KEYNOTES
Friday - February 25, 2011
Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D.
Project Director, Eco-labeling Project and Sustainable Consumption Project
Dr. Rangan came to Consumers Union (CU) in late 1999 to develop an eco-labels website which now provides consumers with the information they need to evaluate the meaning of environmental claims that appear on the labels of everyday products found on supermarket shelves. She is now managing the production of a new Consumer Reports site related to sustainable consumption practices. She is also advises the national food safety advocacy campaign for CU. She conducts policy analysis and has filed several comments with government agencies including the USDA, FDA, and FTC on organic labeling standards, irradiation labeling, and other consumer labeling issues. She has been a spokesperson for CU on food safety and labeling issues, organic laws, and sustainability issues.
Dr. Rangan is also a multimedia expert and has produced two short documentaries on sustainable development issues in India. Her film titles are: Zero-Waste and Silk: Environmental Economics.
Dr. Rangan received her B.A. in Chemistry from Boston University in 1990 and her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1995. From 1995-97, she did post-doctoral work at the Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute. She was a NIH fellow from 1990-97.
(More will be posted on Dr. Rangan's keynote topic in late fall. Check back!)
Saturday - February 26, 2011
Tom Stearns
High Mowing Seeds
Stearns is founder and president of High Mowing Seeds and president of the Center for Agricultural Economy, a Hardwick, Vermont non-profit which works to provide the support, coordination, and funding needed to develop Hardwick into a model of a healthy food system.
With over thirty employees, High Mowing Seeds has become a major player in the organic vegetable seed marketplace, as well as an important economic force in Hardwick.
"Agriculture is the biggest user of energy, the biggest user of water, the biggest user of land, and the biggest polluter on the planet," Stearns says. "It's also the biggest contributor to our health, or, depending on what we eat, the biggest contributor to our ill health. We've spent the last 200 years on this planet going in a pretty dangerous direction. We have an opportunity in a limited amount of time to steer in a new direction. I feel that through the food system is the best way to do it."
(More will be posted on Stearns' keynote topic in late fall. Check back!)
 | All general sessions will be ASL interpreted. |
