Keynote presentation by Jim Embry of Sustainable Communities Network at the Tennessee Local Food Summit on December 2, 2022 at Cumberland University.

"Ancestral Vibrations Guide Our Connection to Land"

As we continue to envision and actualize our work of transforming the dominant agri-food system into one that is more sustainable, just and regenerative, we are blessed to have ancestral principles and worldviews, especially of indigenous and African American foodways, that can serve as guiding lights along our pathway. Engaging our local communities in food system transformation processes is by no means an easy challenge, but these guiding lights are essential to bringing about a fundamental change in our thinking that can usher in a paradigm shift at all levels. This sacred work "begins anew every single day".