Food, Health and Climate Change

The first major conference organized by Bhoomi focused on a theme which came as a surprise to most lay people. This was a time when Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” was just about becoming well known in India; most articles on climate change did not mention food and agriculture as major contributors of carbon emissions.

Hence Bhoomi Network brought together a group of leading thinkers and doers to draw attention to the fact that food and agriculture was responsible for 35 to 40% of GHG emissions.

Some eminent speakers at this conference included Shri Satish Kumar, eco-philopsopher, editor of the renowned Resurgence magazine and co-founder of Schumacher College, UK. Another keynote speaker was Dr. Vandana Shiva who spoke powerfully on “What every Indian should know about Agriculture”.

Shri Devinder Sharma, food and agriculture analyst, Shri Narayana Reddy, an organic farmer and activist and Smt Vanaja Ramprasad were some of the other speakers. The conference also included a Learning Partnership Fair, where about 20 individuals and organisations put up stalls to share their ideas and work.