FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 3, 2008
CONTACT: John
Batdorf, Expo Manager
PHONE: 248.453-5340
EMAIL:
john@uheac.org
EARTH DAY EXPO TO FEED AUDIENCE HUNGRY FOR HEALTHY FOOD
Many Presentations and Exhibits to Address Food Quality & Security Issues
Rochester,
MI –
The 3rd annual Earth Day Expo will be held at Oakland University
on Saturday, April 19th. It will attract thousands of consumers hungry for
information about healthy, local organic, fair-trade and sustainably-produced
food.
"The expo's strong focus on food truly came
about 'organically'," said John Batdorf, Expo Manager. "There is both a lot
of demand for and supply of information about local and organic food. We are
excited that the expo can be a point of connection on this important topic."
The Expo Committee is proud to announce that it will offer a screening of
the film "The Organic Opportunity" hosted by its producer Chris Bedford,
President of the Center for Economic Security and a filmmaker whose work has
won three dozen awards for creative excellence.
Chris Tarr, Expo Program Manager, received certification as a Master Gardner
and Composter, and has been an organic gardener for over 30 years. She put
together an Expo program that includes many food and farming related
presentations, including:
* "Diet and the Environment"
with Paul Krause of VegMichigan, the state's largest vegetarian organization.
* "Making Local Eating a
Reality" with Julie LaPorte, owner of LaVida Local, a business engaged in
building community by connecting local farmers to consumers.
* "Organic and Natural Living"
with Heather Carmona, Organic Wellness Consultant with Natural Health &
Healing.
* The "Locavore Challenge" with
Dr. Fay Hansen, a biologist at OU currently on sabbatical at MSU learning
about organic farming.
* "Weight Loss WOW!" with Dr.
Kerrie Saunders, nationally known speaker and best-selling author.
Ironically, the expo will also
offer a presentation by the Michigan Corn Office on "The Many Uses for Corn"
that are not food, such as plastics and fabric.
The expo will help to create
awareness of the important issue of food security. According to Tarr, "we
are all at risk because our current mass-produced food system is
unsustainable. We use fossil fuels at every step including for machinery,
fertilizer, pesticides and, of course transportation. As this resource is depleting and getting
increasingly expensive, we are less secure."
"The good news is that
many people are working to develop local and
organic food production, and the food produced is tastier, healthier, and
more nutritious", Tarr continued. "As opposed to the average food
item that travels 1200+ miles through an impersonal and unaccountable
system, local food is
something that you can truly feel good about eating. It hasn't lost its 'story'. Plus, it's good for the local
economy."
This growing local food economy
is represented by many food, farming and gardening companies and
organizations exhibiting at the expo including:
* Patisserie Ci
Corp
* Organic By the Case.com
* Higher Grounds Trading Company
* Chartreuse Organic
* Corn Marketing Program of MI
* Mind Body & Spirits
* MSU Student Organic Farm
* pure food 2 U
* The Treehouse for Earth's Children
* Vegan Outreach
* Whole Foods Market
* VegMichigan
* RC Organic
In addition, La Vida Local will host a mini
farmer's
market where several local farmers will offer their products.
"We should talk about problems but we
also need to offer healthy alternatives", Batdorf stated. "That's
what the expo and its exhibitors are all about. These exhibitors include
dynamic business people like LaVida Local's Julie LaPorte and
Mike Plesz, owner of a Rochester Mills, who is developing the
first-of-its-kind sustainable restaurant and the local network to supply
it."
It won't just be people who are eating healthy, organic food at the expo. Tim Travis
of Goldner-Walsh, a historic local garden store, will be bringing his
ever-popular carnivorous plants, that will dine on any bugs unlucky enough
to be near.
Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center is a
501(c)(3) organization. It is a designated Michigan Energy Demonstration
Center and model of eco-friendly design and renewable energy applications,
located in northern Oakland County. It provides resources that promote a
sustainable relationship with the natural world and each other. UHEAC can be
reached at
www.uheac.org,
info@uheac.org or 248 693-1021.
The OU Energy Office administers a $5 million campus energy budget while
promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy and bio-fuels. Visit
http://www.oakland.edu/energy/ for more information.
The OU Complementary Medicine and Wellness graduate program emphasizes
patient/client counseling and education about mind-body approaches,
complementary therapies, health promotion, disease prevention and wellness.
Their website is
http://www2.oakland.edu/shs/es/complementary.cfm.
###
Media Contact: John Batdorf, UHEAC
248-453-5340
john@uheac.org
