Slow Food Nation '08

San Francisco, CA (August 26, 2008)—Roots of Change, an organizing force behind the statewide food system transformation in California, announced today the release of a national Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture, which will provide the good food movement a clear and commonly held framework for future action to educate citizens and policy makers. The final draft Declaration will be unveiled in a public reading and briefing on Thursday, August 28 at 5:00 pm, in the rotunda of San Francisco’s City Hall on the eve of Slow Food Nation.

The Declaration provides a clear statement of current policy needs, and is endorsed by a broad base of organizations and individuals with a long established commitment to improving food and agriculture. It is an invitation to all Americans to join in the reform effort by taking action in their own communities, and to call on policy makers nationwide to support comprehensive change. The final draft Declaration will be posted online at www.fooddeclaration.org beginning Thursday morning at 9:00 am PDT.

Working with Slow Food Nation to provide policy content for their Labor Day Weekend events, Roots of Change and the authors of the Declaration identified foundational principles that will ensure the health and wealth of our nation and the world. A healthy food and agriculture policy:
• Provides access to affordable, nutritious food for everyone
• Informs the customer on how food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains
• Prevents the exploitation and upholds the quality of life for all farmers and food workers
• Ensures future prosperity through youth education, protection of finite resources and a transition to renewable resources and energy, and
• Creates a more secure, prosperous and healthy society

“This Declaration is a call to action by and for all Americans,” said Michael R. Dimock, Roots of Change President. “The movement to create better food and agriculture in the U.S. has been slowly and steadily gaining ground for well over a decade. The purpose of U.S. food and agriculture must change and it can no longer focus on the production of cheap calories. Conditions demand a more holistic approach to human and community health that begins on our farms and ranches.”

Roots of Change convened a core “drafting team” with Washington D.C.-based Food & Water Watch farm policy advocate, Patty Lovera; mid western publisher of Edible Iowa River Valley, Wendy Wasserman; and Dan Imhoff, the founder of the Wild Farm Alliance and Watershed Media, and the author of several books, including Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to a Food and Farm Bill.

Alice Waters, author and founder of Chez Panisse Restaurant, said, “This Declaration unites us all in pursuit of a food system that makes stewardship and nourishment a national priority.”

The drafting team enlisted a group of esteemed “original framers,” including Keith Bolin, President of the American Corn Growers Association (ACGA); Jim Braun, Slow Food USA and Illinois Local Food & Farm Coalition; Randall Gray, former national conservation biologist, USDA; Fred Kirschenmann, Leopold Center and Stone Barns Center for Urban Agriculture; Maricela Morales, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy; Michael Pollan, journalist and author; Richard Rominger, former Deputy Secretary, USDA; August Schumacher, Jr., former Undersecretary, USDA; Larry Yee, Association of Family Farms; Alice Waters; and Mark Winne, Community Food Security Coalition and the author of Closing the Food Gap. In addition to the framers, other original endorsers in support of the final draft include rock musician Jack Johnson; Kim Johnson, Executive Director of the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation; environmental author Bill McKibbon; nutrition scholar Marion Nestle; ranching leader Becky Weed; Niman pork producer Paul Willis; policy advocate Aimee Witteman of the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition; and representatives from 22 states. During the course of the writing, significant written comments were submitted by Judith Bell and Sarah Truehaft, Policy Link; Stephen Gliessman, UC Santa Cruz; Vance Russell, Audubon California; Wendell Berry, poet and author; and Winona LaDuke, Native American leader.

“This Declaration, which is being crafted by a broad coalition, is the preamble for the next generation of farm policy, and we hope it will stimulate the discussion to help get us there,” said Richard Rominger, farmer, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The Declaration will be posted on www.fooddeclaration.org for 90 days of public comment and/or endorsement. Following the 90-day period, Roots of Change and other collaborating organizations will launch a nationwide campaign to collect hundreds of thousands of endorsements of the Declaration, and subsequently convene a working group of policy experts to develop a specific policy platform. In late fall 2009 the Declaration and the platform will be delivered to policy makers in Washington, DC at an event which will be the official launch of the next effort to improve federal food and agriculture policy.

About Roots of Change
Roots of Change is a collaborative of diverse leaders and institutions unified in common pursuit of a sustainable food system in California by the year 2030. As a coordinating entity across government, non-profit and business sectors, Roots of Change works to maximize synergy by convening multi-stakeholder planning sessions and supporting collaborative implementation with grants, fellowships, and contracts. To learn more about Roots of Change’s work and programs, please visit: www.rocfund.org/campaign/roots-of-change-press-information-and-contact.html

About Slow Food Nation
Slow Food Nation is a subsidiary non-profit of Slow Food USA and part of the international Slow Food movement. It was created to organize the first-ever American collaborative gathering to unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair through enjoyable, accessible and educational activities. Slow Food Nation is dedicated to creating a framework for deeper environmental connection to our food and aims to inspire and empower Americans to build a food system that is sustainable, healthy and delicious.

Press contacts:

Daniel Kramer
Roots of Change
daniel@rocnetwork.org
415.391.0545
221 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108

Naomi Starkman
Slow Food Nation
Communications & Policy Director
naomi@slowfoodnation.org
415.369.9950-o