centerforfoodsafety's video: COP 27 Debrief: Where Do We Go From Here

Center for Food Safety flew to Sharm-el Sheikh last November to advocate for proven, sustainable, ecological solutions to the climate crisis at the 27th annual Conference of Parties (COP 27). In this webinar, we discuss insider info on our experience there, USDA Secret Tom Vilsack’s misguided AIM for Climate initiative, and how we plan to continue advocating for ecological agricultural solutions to our climate crisis in 2023! ---------------------- Panelist Bios ---------------------- Helmy Abouleish is the CEO of the SEKEM Initiative in Egypt, founded by his father Ibrahim Abouleish in 1977. SEKEM promotes sustainable development in ecology, economy, societal and cultural life. The SEKEM Holding produces, processes, and markets organic and biodynamic foodstuff, textiles, and herbal medicine in Egypt, Arabia, and internationally. SEKEM also operates educational facilities and is regarded as the Egyptian pioneer in Organic farming. 2003 SEKEM was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (‘Alternative Nobel Prize’) under the leadership of Helmy Abouleish. He studied economics and marketing in Cairo, and has campaigned to promote responsible competitiveness, social entrepreneurship and tackling the greatest challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change and food security, both in national and international politics. He is a member of a number of international organizations and councils, such as Cradle-2-Cradle, the World Economic Forum, the World Goetheanum Association or the World Future Council. He became a NAP-Champion for adapting to climate change and was appointed president of Demeter International in 2018. Andrew Kimbrell is an internationally recognized public interest attorney, public speaker, and author. He is the founder and Executive Director of Center for Food Safety and the International Alliance on Climate and Agriculture. He also is Director of the San Francisco based Center for Technology Assessment, co-founder of Foundation Earth, and President of the Board of Humane Farm Animal Care (that administers the Certified Humane label). Taylor Arbuckle received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in Nutrition and Health Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Taylor is passionate about the intersection of food, climate, and public health. She has ten years of experience serving in the public health sector, both as a published author in clinical research and on strategic partnership teams at non-profit organizations. Debbie Barker has worked for over two decades on intersections between agriculture and climate change, food and water security and safety, trade, equity, natural resources, and numerous other issues. She was a consultant for The Berry Center and other civil society groups working on ecological agriculture. She was formerly the international director for the Center for Food Safety, a legal and public policy institute in Washington, D.C., and executive director of the International Forum on Globalization, a think tank on economic globalization issues. Debbie is currently the marketing and development director at Sonoma Valley Museum Art. She’s participated in many international foras such as the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, European Parliament, Congressional briefings, and guest lectured at universities. Publications include Invisible Government; The Wheel of Life: Food, Climate, Human Rights, and the Economy; Soil 2050: Rebuilding Healthy Soils for a Secure Climate, Food, & Water Future; Trade Matters: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Impacts on Food and Farming; and she contributed to the United Nations’ International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development.