BOONE—Joel Salatin, nationally recognized farmer, author and local food activist, will present the lecture “Ballet in the Pasture” March 26 at 7 p.m. in Appalachian State University’s Farthing Auditorium. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Admission is free and the public is invited.

The event is sponsored by Appalachian’s Goodnight Family Sustainable Development Program with generous support from Mazie Jones Levenson. For more information, visit www.susdev.appstate.edu/summit or call 828-262-7248.

“Ballet in the Pasture” mixes humor and food system analysis as Salatin defends small farms, local food systems and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm. Salatin’s slide-illustrated lecture provides a virtual tour of Polyface Farm.

Salatin is a third-generation alternative farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The family’s farm, Polyface Inc., utilizes sustainable agriculture and marketing techniques that are good for the environment, support the local economy, and produce food that is healthy and safe for consumers.  Polyface Farm achieved iconic status after it was featured in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” a New York Times bestseller by Michael Pollan. The pasture-based multispecies livestock farm serves more than 1,500 families, 10 retail outlets, and 30 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs.

The Goodnight Family Sustainable Development Program is a unit within Appalachian’s University College. University College consists of the university’s integrated general education curriculum, academic support services, residential learning communities, interdisciplinary degree programs and co-curricular programming—all designed to support the work of students both inside and outside of the classroom.

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Contact: Chuck Smith
Director, Goodnight Family Sustainable Development Program
828-262-2241
smithcl@appstate.edu