More Locally Raised Meat
By Contributor
Following the success of the 2014 conference, where over 400 people attended over two days to celebrate and discuss the challenges with our local food system, the West Kootenay Permaculture Co-op is putting on a one day event in 2015 focused solely on the issue of sustainable local meat production (the two day conference will return in 2016). This was an issue raised as being of key importance in the Kootenay region during the 2014 conference, and this focused event will allow greater exploration of the issues and challenges that the subject of local meat production and consumption presents. The goal is to create a diverse, strong food future for the Kootenays that includes a resilient livestock community. The event is being run by Shauna Teare, Chair of the Co-op, Damon Chouinard, Vice Chair of the Co-op, and Steph Wetherell.
Farm Food Fork (F3): ‘Raising the Steaks’ will be held at the Spirit Bar @ The Hume Hotel in Nelson on March 27th.
The STEAKholders daytime event invites anyone involved in food or the local economy to attend, including farmers, economists, policy makers, funders, chefs, butchers and activists. The aim is to dig deeper into the issues we face in our local region and identify solutions and actions that will enable our local meat production and economy to grow in a sustainable way. Some of the key issues we will be addressing include the local abattoir debate, capacity building, capital investment and feed sourcing. The day will feature several expert speakers from the local region and further afield, including our keynote presenter, Felix Schellenberg, who will be sharing his family’s experiences of building an on-farm abattoir, selling direct to consumers through the Vancouver based Pasture to Plate butchers shop, and incorporating rotational grazing and biodynamic principles in the farm practice. There will also be facilitated panel discussions, solutions-based discussion groups, and the opportunity to meet and network with other stakeholders in the area.
The evening event will invite STEAKeaters to indulge in an offal feast, enjoy a live butchery session and cooking demos. Attendees will learn about the challenges of sustainable local meat production through keynote presentations, short ‘grassFED Talks’ and films.
Producing more local meat will offer significant economic benefits to the region and increase employment opportunities for our farmers, as well as provide fresh, healthy and low food-mile meat to consumers and local businesses. As a platform understanding the various challenges the region faces, as well as focusing on identifying some potential solutions to these issues, Farm Food Fork feels that it can provide a significant contribution to moving our region forward in a more effective and cohesive way. This is a great opportunity to gather together as a community to look at how we, as a region, can produce more of our own meat and strive towards better food security.
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