Soil Association: Annual conference 2010

The Soil Association conference "The Future of Food" will take place in the Custard Factory, Birmingham, from February 3 to 4, 2010. It addresses the triple challenges of climate change, resource depletion and food security and the need to develop new models for food and farming systems for the 21st century. Despite the urgency of the need for radical overhaul of the current  food and farming systems, many key players in the agricultural industry believe that the solution will be based on existing production systems high inputs, GM and global trade.

This conference will debate whether a modified "business as usual" strategy will suffice or whether preparing for the future will require the most far reaching changes to our food systems for more than half a century. The conference will be opened on February 3 by Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association. The opening will be followed by two panels – the politicians and the farmers - and by two workshops. On February 4, panel three and four will deal with civil society and the public. Two workshops will be held on that day as well, and  FFLP (Food for Life Partnership) awards will be presented. More information and the detailed program are available here