**Keynote presentation slides are now posted. Visit the Keynote Speaker page to download.**
August 9-10th, 2018
Richmond (Metro Vancouver), British Columbia, CanadaPlace-Based Food Systems: Making the Case, Making It Happen
Pacific Gateway Hotel, Richmond, BC, CANADA
This conference will bring together academic and community-based leaders and change-makers who are working to understand and advance place-based food systems as a foundational element of sustainable society. Participants will share and learn about the latest research and on-the-ground experiences and identify directions for strategic, synergistic, and concerted future study and action.
In the midst of the of the neo-liberal globalization juggernaut, we ask, how can ecological, economic, and social capital be strategically and effectively directed to advance place-based food systems – systems that respond to the needs of and nurture the development of communities within the regions they serve? Place-Based Food Systems 2018: Making the Case, Making It Happen is a two-day conference highlighting the critical efforts of, and synergies between, researchers and community innovators who are working to forge vital place-based food systems. Participants will leave fortified with knowledge and understanding of the latest and best work making the case for place-based food systems, as well as innovative practices putting place-based food systems to into action. Our intent is for participants to gain an empowering vision of the critical role that place-based food systems can and will play in achieving our sustainable economic, ecological, and societal futures, as well as a revitalized dedication to strategic, collaborative, and forceful strategies moving forward.
Conference proceedings will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development [JAFSCD]). The overarching conference session themes will be centered on the following questions:
- How can place-based food systems contribute to sustainable human economies?
- How can place-based food systems foster environmental stewardship and ecological integrity?
- What policy and governance structures are critical to the advancement of place- based food systems?
- How can we increase the capacity of place-based food systems?