What’s On Your Plate: A Public Forum on Local Food and the Media next Thursday

The UVa Food Collaborative presents “What’s On Your Plate: A Public Forum on Local Food and the Media”, on Thursday, October 7th, from 4 to 6pm at the new LEED-certified Jefferson Scholars Foundation building at 112 Clarke Court, Charlottesville, VA. This free and open to the public panel will feature three of today's pre-eminent food writers and thinkers: Marian Burros, food columnist, New York Times; Tom Philpott, food editor, Grist.org; and James McWilliams, author, Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. The panel will be moderated by Benjamin Cohen, historian, agrarian studies scholar, and Food Collaborative coordinator. Be a part of the discussion on alternative agriculture and the media forces that are shaping our perceptions of the sustainable food movement. A locally sourced reception, highlighting produce from Charlottesville area farms, will immediately follow the forum.

An award-winning cookbook author and journalist, Marian Burros writes for a number of publications, including the Times, and is covering Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Initiative. Find some of her recent writing at http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/b/marian_burros/index.html.

Tom Philpott is the food editor for Seattle-based Grist.org, and the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Maverick Farms, a sustainable-agriculture nonprofit and small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Find some of his recent writing at http://www.grist.org/people/Tom+Philpott.

James McWilliams is an associate professor of history at Texas State University and the author of four books. He has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Slate.com, and The Atlantic Monthly on-line. Find some of his recent writing at http://www.theatlantic.com/james-mcwilliams/.

The UTS Blue Route and Trolley route both stop directly in front of the building, and there are also a number of bike racks at Foundation Hall. These are the recommended access points for the event as parking is extremely limited at the Foundation building.

For directions to the Jefferson Scholars Foundation building, visit www.jeffersonscholars.org/contact-us/.
For CAT Trolley route and schedule, visit http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=2548.
For Central Grounds Garage information, visit http://www.virginia.edu/parking/facilities/central.html.
For other information, visit www.virginia.edu/foodcollaborative.

This event is graciously sponsored by U.Va. Dining; Feast!; Relay Foods; The International Residential College; Hereford Residential College, The Integrated Nitrogen Footprint Project; the U.Va. Vice Provost for Academic Programs; Adam Dean; and the U.Va. Departments of Politics; Urban & Environmental Planning; and Science, Technology & Society.