We are pleased to send you a notice and program for the Water Farming
Conference in Baltimore.
This information is also posted on Oldways' website: www.oldwayspt.org.
Organized by Oldways; Co-organized by NFI and NAA.
REGISTER ONLINE at www.oldwayspt.org
Please call if you need more information (617.421.5500).
We look forward to seeing you in Baltimore, and thank you for spreading the
word.
FALL CONFERENCE IN BALTIMORE
REGISTER NOW.
Water Farming <
World's Future
A MEETING OF THE MINDS
Water Farming and the World's Food Future
The Sustainable Route to a Stable and Healthy Food Supply
When: November 4th, 5th & 6th, 2001
Where: Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland
Who: Scientists, journalists, industry, government, NGOs, chefs
What: Science-based solutions-driven conference
How: Assemble these experts for high-level presentations and extensive
results-oriented discussions about the future of sustainable water farming.
Reach agreement on the differences concerning its future growth.
By: Organized by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust; co-organized by
National Fisheries Institute and National Aquaculture Association.
Conference Highlights:
* World-renowned experts from science, academic, government and
industry present state-of-the-art knowledge on a variety of critical
aquaculture issues (History; Health and Nutrition; Feed; Water Quality,
Availability and Effluents; Regulations; Wild & Farmed Fish Interactions;
GMOs; Chefs, Palatability and Perceptions; and Media, Communications and
Attitudes).
* Leading academic and other experts seek to find agreement on
base-line data for water farming.
* Leaders in the industry present their visions for the future.
* Discussion, question and answer sessions to identify obstacles and
areas of agreement.
* Leading chefs prepare and discuss meals featuring harvests of water
farms.
* Top journalists discuss "facts and fictions, and attitudes and
perceptions of water farming.
* Networking and discussions among attendees.
Partial List of Participating Scientists, Experts, Chefs and Journalists
include:
* Larry Cope, President, Clear Springs Farm
* Des FitzGerald, Founder, Ducktrap Farms & former President, Atlantic
Salmon Maine
* Dick Gutting, Executive Vice President, National Fisheries Institute
* Ron Hardy, Hagerman Fish Culture Experimental Station, University of
Idaho
* Brian Halweil, Research Associate, WorldWatch Institute
* Conservation Law Foundation representative
* Barry Costa-Pierce, Sea Grant Program, University of Rhode Island
* Cliff Goudey, Sea Grant Program, MIT
* Kevin Fitzsimmons, Environmental Research Lab, University of Arizona
* Judy Weinraub, Writer, Washington Post
* Beth Daley, Writer, Boston Globe
* Dave Conley, Aquaculture Newsclips and Aquaculture communications
consultant
* James Peterson, Chef and Cookbook Author
* Ed Doyle, Chef, Aura Restaurant, Boston Seaport Hotel
* Jim McVey, Program Director for Aquaculture, NOAA National Sea Grant
College Program
* John Ewart, Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, University of
Delaware
* Jim Carlberg, President, Kent SeaTech
* Dixie Blake, Ocean Garden Products
* Joe McGonigle, Aqua Bounty Farms
Registration:
$295 for all three days includes:
* 3 days of sessions
* 3 Breakfasts
* 3 lunches
* 1 Evening Event/Dinner
* All conference materials
* 6 Coffee breaks during Conference
Day Registration Rates are available. (Please call or email.)
Register online at www.oldwayspt.org
OR call, fax or email:
Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, 266 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 021116
617.421.5500 (telephone)/617.421.5511 (fax)/oldways@oldwayspt.org
Special Conference Hotel Room Rate for attendees:
The rate is $185 at the waterfront Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in
Baltimore.
Please call 1.800.HOTELS1
Contacts for Information and Registration:
Annie Bonney or Sara Baer-Sinnott
Contacts for Media:
Aimee Murdock Burke or Deborah Good
Background:
The Conference is organized by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a
Boston based nonprofit educational organization, and is co-organized with
the National Fisheries Institute and National Aquaculture Association. The
first public conference of the multi-year Water Farming Initiative (WFI)
will be held November 4-6, 2001 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in
Baltimore, Maryland.
The purposes of the Conference and the WFI are to:
(1) Present correct and science-based information about aquaculture;
(2) Establish a level playing field for aquaculture and its future
sustainable expansion;
(3) Change public perceptions and public policies about aquaculture through
ongoing public educational programs.
Oldways believes strongly that an expansion of sustainable aquaculture will
make our world a better place, from the key perspectives of food security,
environment, and public health, and also believes that a sustainable
expansion of aquaculture can help to assure a sound balance between
aquaculture and catch fisheries.
The WFI will challenge academics, businesspeople, environmentalists, and
public officials to:
* Join in promoting sustainable expansion of water farming.
* Focus on solutions.
* Follow "best practice" principles.
* Argue less and negotiate more.
The format of this Conference will follow the Oldways results-driven model
of forums intended to cause change in public policies and consumer
perceptions. Conference presenters will be drawn from an international base
of leaders in science, environmental issues, industry, government,
communications, and food. Moderated discussion and question/answer sessions
will be interspersed throughout the Conference. The meals and breaks will
present water-farmed products prepared by leading chefs.
Underlying all elements of the Conference and WFI is a respect for science.
This conference will be thoroughly grounded on the best scientific evidence,
bolstered by experts in communications, legal and regulatory issues,
palatability, environmental and technical matters, and the role of animal
and plant foods grown in water in a sustainable global food system.
WATER FARMING AND THE WORLD'S FOOD FUTURE
"THE SUSTAINABLE ROUTE TO A STABLE AND HEALTHY FOOD SUPPLY"
An International Conference of the Water Farming Initiative
Organized by
OLDWAYS PRESERVATION & EXCHANGE TRUST
In association with
NATIONAL FISHERIES INSTITUTE and NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION
Sunday, November 4 - Tuesday, November 6, 2001
Renaissance Harbor Hotel ~ ~ Baltimore, Maryland
Provisional Program Discussion Draft
(Asterisk indicates speakers not yet confirmed)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
~ ~ ~ Sunday, November 4, 2001 ~ ~ ~
9:00 - 9:30 < Welcome and Introduction
Differences between the proponents and opponents of water farming have
chilled the growth of an industry that almost everyone believes can benefit
human health and the environment. What are the real obstacles that block the
route to realizing this vision? What are the practical steps to reaching
agreement on the differences and accelerating the growth of sustainable
water farming?
K. Dun Gifford, President, Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust
Richard Gutting, Executive Vice President, National Fisheries Institute
*Representative, for the National Aquaculture Association
9:30 - 1:00 < MORNING SESSIONS < WATER FARMING'S PLACE IN THE WORLD FOOD
SUPPLY
Water farmers grow animals and plants to feed humans, just as soil farmers
do. Where does water farming fit in the big picture of the worldıs food
supply < past, present and future?
Moderator: Cliff Goudey, MIT
9:30 - 10:00 < Session 1 < The Past and Present
What is the history of water farmingıs past and present in feeding humans?
What are the long-term trends that emerge from this data? What are the
principal external forces that influence on these trends?
*Ron Zweig, World Bank (or Representative, FAO)
10:00 - 10:30 < Session 2 < A Look at the Future
What is water farmingıs potential in feeding humans? What are the forces
that compel its expansion, and what are the forces that constrain it? Is
there an "environmental imperative" that leads to a conclusion that water
farming is a wiser route to follow to feed the growing world population,
when compared to soil farming? What is the comparative data and does it lead
to firm conclusions?
Brian Halweil, WorldWatch
10:30 - 11:00 < Break
11:00 -12:00 < Three Visions of the Future of Water Farming
Three experienced hands offer practical and specific visions of the
potential of water farming to help meet the challenge of feeding the worldıs
expanding populations with healthy food grown sustainably, and the effect in
communities.
11:00 11:20 < Session 3 < A Vision of Salt Water Farms
Des FitzGerald, Founder, Ducktrap Farms, and former President, Atlantic
Salmon of Maine
11:20 11:40 < Session 4 < A Vision of Fresh Water Farms
Larry Cope, President, Clear Spring Farms
11:40 12:00 < Session 5 < Aquaculture's Role in Community Development
Dixie Blake, Director of Marketing, Ocean Garden Products
12:00 - 12:30 < Session 6
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
12:30 - 2:00 < Lunch<"An Autumn Salt Water Bounty"
Presentation: James Peterson, Chef and Author
2:00 - 6:00 < AFTERNOON SESSIONS < REALIZING THE FUTURE, PART 1
Barry Costa-Pierce, Rhode Island Sea Grant
2:00 - 2:30 < Session 7 < A Vision for Water Farmed Crustaceans
Fresh Water
Salt Water:
2:30 - 6:00 < SESSIONS ON FOODS AND FEEDS, FARMING AND FEEDING
Farmed animals, whether grown on land or in water, need nutritious food over
their lifetimes. Feeding them has always been a challenge for land farmers,
and the challenges for water farmers are similar. An equal challenge has
always confronted nutrition scientists, who must determine the optimum foods
for healthful eating patterns, and then make dietary guidance
recommendations to consumers.
2:30 - 3:00 < Session 8 < Water Farming and Human Nutrition
What are the baseline indicators of the harvests of water farms for human
health? How do these indicators compare to other sources of animal and plant
protein? Are there special considerations for the different fatty acid
profiles of water-farmed and soil-farmed animals?
*Frank Sacks or other representative, Harvard School of Public Health
3:00 3:30 < Session 9 < Overview on Feeds
A thumbnail sketch of the history of foods that nurture water farming, along
with a look ahead, particularly of the impact of feed modulation on the
health of farmed animals, along with a look at forecasts for the sources of
feed for water farms in the years ahead. Comparative analyses of the
environmental efficiencies of feed production and of the ratios of feed
conversion for producing animal protein for human consumption have recently
joined the front rank of agenda items for considering the worldıs future.
Dave Smith, Freedom Feeds
3:30 4:00 < Break
4:00 - 5:00 < Session 10 < Feed Conversion Ratios
Although this issue is essentially a factually-driven one, it has long been
contentious and seems to defy resolution. Broadening the focus to include
conversion ratios for a realistic range of growing animal protein, as well
as the thermodynamic and water consumption differences between soil-farmed
protein and water-farmed protein offers an avenue to find common ground on
this issue.
Ron Hardy, Hagerman Fish Culture Experimental Station, University of Idaho
*Becky Goldburg, Environmental Defense Fund
*Ann McMullin, BC Salmon Farmers Association
5:00 - 6:00 < Session 11
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
7:30 < Conference Dinner < "Glorious Culinary Visions of Water Farmed
Harvests"
Chef Presentation
~ ~ ~ Monday, November 5, 2001 ~ ~ ~
8:30 - 12:30 < MORNING SESSIONS < REALIZING THE VISION, PART 2
Moderator: Ron Hardy
8:30 - 9:00 < Session 12 < A Vision for Water Farmed Fin Fish
Fresh Water: *Bill Marshall, Rainwater Aquaculture
Salt Water:
9:00 - 10:00 < Session 13 < Effluent Issues
The information presented to the public about effluent from fish farms has
been contradictory and, as a result, confusing. This issue, like feed
conversion, has a statistical base, and widening the focus to include
comparative analyses offers a pathway for resolutions.
Barry Costa-Pierce
Kevin Fitzsimmons, University of Arizona
*Bill Dewey, Taylor Shellfish
*Harald Rosenthal
10:00 - 10:30 < Session 14
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
10:30 - 11:00 < Break
11:00 - 11:30 < Session 15 < Water Quality
Water farms need reliable supplies of good water. Some species cannot
survive without water that is nearly pure, while others are tolerant of
unclean water and in fact clean it. Setting a clear agenda of water quality
issues is an important task for water farming advocates.
Richard Smith, Robinson and Cole
Jim McVey, NOAA
11:30 - 12:00 < Session 16 < Water Availability
The world is quite rapidly using up its supply of available fresh water, to
such an extent that international government agencies have predicted that
"water wars" will be the source of most armed international conflict within
a few years. Different methods of farming require different amounts of water
to produce equivalent amounts of edible foods. Measures of what foods are
most "water-efficient" will be increasingly important for policy makers.
*WorldWatch Representative
12:00 - 12:30 < Session 17
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
12:30 - 2:00 < Lunch < "An Autumn Fresh Water Bounty"
Chef Presentation
2:00 - 6:00 < AFTERNOON SESSIONS: REALIZING THE FUTURE, PART 3
Moderator:
2:00 - 2:30 < Session 18 < A Vision for Water Farmed Bivalves
Bob Rheault
Lori Howell, Spinney Creek Shellfish Farm
2:30 - 6:00 < Regulatory Issues
Water farmers believe strongly that their businesses are overregulated, or
subject to a punishing gauntlet of different agencies. Opponents of water
farming believe that regulations governing water farming are inadequate.
Does a middle ground lie in examining the governance of other farming
activities?
2:30 - 3:00 < Session 19 < Facilities Siting
Societies have long-battled over how to keep their "residential" activities
physically separated from their "industrial" activities. Given the choice,
we all prefer not to live close to power plants or garbage dumps. The
well-established solution has been to establish zones in which certain
activities can be conducted but others cannot. This "zoning process" could
well be adopted for the siting of water farms.
Roger Fleming, Conservation Law Foundation
Harlyn Halvorsen, University of Massachusetts
John Ewart, Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, University of Delaware
3:00 - 3:30 < Session 20 < Equipment
Water farmers want the best possible equipment for their farms, to raise the
likelihood of strong and reliable harvests. Many observers and regulators
worry about equipment failures and resulting accidents, such as animal
releases or water runoff. What is a sound framework for setting equipment
standards?
*Chris Heinig, MER Associates
Steve Page, Environmental Compliance Officer, Atlantic Salmon of Maine
3:30 - 4:00 < Break
4:00 - 4:30 < Session 21 < Disease Control
Disease is a major issue for all farmers, be they water or soil, plant or
animal, or backyard or patio. Because the use of pharmaceuticals and other
treatments to control diseases will always be a sensitive subject, what
should be the proper balance between controlling disease on farms, and
preventing the spread of disease from or to farms?
*Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association
4:30 - 5:00 < Session 22 < Catch Limitation Permits
There are many suggestive examples of how catch limitation permits have
established "water farms in the wild." One of these is the highly-regulated
Maine lobster industry, which year after year sustains large catches in part
because the large number of frequently-baited traps are, in effect, feeding
"wild" lobsters. Another is the rock lobster permit system in Port Lincoln,
South Australia, which produces a profitable, sustainable harvest. What are
the implications of these examples for expanding water farming?
5:00 - 6:00 < Session 23
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
Evening on Own
~ ~ ~ Tuesday, November 6, 2001 ~ ~ ~
8:30 - 12:00 < MORNING SESSIONS < REALIZING THE VISION, PART 4
Moderator: Ed Rhodes, Aquaculture Consultant
8:30 - 9:00 < Session 24 < A Vision for Water Farmed Plants and Hydroponics
Ike Levine, Biologocal Sciences and University of Southern Maine
9:00 - 12:00 < SESSIONS ON WILD AND FARMED FISH INTERACTIONS
9:00 - 9:30 < Session 25 < Overview
It is clear that the world has more water farming in its future. It is also
clear that there will be more interaction between farmed and wild fish,
shellfish, plants, and other foods grown in water. This raises many
difficult issues, but the domestication of wild land animals holds valuable
lessons for addressing them.
9:30 - 10:00 < Session 26 < Restocking
Water farming has not caused the steep declines in either ocean catches or
in dwindling runs of anadromous fish. The causes are varying combinations of
overfishing, industrial pollution, dams, water withdrawals, and others. By
and large, river restocking programs have not been successful, and wild
stocks seem to stern catch restrictions. What role can water farming play in
determined restocking efforts?
*Bob Shipp, Chair, Marine Sciences Department, University of South Alabama
10:00 - 10:30 < Break
10:30 - 11:00 < Session 27 < Gene Mixing
Deliberate gene mixing is the standard agricultural practice of selective
breeding. Accidental gene mixing has always occurred in nature, giving rise
to evolution. The dilemma is presented when selectively-bred water-farmed
animals escape from farms and breed with wild animals. How are we to
assemble the pieces of this puzzle into an acceptable whole?
*John R. Gold, Professor of Genetics, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Science, Texas A&M
11:00 - 11:30 < Session 28 < GMOs
Foods containing organisms genetically modified in laboratories are recent
arrivals to the food supply, and they are intensely controversial. At the
two extremes are equally-credentialed scientific and policy experts, who are
persuaded that GMOs are either the best or the worse innovation of modern
times. Populating the great middle ground are people who believe GMO foods
to be inevitable, but want them tightly regulated. Are there special GMO
issues for water farming?
Joe McGonigle, Aqua Bounty Farms
11:30 - 12:00 < Session 29
Moderated Question and Answer Panel
12:00 - 1:30 < Lunch < "Surprises of Water-Farmed Vegetables"
Chef Presentation
1:30 - 5:30 < AFTERNOON SESSIONS < REALIZING THE VISION, PART 5
Moderator: K. Dun Gifford
1:30 - 2:00 < Session 30 < A Vision for Water Farming's Environmental Future
*Harald Rosenthal, Insitut fur Meereskunde, University of Kiel
2:00 - 3:00 < Session 31 < Chefs, Palatability and Perceptions
Chefs have always been trend-setters in consumer food fashions, and as water
farming grows into a larger and larger source of the worldıs food supply,
"palatability" and "perception" issues of farmed animals become important
marketing concerns. With the growing popularity of water farmed animals in
restaurants, are there any issues may slow wider acceptance of water-farmed
foods?
Ed Doyle, Aurora, Boston Seaport Hotel
*Jasper White, Summer Shack, Cambridge
*Chris Schlesinger, East Coast Grill, Cambridge
*Bob Kincaid, Kincaids, Washington
3:00 - 4:00 < Session 32 < Media, Communications and Perceptions
Beth Daley, Boston Globe
Dave Conley, Aquaculture Communications Consultant
*Gina Kolata, New York Times
Judy Weinraub, Washington Post
*Reporters from trade papers and magazines
4:00 - 4:30 Break
4:30 - 5:30 < Session 33 < Meeting of the Minds: What are the Real
Differences?
5:30 Conference Concludes
Evening on Own
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