Last modified: Friday, January 15, 2010
National voices on local, sustainable foods visit IU for free lectures
Events to include "A Celebration of Local Pork" hosted by 14 Bloomington chefs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 15, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Two of the nation's most passionate voices for sustainable, local food systems will visit Indiana University for free, public speaking appearances next week that are tied to IU's Jan. 22-24 "Bloomington Eats Green" conference.
Photo by Rachel Salatin
Author, farmer and local foods activist Joel Salatin will join Hoosier native and award-winning author Gary Nabhan in giving free, public lectures Jan. 22-23 at Indiana University as part of IU's "Bloomington Eats Green" conference.
Award-winning author and ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan on Jan. 22 will deliver a message on "Renewing America's Food Traditions," the title of both a book he wrote and a collaborative action network he helped found.
Nabhan is a native Hoosier who grew up in Gary and who is now a professor of social science at the University of Arizona. A MacArthur Fellow, Lannan Book Award winner and recipient of the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing, Nabhan said he was excited to be visiting Bloomington to present a talk that will reference a subject near and dear to Hoosiers, the heirloom apple.
"I think this is a topic that should have special significance to folks in the area," Nabhan said in referencing one of his latest works, "Let 2010 Be the Year of the Heirloom Apple" (see: https://garynabhan.com/letswrite). "Your community has been rewarded with one of the finest local farmers' markets, and the apple plays a special part in that success."
The following evening, Jan. 23, Virginia farmer and food activist Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm (see: https://www.polyfacefarms.com/), the irreverent and passionate voice heard in Michael Pollan's bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma, will speak on one of his own books, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide To Farm Friendly Food.
"We are really in the redemption business," Salatin said of the work being done at Polyface. "We're healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture."
"Coming Home To Eat" is but one of the award-winning books that Hoosier native Gary Nabhan will likely reference during his free lecture on local, sustainable foods that will be given Jan. 22 at Woodburn Hall.
A third public event, "Hog Heaven: A Celebration of Local Pork from Snout to Tail," will be held Sunday, Jan. 24, in Indiana Memorial Union's Alumni Hall, where 14 of Bloomington's finest chefs will gather to each showcase their preparation of one part of a locally-raised pig.
The Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 speaking events are free and will both be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room 100 of Woodburn Hall. Advance tickets for the Jan. 24 Hog Heaven event are currently available at any Bloomingfoods location for $20 and will also be available at the door for $25. The Hog Heaven event will run from 3-6 p.m. and will feature local beer and wine, a cash bar and live music.
All three events are public components of "Bloomington Eats Green: A Campus/Community Conference on Building a Sustainable Local Food System," being held the morning and afternoon of Jan. 23. Sponsors are Indiana University, the IU Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, the Departments of Geography, Political Science, Anthropology and Business Communication, and Slow Food Bloomington.
For more information, please contact Christine Barbour at 812-855-7580 or barbour@indiana.edu. For driving and parking directions, visit https://www.imu.indiana.edu/about/index.shtml.
