April 4, 2017
One dominant element of the American spirit is positive-ism. How much time do social cause leaders spend promoting the positive, as distinct from opposing the negative? How much energy is invested in being for, not against, making the alternatives visible, viable and actionable? Food is made for actionism, as shown by the growth of farmers markets (is there a more pleasant tool for overcoming urban-rural divide?), craft beer, urban agriculture, and hundreds of artisanal products that are rocking the food world. Part of actionism is recognizing that Trumpists did not make a clean sweep of all levels of government. They did not win at the municipal or county or regional or school board level. They did not win at the level of popular organizations, such as ratepayers groups, and thousands of community groups that constitute the fundamental level of government — self-government. These levels of governance are wide-open. What are we waiting for? Wayne Roberts will speak about the role that food, and cities in particular, can play in healing the deep social divides made more apparent under the Trump Administration.
