POINT REYES STATION, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), a pioneering farmland trust in California’s Marin County, is launching “Our Common Ground,” an ongoing series of conversations between MALT CEO Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., and guest panelists to explore a range of issues related to the future of agriculture and food. The inaugural episode will be Wednesday, September 29, with the topic of carbon-negative dairying.
“The intention for these thought-provoking conversations is to surface creative, collective solutions to some of our most pressing global challenges,” said Kreiner. “We view the ‘Our Common Ground’ series as a modern extension of MALT’s trailblazing work to unite farmers, ranchers and environmentalists in the common goal of forever preserving Marin County’s agricultural land for agricultural use.”
Each conversation in the series will feature guests who bring a diverse range of perspectives, expertise, backgrounds and life experiences. Conversations will cover topics such as regenerative agriculture, diversity and social justice in food systems, and how agricultural practices must adapt to our rapidly changing climate. The “Our Common Ground” series is expected to attract agriculturalists, from both Marin and elsewhere; activists; researchers and students; and members of the local community.
Taking place approximately monthly, the “Our Common Ground” conversations through 2021 are scheduled as follows:
- Wednesday, September 29: Carbon-negative dairying. Panelists to include Ladi Asgill, MALT’s recently hired director of science and regenerative agriculture; Randi Black, UC Cooperative Extension dairy advisor for Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties; Joseph Button, sustainability director at Straus Family Creamery; Jason Prapas, CEO of FYTO, a technology company working to improve how food is produced; and Marjorie Went, continuing lecturer and director of undergraduate research and internships in the department of chemical engineering at UC Berkeley.
- Wednesday, October 27: Ethnobotany. Panelists to include Rebecca Burgess, executive director of Fibershed, a nonprofit organization developing regional fiber systems; Keith Warner, OFM, director of education and action research at Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship; and Sky Road Webb, a hoipu (headman) in the Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin.
- Wednesday, November 10: Food Justice. Panelists to include Chandra Alexandre, CEO of Community Action Marin; Lindsey Allen, creative producer and series host for “Point of Origin,” an episodic docuseries tracing the stories behind commonly consumed products; and Mark Goodman, chair of Colorado Nut Company.
- Wednesday, December 1: Innovations in land access. Panelists to include Kendra Johnson, California Agrarian Commons Advancement manager for Agrarian Trust, and others to be announced soon.
Most 2021 “Our Common Ground” conversations will begin at 4 pm Pacific time via Zoom (the Food Justice conversation on November 10 will begin at 3 pm Pacific time), with replays available later on the MALT website. Anyone can sign up to watch the conversations live and free of charge. Registration is now open.
About MALT
Marin Agricultural Land Trust is a nonprofit organization created in 1980 to permanently preserve Marin County farmland and establish Marin County as a thriving agricultural community in a healthy and diverse natural environment. Some of the Bay Area’s most highly acclaimed dairy and meat products and organic crops are produced on farmland protected by MALT, which totals more than 54,000 acres. To learn more about MALT, visit malt.org.
