A fresh look at food

Imagine a U.S. agribusiness that promotes environmental sustainability while providing nutritious, locally grown food to schoolchildren. Sound too good to be true?

Not to sustainability activist and FoodCorps co-founder Curt Ellis, whose 2007 documentary King Corn will screen at Portland State Thursday, followed by a lecture by Ellis himself, titled “Growing Forward: A New Vision for Food and Farming in America.”

He will address issues surrounding farming, global food policies and consumer choice, arming attendees with local and global solutions to the current political food-distribution system.

“Ellis will want to challenge people on the political and social connections between what they eat and who it affects,” said Joe Maser of the PSU environmental science and management program.

Ellis has an energetic, optimistic view of the kind of changes taking place in the area of food politics, especially in Portland: “In particular, I think PSU students are up to speed about most of these issues, and the lecture will be well received and understood. It’s really inspiring to see the monumental acceptance of these concepts,” Ellis said.

Ellis’ pride in his work is justified. In just seven months, Ellis’ AmeriCorps program, FoodCorps, has recruited 1,100 volunteers, improved nutrition programs in more than 200 schools, built 323 community gardens and reached the lives of 42,600 children. With only 50 official members spaced across 10 states, FoodCorps’ achievements have earned much national attention.

“My lecture will address the solutions that FoodCorps and I are implementing, from renovating local farms to changing global policies. I want to tell my audience that the sweeping change we’re looking for is within reach.” Ellis said.

One of the central themes of the event will surround nutrition programs in schools, childhood weight-related illnesses and proper food education.

“The FDA-funded school lunch programs feed 32 million kids and provide over half of their daily calorie intake. The food kids eat affects their immediate and long-term health, how well they perform in school and their relationship with food in general,” Ellis said. “I want to help make sure that children grow up with fresh, sustainable, locally-farmed foods, and that can’t be done without changing things.”

The film King Corn follows Ellis and his college buddy Ian Cheney as they go on a road trip to discover where their food—specifically corn—comes from. When they attempt to follow a single crop of corn into the larger food system, it raises questions about the processes of corporate farming and food ethics.

“We, as a society, often just put the fork or spoon to our mouths without thinking about where what we’re taking in comes from,” Ellis said. “Food is taken for granted, especially for those that have enough money to already have access to alternate food sources.”

One of the biggest roadblocks to large-scale policy change is the dramatic differences in access to fresh, naturally grown foods between lower- and higher-income families.

“People need to know that food isn’t just about sustainability and consumer choice. It’s about the systems of power in place that dictate who gets access to healthy food and who doesn’t. A food system that benefits everyone regardless of social class is what needs to happen, or else we are perpetuating the growing gap between the rich and the poor,” Ellis said.

Ellis will also be sharing bits and pieces of his personal journey discovering the ins and outs of food politics in the U.S. In making the documentary, he witnessed first-hand the ways in which corporate farming practices and agribusiness affect our global and local communities.

“There’s a reason my lecture is titled ‘Growing Forward,’” Ellis said. “It’s all about seeing these unhealthy, unsustainable food practices that affect each and every one of us every day and saying, ‘I want something different for me and for the next generation.’”

Ellis hopes that everyone who attends his event leaves with ideas for local activism such as growing a community garden, creating a blog that promotes healthy eating or becoming part of a co-op grocery store.

“At this moment, we can make a difference,” Ellis said.