates with local and national partners on research and action projects and authors policy briefs and reports to advance Policylink’s social equity mission. Sarah has worked on food policy and was a member of the team that successfully advocated for the creation of a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Her most recent publication is America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model, co-authored with Angela Glover Blackwell and Manuel Pastor. Sarah was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa.
Kitchen Table Talks is a joint venture of CivilEats and 18 Reasons, a non-profit that promotes conversation between its San Francisco Mission neighborhood and the people who feed them. Space is limited, so please RSVP. Seasonal snacks and refreshments generously provided byBi-Rite Market and Shoe Shine Wine.
Eric Cohen is the owner/winemaker for Justice Grace Vineyards, maker of Shoe Shine Wine®. The winery is as dedicated to social justice issues, in particular a Living Wage, as it is making world class wine from the Petite Sirah grape. He is also one of the founding organizers of San Francisco’s Kitchen Table Talks.