Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 7th, 7:10am By Eli George

This Friday and Saturday marks the fifth annual World on your Plate (WOYP). The event has just a few goals that it tries to spread: restoring the earth by promoting sustainability for all, advancing education and action on food issues, and to create a table where all are welcome. WOYP will try to further those goals this weekend as it brings a film, keynote speaker, and workshops to the area.

Starting on Friday, WOYP will be screening “King Corn.” The movie documents the trip corn makes from the field all the way to the food we eat. Further, it shows the impact that the vegetable has on the declining health in America. It starts at 7 PM at Daemen College’s Wick Campus Center. The film is being presented in part with the 2nd annual youth conference called Eat Up, presented by the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP). MAP and WOYP have joined forces this year to make the biggest food impact possible.

On Saturday, Walter Simpson will be the keynote speaker. In 2000, Simpson was admitted into the Association of Energy Engineers “Energy Managers Hall of Fame” for his work as an Energy Officer. He was once Energy Officer at SUNY Buffalo as well as the Director of the UB Green Office. He is also a co-founder of the WNY Sustainable Energy Association, WNY Climate Action Coalition, and Animal Right Advocates of WNY. Simpson will discuss climate change and more.

Included on Saturday are 25 workshops from local presenters. It costs $25 to register ($10 for students and those with limited income) and participants get to take part in three different workshops. Registration not only buys your access to the workshops, it buys you an organic, local lunch and access to local vendors and information tables. Eat Up will be running their own program concurrently and while WOYP starts off at 9 AM and runs till 5 PM, Eat Up starts at 8 AM and runs until 4:15 PM.

WOYP can be attended by all ages, but Eat Up is meant for those aged 13 to 18 years old. The WOYP workshops include: Vermi-culture, Alternative Energies, Sustainable Retail, School Lunches, Green Roof construction, Genetically Engineered Food, The Buzz about Bees, Wild Edibles, Naked Chocolate, NAFTA and Mexican Corn, The Vegetarian Myth, Rain gardens, The 100-Mile Diet, Growing Garlic, Safe Turn and Lawns, Straw-Bale Construction, Three Sisters Gardens, Why Buy Local?, Food and Peace, Food Not Bombs, Raising Chickens at Home, Vegan Lifestyles, Medicinal Herbs, and Community Supported Agriculture.

Eat Up’s program includes the following schedule: 8 AM - doors open for set-up, 8:30-1 PM - registration, 9:15-10:15 AM - first session workshops, 10:30-11:30 AM - second session workshops, 11:45-12:45 PM – lunch, 1-3 PM - keynote address, 3:15-4:15 PM - third session workshops. The youth who take part in the Eat Up program will get to participate in-group discussions, make their own movie, play games, and plan a scavenger hunt. It is free to take part in, but they are accepting a $10 donation to help offset the cost.

If you’d like more information about either, you can visit this website.