More Americans are demanding higher quality meat–animals fed appropriate, antibiotic-free diets on small farms and slaughtered humanely–and they are choosing to eat less of it, too. Whether turned off by endless recalls, or turned on by the health and environmental benefits of eating less meat, growth in campaigns like Meatless Monday show a powerful shift in the Zeitgeist.

Meanwhile Big Meat is taking on the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain its right to let manure run into our waterways, as it defends the excess antibiotic use (80 percent of antibiotics used in the U.S. are given to livestock), inhumane practices, and consolidation of the industry as the only way to feed the world. The beef industry has even invested in a communications degree that aims to revitalize the consumer image of industrial beef.

The conversation around how we bring meat to the table is multifaceted and is the subject of a lively discussion on April 14 at New York University entitled “What’s the Matter With Mass-Produced Meat?”

The conversation around how we bring meat to the table is multifaceted and is the subject of a lively discussion on April 14 at New York University entitled “What’s the Matter With Mass-Produced Meat?”

Co-sponsored by Kitchen Table Talks and Eating Liberally, the event will feature Daniel Imhoff, editor of CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, Michael Moss, the New York Times investigative reporter whose exposé on E. coli-tainted industrial beef, “The Burger That Shattered Her Life,” won a Pulitzer Prize; and Marion Nestle, NYU nutrition professor who served on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, and author of Food Politics and What to Eat, among other books. I am honored to moderate the conversation and welcome your questions below in the comment section or send me a tweet @civileater in advance of the panel.

The discussion will take place at Fales Library at New York University, 70 Washington Square So, Third Floor from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Please RSVP to rsvp@library.nyu.edu or call 212.992.7050. This event is free and open to the public, but please be mindful when you reserve a space as seating is limited. Books will be available for sale and there will be a signing following the event. Sustainable food and refreshments will be provided by Northern Spy.

More about the team behind the event:

Eating Liberally is a social network whose aim is to swell the ranks of ecologically enlightened “food citizens” through spreading the word about books, films, and other projects that promote an alternative, plant-based food chain powered by the sun instead of Sunoco.

Kitchen Table Talks is a regular conversation series about the American food system. Its mission is to build community and exchange knowledge and ideas that lead to specific actions to make meaningful improvements in our food system.

Photo: Nourishing Our Children Photos via Flickr

The purpose of Kitchen Table Talks is to build a coalition of stakeholders from all segments of society who come together to develop relationships, exchange knowledge and ideas and leave with specific actions they can implement to make meaningful improvements in our food system. At each meeting, participants will be introduced to a different non-profit organization that focuses on one facet of the sustainable food system. The presentation will be followed by an open forum, allowing guests to ask the presenter questions and discuss recent food news, pending legislation and opportunities to get active in the sustainable food community.

18 Reasons, part of the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, was created as a way to give back to the neighborhood that has contributed to and supported Bi-Rite over the years. It’s a space to come together, engage with the people who feed us, view work by local artists, and learn about what we eat and why. As a non-profit community space, it is supported by individual memberships, Bi-Rite Market, and other neighborhood businesses.

Linden Tree was conceived in late 2003 as an opportunity for a group of friends and associates to share with each other what they were most enthused about in their respective creative realms. Using what was the new Sagan Piechota Architecture space on Linden Street as a venue, the original group of approximately 25 design/creative types came together and agreed that a monthly gathering would be desirable. For the past three years, a fabulous and diverse variety of individuals have shared with this growing community their work, process and ideas in an open and casual and engaging format which has proven to be stimulation and inspiring. Painters, writers, musicians, architects, industrial designers, printmakers, sculptors, glass artists, coffee roasters are a sampling of past presentations.

The first Kitchen Table Talks will be held on Tuesday, May 19 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Linden Tree, 315 Linden Street, San Francisco. Elanor Starmer, Research Analyst for the food program at Food and Water Watch, will present a primer on the new food administration: a who’s who at the USDA and how their decisions affect each of us. Food and Water Watch is a non-profit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. It works with grassroots organizations around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future.

Kitchen Table Talks organizers request a $10 donation to go towards administrative costs. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Sustainable, local refreshments will be provided but space is limited. To reserve your seat, please email Layla Azimi at layla_azimi@yahoo.com or leave a message at 925.785.0713.

For those who cannot attend, a summary of the evening’s discussion will be found on this site. The collaborators of Kitchen Table Talks hope to engage all communities – healthcare, legislative, restaurants/chefs, NGOs, citizens and so forth to extend the conversation beyond one evening. Kitchen Table Talks strives to be an open forum for all people to discuss the issues facing our food system.

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