Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Subject: Free tickets to film and panel discussion on Biodynamic Agriculture - Saturday April 19th

To obtain free tickets for the showing this Saturday the 19th at noon at the Henry Art Gallery on the UW campus, please send me an email with your phone number.

Barry Lia \ barrylia@comcast.net

206-522-1937

FREE TICKETS TO FILM SHOWING AND PANEL DISCUSSION THIS SATURDAY OF "HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD"

The Henry Art Gallery
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St, SEATTLE
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 12:05:00 PM

Please join Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report and guests Dr. Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, the BIOAg Coordinator at the Center for Sustaining Ag and Natural Resources at Washington State University, and Henning Sehmsdorf, a biodynamic farmer who owns and operates "S & S Homestead Farm" on Lopez Island and Barry Lia, convener of the Washington Biodynamic Group and biodynamic "urban homesteader" in the Wedgwood neighborhood of Seattle for an exclusive post-show discussion of farming techniques and the future of food production.

HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD tells the story of a New Zealand man and his wife who travelled to India teaching Biodynamic Farming. Biodynamic farming was the brainchild of Rudolph Steiner, that 20th century genius who gave us Anthrosophy and Steiner Education, and is a practice that brings spirituality into farming. We are all familiar with seeing the phrase 'Biodynamic farming' but few of us have any idea as to what that means. In this movie not only do we receive a crash course in Biodynamics but we see how it has started to transform agriculture in India as farmers long for the lost sense of connectedness their ancestors felt with their land, their work and their lives. Spreading like wildfire, the film states that if Biodynamic farming continues along its current trajectory, by 2015 all of Indian agriculture will be Biodynamic. — Kindred Media

Biodynamics is not simply an alternative farming method. It is rooted in a definate social impulse, the Anthroposophical Society. The biodynamic movement pioneered food certification (Demeter) in the 1930’s and community-supported-agriculture (CSA) in the 1980’s. “Biodynamic” meant “health food” in Europe even prior to the advent of organic farming. You may now hear of it making inroads in the wine market as an ideal for the cultivation of terroir. Now, imagine healthy pastured beef or bacon with a distinct “terroir.” Some of us here, like the farmers in India in the film, long for that lost sense of connectedness as well. As Michael Pollan’s new book, “In Defense of Food,” makes clear, it is no longer just a philosophical issue, it is even a physiological one; the industrialization of agriculture is making us sick. Biodynamics addresses the whole range of concerns for 21st century food production—from philosophical, aesthetic, social, spiritual, economical, ecological, to physiological.

Our panelists represent a range of perspectives—scientific, rural and urban—on the growth of this agricultural movement here in America. One is a pioneer in farm-to-school and school-to-farm programs. Another has done leading scientific research documenting the effects of the biodynamic compost preparations. Another is grounded in the anthroposophical-goethean science otherwise applied in this original eco-agriculture. They represent folks who have lived this life, both in the country and in the city, who can show that it works, who are passionate for a healthier future.

http://seattle.thewarrenreport.com/default.asp

The Warren Report is a membership program hosting film events. "Smarter audiences make better movies!"