The Urban Farming Movement

The Urban Farming Movement

Jason Mark, Co-manager, Alemany Farm; Editor-in-Chief, Earth Island Journal

Novella Carpenter, Founder, Ghost Town Farm; Author, Farm City

Christopher Burley, Founder, Hayes Valley Farm

David Gavrich, Founder, City Grazing

Sarah Rich, Writer; Editor; Co-founder, The Foodprint Project; Co-author, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century - Moderator

Enterprising city dwellers are bursting from their pre-packaged lives and taking back their choices for consumption. Urban farms foster community and healthy eating beneath towering city blocks, where fast and easy often supersede fresh and home-grown. Like SF’s own Alemany Farm and Hayes Valley Farm, these urban crop spaces allow neighbors to trade their Swingline staplers for pitchforks and break new ground. Fresh, organic veggies are grown and sold, and the locavore food economy is epitomized. What’s the appeal of throwing away the chain grocery store for the neighborhood till? Come hear from local leaders of the movement like Novella Carpenter, founder of Oakland’s Ghost Town Farm, and trailblazing San Franciscans Jason Mark, of Alemany Farm, Christopher Burley, founder of Hayes Valley Farm, and David Gavrich, "goat whisperer" and founder of City Grazing. They’ll discuss the urban farming movement's place in the world of organic, local-grown culture, and how they’re bringing the farm to the city - goats included!

This program was recorded in front of a live audience at The Commonwealth Club on May 12, 2010