Displaying items by tag: sustainable agriculture

The towering Space Needle in Gatlinburg offers views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The city is host to the Tennessee Sustainability Conference set to begin Aug. 20.  Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce

Conservation education event is hosted in part by Tennessee Chamber to address sustainability challenges

GATLINBURG — The annual Tennessee Sustainability Conference is scheduled to take place Aug. 20-22 at the Park Vista Hotel. The conference is a partnership among Tennessee Recycling Coalition, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Tennessee Environmental Conference. It brings together environmental professionals from across the region.

Nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an internationally known treasure trove of biodiversity and accompanying sustainability research. 

“The three-day event will provide attendees an accelerated learning opportunity featuring the latest trends and best practices in environmental sustainability,” said Tennessee Recycling Coalition Executive Director Amber Greene. “Staying on the cutting-edge of our ever-growing industry is essential to improving the lives of all Tennesseans. I encourage environmental leaders across the state to join us.”

According to organizers, the event will bring environmental professionals, decision-makers, government officials, business and industry leaders, attorneys, consultants, engineers, developers, architects, agribusiness leaders, energy experts, water planning districts, universities, public health officials, and solid waste and recycling experts, from across the region to learn about the latest trends and best practices in environmental sustainability. 

Tennessee Local Food Summit participants were encouraged to bring their favorite heirloom seeds for a seed swap and social.  Courtesy Matt Matheson

Tennessee Local Food Summit is a hive for food justice in the Southeast

NASHVILLE — About 70 miles north of Nashville in the town of Red Boiling Springs in Macon County, farmer and educator Jeff Poppen, better known as the Barefoot Farmer, runs one of the oldest and largest organic farms in Tennessee. For nearly 40 years, he built rich soil for his bountiful farm before the second-largest meat producer in the world forced him to move from the 250 acres he’d been farming since 1974. 

When his neighboring property owner partnered with Cobb Vantress, a subsidiary of the multinational mega-giant Tyson Foods, to place a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) — aka a factory farm — 450 feet from his homestead and garden, Poppen’s first instinct was to organize. 

This self-described “dirty hippie” found unlikely allies in his neighbors — a Baptist preacher, a state trooper, a politician, and what he calls a “chemical farmer” — all opposed to an industrial chicken house moving in.