RELOCALIZING EDEN
A presentation on South Willamette Valley food security by local author and activist Dan Armstrong

The foundation of any community is its local food system. A region's capacity to produce, process, and distribute some significant portion of its own food has always been a measure of social and economic stability, but as we face the unknowns of peak oil and climate change, securing local food resources will be one of our highest priorities. Over the last twenty-five years, the globalization of the market place has expanded trade with a rich and diverse new array of products and product sources; however, it has been at the cost of regional economic balance, especially at the local level and especially for local food systems. Communities are actually losing the ability to feed themselves from local sources by relying too heavily on distance markets for their food. Oregon's Willamette Valley makes an interesting case-study both for detailing the situation and articulating the strategy of relocalization as a way to alleviate the problems.

Mr. Armstrong is quite active in work to relocalize Lane County's food supply; a member of the Lane County Food Policy Council; editor of Eugene's Mud City Press( www.mudcitypress.com ); and author of "Prairie Fire". He is also a frequent participant in working discussion with the City of Eugene's year-old Sustainability Commission.