Brooklyn Food Conference May 12 2012

I'll be speaking at the Brooklyn Food Conference this Saturday:

Saturday, May 12, 2012, 9am - 6pm

Brooklyn Technical High School
29 Fort Greene Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(map and directions here)

The conference features over 150 workshops in 50 classrooms. I'm speaking in two of the Occupy Wall Street Animal Issues Working Group's series of workshops. The entire series includes:

Workshop #1: 11:00AM-12:15PM

Ethics of Eating Animals (Room 5W16)
w/ Gary Francione, Julian Franklin, Lori Gruen and John Maher
(Mariann Sullivan, Moderator)

Animals and the Food Industry: A Left Critique (Room 5W24)
w/ Norman Markowitz, Sachio Ko-Yin, Katie Pryor, and Brian Dominick
(Rachel Kay, Moderator)

Access to Healthy Food and Plant-based Diets in Communities of Color (Room 5E4)
w/ Donnie Smith, Terry Hope Romero, Doris Lin, Konju Oruwari, and Bina Ahmad
(Ruth Santana, Moderator)

Workshop #2 12:30PM-1:45PM

Corporate Power, Diet, and Animal Agriculture (Room 5W22)
w/ David Kirby, Caryn Hartglass, Victoria Moran, and Milton Mills
(Nicholas Laccetti, Moderator)

Foraging for Empathy (Room 5E4)
w/ Zaac Chavis

Workshop #3: 2:00PM-3:15PM

Globalizing Agribusiness: Free Trade, Factory Farms, and Genetically Modified Food (Room 5W12)
w/ Adam Weissman and John Maher

Women, Feminism, and the Use of Animals for Food (Room 5E6)
w/ Lori Gruen, Caryn Hartglass, and Doris Lin
(Jasmin Singer, Moderator)

Workshop #4: 3:30-4:45 pm

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Hide Slaughterhouses (Room 5W8)
w/ Victoria Moran, Gary Francione, and Timothy Pachirat
(Katie Pryor, Moderator)

Taking Action for Global Food Justice (Room 5W12)
(followup to Globalizing Agribusiness: Free Trade, Factory Farms, and Genetically Modified Food)
w/ Christina Schiavoni and Adam Weissman

Other programs include issues such as fracking, free trade and school food. There are also cooking demos and a film room.

The organizers have really made an effort to make the conference accessible to all. The event is free, and includes free child care, activities for kids, and a youth summit. The $8 lunch ($5 for a kid's lunch) includes several vegan options. Organizers are encouraging everyone to pre-register, since they're expecting 5,000 people.

If you're able to attend the conference, I hope to meet you!

Frank Siteman / Getty Images