Reducing our Energy Costs: Food Production Talk in Rutland

Approximately one third of energy costs in the State of Vermont is in the transportation sector. While we do talk about taking the bus, carpooling, and biking to work, we at the Planning Commission have much fewer discussions about another important aspect of reducing transportation costs: local consumerism.

Luckily, we have a chance to learn from one of the experts, thanks to the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL). Next Tuesday, August 18th, RAFFL will host sustainable food systems author Jill Richardson, who will give a free talk at 6:30 at the UU Church of Rutland (on the corner of West and Cottage Streets across from the Transit Center in Rutland City). The event is co-sponsored by Sustainable Rutland.

Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: why our food system is broken and what we can do to fix it. Come hear her ideas for a new recipe for America's food systems. You will also learn what RAFFL is doing to create a sustainable food system right here in the Rutland region, and how their work relate to the bigger national picutre.

Enjoy a tasting of locally grown and produced food!

A review of Richardson's book:

“America’s food system is dominated by agribusiness and corporate farms, whose destructive practices pollute the environment, are cruel to animals, and offer us unhealthy food choices. Despite this dire situation, most people have little idea how to eat differently, or healthier.

In Recipe for America, food activist Jill Richardson shows how sustainable agriculture—where local farms raise food that is healthy for consumers and animals and does not damage the environment—offers the only solution to America’s food crisis. In addition to highlighting the harmful conditions at factory farms, this timely and necessary book details the rising grassroots food movement, which is creating an agricultural system that allows people to eat sustainably, locally, and seasonally.

A call to action for those who are concerned about what they eat and the health of the planet, Recipe for America shows how sustainable eating nourishes our bodies, our economy, and our environment, and how it is the best hope for the future of food in America."

www.rutlandfarmandfood.org
www.sustainablerutland.org