Climate-Friendly Farming with Maddie Price

Tackling climate change, food insecurity, and malnutrition are complicated, multidisciplinary challenges that demand quick, replicable, and scalable solutions as the global population increases and land area for viable agriculture decreases. The Project Drawdown solutions related to climate-friendly farming and reducing food waste are interrelated approaches to addressing these issues. What does “climate-friendly farming” look like? Why don’t we see more climate-friendly farming across our food system (but do see it in high farmers' market prices)? How is combating food waste, from field to fork, not as simple as just buying “ugly” veggies? What policies can reduce barriers to uptaking climate-friendly farming practices and different food recovery solutions? This talk will explore these questions and the connections across these topics, including what’s being done around these issues in Seattle and King County. The Drawdown solutions addressed will be: Conservation agriculture, Regenerative annual cropping, Perennial staple crops, Multistrata agroforestry, Managed grazing, Reduced food waste, Composting.

Maddie Price Bio: A life-long outdoor enthusiast, Maddie Price grew a deep interest in the interdisciplinary linkage of environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture, and food justice during her university studies across the US, Panama, and the UK, where her research explored paradigms from the consumer to the national policy level toward understanding, embracing, and scaling up sustainable food production. She holds a M.S. in Conservation & Rural Development from the University of Kent, as well as experience as an environmental educator and volunteer coordinator to engage the public in ecological stewardship, citizen science, and organic farming. Now working as Farm to Community Program Manager at Seattle nonprofit Harvest Against Hunger, Maddie coordinates programs that provide funding and technical support for food assistance providers around WA to purchase produce grown by local small farms. Locally, she is also actively involved with the Beacon Food Forest and Seattle Community Fridge.

Image Credit: Getty Images, jarino47