Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to Lead Major Food & Climate Policy Conference at NYU Timed to Coincide With UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to Lead Major Food & Climate Policy Conference at NYU Timed to Coincide With UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen
Contacts:
- Carmen Boon, (212) 669-3882; (646) 784-6631 (Borough President Stringer)
- Amy Blankstein (212) 645.9880 x 243; (718)781-5093 (Just Food)
- Christopher James 212-998-6876; 347-421-0832 (NYU)
To view the plenary session’s archived webcast, please click here. NOTE: RealMedia Player is required to view this webcast.
On Saturday, December 12 at 9:30am, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, in partnership with Just Food and New York University, will launch the NYC Food & Climate Summit at the Jack Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The Summit, which consists of 28 public policy sessions and skill-building workshops, will feature a broad array of speakers, including celebrity chef and local restaurateur Mario Batali and Colin Beavan, author of the No Impact Man blog. Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai will also address the summit via video address.
WHO:
- Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer
- Chef Mario Batali
- Marion Nestle, renowned author and professor
- Anna Lappé, co-Founder of the Small Planet Institute
- Dr.Vandana Shiva, Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (via video address)
- Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai (via video address)
- Joan Gussow, Professor Emeritus, Teachers College-Columbia University
- David Selig, Owner of Rice restaurant
- Liz Neumark, CEO of Great Performances
- David Haight, NY Director of American Farmland Trust
- Colin Beavan, author of the No Impact Man blog
WHEN: Saturday, December 12, 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Registration from 8:30am to 9:15am)
WHERE: New York Universitys Jack Skirball Center for the Performing Arts 566 LaGuardia Place
NOTE: Media attendees must RSVP by email at press@manhattanbp.org
Borough President Stringer will begin the conference with a major policy address outlining a 21st Century food policy that will promote both improved public health and environmental sustainability.
The conference, which will be attended by 1000 participants, was completely booked just over 36 hours after announcement. Hundreds of other New Yorkers hoping to attend have signed up on the waiting list.
This is much more than just a conference, said Manhattan Borough President Stringer. It is a day-long feast of information and an exchange of ideas that will both equip New Yorkers with the skills to adopt a climate-friendly diet and promote public policies in support of a sustainable food system.
This Summit is an exciting first step, a profound way of demonstrating that thousands of New Yorkers are already thinking beyond their own kitchen tables when it comes to food and climate issues, said Just Foods Executive Director Jacquie Berger. By working together to promote sustainable food policies, we can increase our Citys environmental sustainability and economic resilience, as well as ensure that the benefits of healthy, local, organic food are accessible to everyone in NYC. We look forward to continuing to support New Yorkers in their efforts not only to eat locally, but also to shape the policies that will guide the food politics in this City in the months and years ahead.
We are honored and thrilled to bring such a diverse group of talented activists, farmers, policy makers, business people, and experts together on our campus, said New York University Manager of Sustainability Initiatives Jeremy Friedman. NYU is committed to embedding sustainability principles throughout our operations and academic life, and we hope this Summit will be a point of departure for even greater efforts in the future.
The summit has been intentionally timed to coincide with the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. While food is not a major focus of the international climate talks, this summit in NYC will send a clear message to the world that it should be on their agenda. The NYC Food and Climate Summit also gives New York a chance to highlight the role of food in this ongoing dialogue about the environment.
Summit attendees may choose between informational sessions that provide an overview of food and climate change issues; skill-building workshops that offer hands-on training on hot topics like urban agriculture, canning, community mobilization, low-carbon diets, and composting; or public policy sessions in which experts draw upon the audience to develop current challenges facing NYCs climate and food systems.
For a complete list of breakout sessions, go to the website.