Author John Ikerd to speak March 19, 2008

I am delighted to announce Dr. John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri in Columbia, has accepted a speaking engagement with our group for the evening of March 19, 2008. He will speak on the topic of sustainability and its relevance to faith and social justice.

John was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in private industry for a time and spent thirty years in various professorial positions at North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Georgia, and University of Missouri before retiring in early 2000. Since retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on economics and agriculture. Ikerd is author of Sustainable Capitalism, A Return to Common Sense, Small Farms are Real Farms, and Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture.

More complete background information and selected writings are available at http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj/

Please save the date, spread the word, and bring a friend.

Session Two: Creation

Tonight's discussion will be on the topic of Creation. We will be exploring environmental issues, sustainable agriculture, use of fossil fuels in agriculture production.

Some links of interest related to our study topics tonight are:
Sustainable Table
Union of Concerned Scientists: Fossil Fuels
"Eating Fossil Fuels" article by Dale Allen Pfeiffer
"The oil in your oatmeal: A lot of fossil fuel goes into producing, packaging and shipping our breakfast" article by Chad Heeter, Sunday, March 26, 2006, San Francisco Chronicle

Wonderful local resource directory!!!

"Flavor of Local Foods: A guide to locally grown foods in West Central Missouri (Bates, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray, Vernon, and St. Clair Counties)" published Spring 2007 by University of Missouri Extension and Food Circles Networking Project.

OK, you must definitely look at this resource, print it out, and save it for future reference! If you want a directory of local farmers with contact information and information about what items they offer, this resource will be an invaluable source of information.

Session One: Food Stories

Tonight is our first meeting. We will spend time looking at the "Simply in Season" cookbook and our proposed schedule for future meetings.

Tonight our topic will be "Food Stories". We will learn about food production chains and how our food gets to us. We will discuss the connection between spirituality, faith, and the act of eating.

First discussion group to be January 16, 2008

"Simply in Season", a cookbook that connects faith with food, will be the textbook for a monthly study series at the Warrensburg Church of the Brethren. Classes begin Wednesday, January 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. Anyone in the community is welcome to participate. A discussion along with cooking some dishes, speakers, and/or field trips will be planned. Contact the church for more information at 747-6216 or e-mail questions to: pastoralteam at warrensburgcob.com. The church, located at the corner of DD highway and Mitchell Street, is at 802 East Hale Lake Road.