Each year at the end of September, a very special event takes place in Salina, Kansas, called the Prairie Festival. Sponsored by The Land Institute, founded in 1979, this annual gathering showcases the latest and greatest successes coming out of professional plant breeders, ecologists and agricultural partners to create what mimics natural systems in order to produce ample food, while reducing or eliminating the negative impacts of industrial agriculture.

In 2018, the theme of “Economical Transformations for an Ecological Civilization” produced some amazing presentations, which include titles and speakers such as “Are We the Ones We Have Been Waiting For?” – Wes Jackson, “Land, Rights and Justice: Why The Government is Losing the Trust of Rural America” – Loka Ashwood, “The Insurgent Power of the Commons in the War Against the Imagination” – David Bollier, “Prairie Roots and Human Roots Intertwined “– Fred Iutzi & Terry Evans, and many more.

The UU Ministry for Earth invites you to check out some of these powerful presentations from this year’s festival (and previous years’ presentations, as well) and learn more about who the speakers are, and what it takes to truly create an ecologically sustainable agricultural movement that promises to become a soil-forming, rather than a soil-degrading activity. And if you move beyond the initial links provided, you’ll go down a rabbit hole of fascinating topics that touch on such themes as worker alienation, rural environmental injustice, radical institutional change, uniquely sustainable food movements, indigenous humanities and the intersection of democratic ecological citizenship. Enjoy!