GRANVILLE, Ohio — The U.S. food system is at a crossroads when it comes to genetically engineered (GE) foods, and farmers are at the center of it all. Questions surround the debate: Will the consumer have a choice to eat GE-free food? Will farmers have the choice to grow GE-free food?

The subject will take center stage at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Assoc. (OEFFA) 33rd annual conference, Sowing the Seeds of Our Food Sovereignty, in Granville, in Licking County, Feb. 18-19.

Andrew Kimbrell, founder and executive director of the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the International Center for Technology Assessment, will be a keynote speaker and workshop presenter at the event. Kimbrell is one of the country’s leading environmental attorneys and an author of numerous books and articles on environment, technology and society and food issues.

GE crops such as alfalfa threaten to contaminate organic and conventional non-GE crops through pollen drift, storage, transportation and processing, according to Kimbrell. These crops have also been linked to pest and weed resistance, and the increased use of pesticides and herbicides.

Recent consumer polls indicate consumer distrust of GE technology and the desire to have GE food labeled; Kimbrell will address such issues.

“What we constantly see is a failure of the media and of policymakers to really say, ‘The problem here is industrial agriculture,’” Kimbrell said. “They want us to see these events as scary, isolated incidents instead of indicators of how dangerous and unsustainable our industrial food system has become.

“The sleight of hand is to try to treat each incident in its own isolation and not understand that they’re all connected to the larger systemic failures and problems of industrial agriculture.”

Kimbrell’s keynote address on Feb. 19, “The Future of Food,” will explore a food system at a crossroads.

He will describe the conflict between a food system increasingly reliant on pesticides, fertilizers, monocultures and genetic engineering and surging consumer demand for healthy, local, organic, humane and environmentally safe food. He will provide an up-to-date summary of this struggle and ways consumers and farmers can work together for a new food future.

Earlier in the day Kimbrell will lead a workshop titled “Genetic Engineering: The Battle for Safe Food, Public Health and Environmental Protection.” He will assert the negative health and environmental effects of GE food, and Center of Food Safety’s public education, advocacy and legal work intended to safeguard the food system against a flood of deregulated GE products.

Most of the presenters are with the College of Food, Agriculture and environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

Topics will include: identifying and managing beneficial insects in vegetable crops; producing grass-fed beef and lamb; nutritional nuances of pastured poultry; plant residues in organic vegetable production; managing organic soil fertility to improve spelt bread quality; the role of cooperatives in marketing; and others.

The workshops cover such topics as mulches, cover crops, composting, food safety, growing berries, growing field crops, grower co-ops, aquaculture, livestock production, season extension, social investing, small-space gardening, companion planting, edible landscaping, renewable energy and organic certification.

In addition, two pre-conference events will be featured on Feb. 17 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The first will feature Slow Money Alliance founder and chair Woody Tasch, who will talk about the challenges of capitalizing the local food economy and successful strategies to nurture sustainable food systems and business. The second will feature Jeff Moyer, director of farm operations at the Rodale Institute. Moyer will discuss practical ways to build soil fertility and tilth, suppress weeds and manage cover crop rotations to increase production.

This is the state’s largest sustainable food and farm conference, and draws more than 1,000 attendees from across Ohio and the Midwest.

In addition to Kimbrell, this year’s conference will feature keynote speaker Tasch; more than 70 informative hands-on workshops; a trade show; a fun and educational kids’ conference and child care area; locally-sourced and organic homemade meals; and Saturday evening entertainment. “Our conference title says a lot about what we believe and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said OEFFA Program Director Renee Hunt. “Farmers, businesses, chefs and consumers are working together to reclaim our food sovereignty by rebuilding local food systems and Ohio’s rural farming communities, demanding access to healthy, organic food and information about how that food is produced.

“In the process, we’re relearning agriculture practices that nourish our bodies, our communities and the environment.”

All events will take place at Granville Middle and High schools, 248 New Burg St. in Granville. Pre-registration is required. Cost for the conference is $115 for OEFFA members and $175 for non-members, and meals must be purchased separately.

Prices vary for late registrations, students and one-day only registrations.

Go to www.oeffa.org/conference2012. php for more information or to register online and receive $5 off the registration fee. For additional questions, call Hunt at 614-421-2022, ext. 205.