Keynote Speaker

Sharon Astyk

from Sharon:

"If you ask my kids what I do for a living, they'd tell you 'Mommy's job is to make sure people have enough to eat.' That's a good way of describing all the things I do, from the food writing to producing food at our farm, from modeling a less resource intensive agriculture to arguing for policy changes to reduce our fossil fuel use. For me, the ethical and moral issues raised by a world that had record harvests in the same year it saw one billion starving people, one in nine Americans using food stamps and one in five American children going hungry in the course of a year are the central issues of our century. Coming to the table together is going to be the great challenge of our times, and it is the one I care most deeply about."

Sharon is a writer, blogger, a determined voice for truth on the topics of our global “ecological predicament”. Her topics include food and agriculture, energy and depletion, climate change and environmentalism. Her view as a writer on science, culture and politics is integrated with her daily life choices and actions. As she examines energy depletion and climate issues, the results of human activity on our environment, she informs a vision for the next steps “creating a viable way of life.” The integrity of her understanding will help NOFA-NH envision our evolving “Place at the Table.”

Sharon Astyk is author of:
Depletion and Abundance: Life On the New Home Front exploring the path to finding a good life in spite of tough times.
A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil analyzing our current food situation and offers steps for creating meaningful food security.
Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage and Preservation exploring the connections between food storage, food preservation, and our democratic heritage.