2017 GPC Shifting the Food System Affinity Group Retreat in New York

Field

New York, United States, October 1 & 2, 2017

Launch of the Shifting the Food System Affinity Group

“If we treat the agricultural landscape like a functional ecosystem, we can begin to greatly reduce the effects of climate change, and while doing so, create a more resilient agricultural landscape that builds and supports sustainability within its surrounding ecosystem.” – Hudson Carbon Project

Over twenty-five GPC members, experts, staff, and friends convened for the official launch of the GPC’s Shifting the Food System Affinity Group in Hudson, New York. Graciously hosted by members of the Rockefeller family, this retreat brought together GPC members interested in using food as a lever for transformative social and environmental change.

Over the course of a day and a half—at Stone House Farm lands and at neighboring Churchtown Dairy—members engaged in learning from experts and peers and immersion in nature. The group took time to reflect on a personal and group level, about what shifting the food system really means and how we can make it happen. Substantive discussion focused on topics ranging from soil and carbon, to climate and health, to market models and the role of innovation, investment, and commercial enterprise.

Photo Gallery

Event Agenda and Speaker Bios

Central Takeaways

Presenters and participants discussed the connection between farming practices, soil quality, carbon sequestration, and global warming. Several recommendations and points of emphasis emerged:

  • We need to move toward no-till or minimal-till farming. Tilling releases carbon stored in the soil into the atmosphere.
  • Cover crops should be planted on fields between cash crops, increasing photosynthetic activity and enhancing the quality of the soil year round.
  • Farmers should diversify crop rotations. During the pasture period, perennials and deep-rooting legumes and herbs can store carbon and improve the carbon-nitrogen balance.
  • We need to make a better case for why these approaches make sense for farmers, not just from a climate or health perspective, but from the business & economic perspective.

The group also came away with a deeper understanding of how soil quality affects our own health as human beings:

  • Most of the human microbiome lives in the colon, and this is where most of our immune system is focused; this is our body’s defense system.
  • Since the 1950s infectious diseases have decreased while chronic diseases have increased. The current diet is high in carbohydrates and low in fiber – because of this we are starving our microbiome.
  • Soil heath is our health – deficiencies in our soil have negative implications for human health.

Speakers & Presentations

Brooke Pickering-Cole, Interim Director, and Jean Paul Cortens, Associate Director, Farmer Training, Hudson Valley Farm Hub

Presentation: Hudson Valley Farm Hub

Ben Dobson, Farm Manager, Stone House Farm & Stone House Grain

Presentation: Hudson Valley Carbon Project

Dr. David Montgomery, geomorphologist and Anne Biklé, author and biologist

Presentation: Dig2Grow

Peer Learning Sessions

F. Ralph Taylor, GPC Member & Seed Funder, Root Capital

Gigi Lee Chang, Managing Director, Food Future Co.

Other Resources Shared