Experts Promote Conscious Eating at UC Berkeley Conference February 18

BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A coalition of activist organizations is hosting a one-day conference on the topic of Conscious Eating – Local, Organic, Plant-Based: What is Truly Sustainable? Sponsored by United Poultry Concerns, In Defense of Animals, Food Empowerment Project and Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy, Conscious Eating presents a galaxy of experts to inform and empower people on the true nature of sustainable food choices. Experts in the field of sustainable agriculture, animal wellbeing, farm workers and the environment will answer questions and help people understand why we need a truly stable global and local food system where all have access to healthy food, where all are treated with compassion, and where all are well fed.

What: Conscious Eating Conference
When: February 18, 2012, 8 am-6pm
Where: UC Berkeley Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union
Registration: FREE for students with IDs. $10 all others 

Conscious Eating addresses a range of topics on sustainable and humane eating as well as the pros and cons of keeping chickens and other animals in backyard settings. How do we achieve a healthful, humane, and sustainable urban farming policy? "We face unprecedented challenges from climate change to water pollution to severe droughts, and agriculture plays a critical role in these challenges," says In Defense of Animals Grassroots Campaign Director Hope Bohanec. "This conference will help our community in making responsible, informed and conscious choices for ourselves, our neighborhoods, and the planet."

Speakers:

Karen Davis, Ph.D., President of United Poultry Concerns, author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry.

Ian Elwood, Cofounder of Oakland Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter.

James McWilliams, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Texas State University, author of Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.

Dr. Richard Oppenlander, Author of Comfortably Unaware: Global Depletion and Food Responsibility.

Lauren Ornelas, Executive Director of the Food Empowerment Project, a nonprofit that seeks to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one's food choices.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Founder of The Compassionate Cook helping people to make informed food choices and author of The Joy of Vegan Baking, Vegan Table, and Color Me Vegan.

Vasile Stanescu, Ph.D. candidate in the Program of Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University and author of "The Myth of Sustainable Meat and the Danger of the Local" in Critical Theory and Animal Liberation.

For more information about the speakers, their presentations, photos, and website addresses, go to www.upc-online.org/forums/2012.

SOURCE United Poultry Concerns