We live in a time of rapid change. In the 1970’s author Alvin Toffler coined the phrase ‘future shock‘ – explaining, in his book of the same name, how these shifts in technology and culture are causing a kind of psychological whiplash. Today, these changes have only increased in intensity. Some of these emerging trends are positive and some of them negative (can any be called neutral?) – but they all point to the sped up pace of change in our society.
What current trends are shaping the future of food, farming, and community – and how will these shifts impact our local lives? Can we surf the waves of these changes or will we be overwhelmed by them? The deciding factor may be our ability to pay attention.
Join us for the first Land & Table meeting of 2022 on Tuesday, February 15 (6-8pm), at the Sedalia Center in northern Bedford County. This meeting will be a potluck and open community forum with the theme: ‘Future/Local’, as we examine the not-too-distant future of food, farming, and local community life. Possible topics of discussion will include:
– Lab-grown and fake meats: top meatpackers are investing in new kinds of protein, will this reshape the grocery store isles?
– Pop-veganism: plant-based diets are being glorified in popular culture but are the newly converted really becoming healthier?
– Agrarian eco-villages: people are finding new (old) ways to do community and often the agricultural landscape is at the center of these emerging neighborhoods.
– GMO’s: bioengineering promises a limitless future of perfected food crops but has the science become too mixed with profits to care about ethics and true impact?
– Care farms: this movement, popularized in Europe is growing more and more in the U.S. Why are these farms seeking to become places of healing, and therapautic retreat?
– Edible landscapes: as supply chains erode will the homegrown food revolution be pushed into overdrive? Could edible landscaping become the norm for the American yard?
– Conservation farming: Conservation and commercial farming were once thought to be opposing forces but new alliances and initiatives are forming to preserve both farm, forest, and field.
Bonus topics:
– Metaverse and Web3: Will Mark Zuckerberg and the other tech moguls obliterate physical community and turn us all into digital ghosts?
– What other trends should we be looking at and discussing?…
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
– Bring a main dish to share. This is a potluck.
(Or your own dinner if you do not want to participate in the potluck).
– Bring your own dishware (plate, utensils, etc).
This is an indoor event and is rain or shine.
Kids are welcome but we ask that you bring quiet games or sit down activities to keep them occupied during the forum.
PLEASE NOTE: As always, if you are under the weather we ask that you stay home and rest. Because…there are some things that are not good to share.
VENUE DETAILS:
Sedalia Center, 1108 Sedalia School Rd, Big Island, VA 24526
RSVP For This Event
This is a free event open to the public. Please support our work in organizing these monthly events. Make sure to ‘Tip the Chicken’ when you arrive. Thanks!
