Friday, October 22, 2010

Transition Denman

On Oct. 17th, coincidentally the day after World Food Day, Transition Denman hosted a community event involving 30 or more local groups in our active community. Each had only three minutes to talk a little about who they are and how they may fit with the transition movement. Here's what was presented in this brief window of opportunity about the Potluck Series. For further information, click here to access our actual home page, and check out our amazing LINKS list on your immediate right!

DENMAN POTLUCK SERIES

Denman Island’s Community Vegan Potluck Series began in the mid 90’s, hosting monthly 100% plant-based group meals over many years for food lovers of every persuasion, and after dinner presentations- meetings, guest speakers, films or slide shows on a wide variety of topics pertaining to social justice and environmental issues.

 There is no formal group structure to the series, but former Saltsprng Island resident John Robbins’ best-selling, Diet for a New America”, was our original inspiration. Robbin’s founded ‘Earth Save,’ a now worldwide initiative to raise consciousness about the global impact of our dietary choices, and in larger communities Earthsave chapters host similar potlucks promoting the many advantages to personal , environmental and animal well-being through eating lower on the food chain.

In the spirit of community inclusivity, our vegan potluck series also encourages a fragrance-free environment, for the comfort of chemically-sensitive individuals. 

Over the last couple of years the series has scaled back to just four seasonal gatherings a year- our next one celebrates the Winter Solstice- but we started archiving our history online through our blog back in 2006, so you’ll find posters and information on the last 44 potlucks hosted here in the Denman hall since 2004, ranging from guest speaker and anti GMO farmer Percy Schmeiser, to our recent screening of ‘The Cove’, this year’s Oscar winning best feature documentary on the plight of dolphins in Japan.

The potluck series blog is also a valuable educational tool, providing links to information sources to do with all of the material we have featured during the series archived history, and a listing of over 16 films in our collection available for loan to islanders for private or group viewing

Some of the island initatives that have taken shape through discussions shared at the potluck series have included a successful petition to DIRA in favor of declaring Denman, in principle, a GMO crop free zone, following in the footsteps of Powell River- the first municipality in Canada to set such an example. And Denman Donderdag- likewise a solidarity initiative, advocating in it’s case, the reduction of animal product consumption as a deliberate community-based political act. 

Like Meat-Free Fridays, or Meatless Mondays, in other communities around the world, Ghent Donderdag is meat-free Thursday in Ghent, Belgium…the first city in the world to go as far as legislating one meat-free day a week, so that all government offices, hospitals, schools, and other public institutions are expected to provide healthful meat free meals as a deliberate response in large part to the growing problem of global warming and the widespread impact animal agribusiness is having on climate change.

Please visit www.denmandonderdag.blogspot.com to support this kind of consciousness raising transition work in our community in your own circles on and off island, and for further information and links to inspirational resources. [For information on Denman Island's fledgling Veganiculture Association, DIVA, pleaes click here.]

So the Community Vegan potluck Series has always been for everyone, but does strive to provide a comfortable environment where those of us who choose not to eat any animals at all can enjoy sharing our culture of choice and the reasons for it with family, friends and extended community. 

Come celebrate the Winter Solstice with us and enjoy the fruits of the earth at our next friendly gathering!