The Long Island Small Farm Summit Inspires

The Long Island Small Farm Summit, run by a coalition including NOFA, North Shore Land Alliance, and Slow Food Huntington was held at SUNY Old Westbury on Friday. The best part was its surprisingly great success with over 400 attendees! The keynote speaker was Joel Salatin, the self-described “environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer” of Food Inc. and Omnivore’s Dilemma fame. He delivered an inspiring and humorous talk on 10 urban myths about farming, that had the full auditorium in stitches. The goal of the event was to raise awareness about local food efforts such as community gardens, farmers’ markets, and school gardens and to promote action toward sustainable food policies. Exhibitors included local farms, Sustainable Long Island, tables with books about farming and gardening, and of course yours truly (Sustainability Institute at Molloy College). It was a very inspiring event and clearly showed that the empowerment of having access to local, healthy food is an issue that has struck a chord on Long Island and beyond. See: www.longislandsmallfarmcentral.com.

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm

Beth Fiteni

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