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C.3: "Food Chains"



PREPARATION

1. Read this session all the way through. Scripted language in highlighting is offered as guidance; feel free to deviate as you see fit.
2. In advance, send reminder email to attendees. Here is a template for your email. Include the request for volunteers if this is your first session together and/or if you don't already have a volunteer for leading the table grace. Hopefully, you'll hear from at least one participant who is willing. Thank your selected volunteer, and thank any others for their willingness. (You may want to assign the others to lead the table grace in subsequent sessions.)
3. If any participants notify you of dietary restrictions, send out a follow-up email using this template.
4. Arrange for the necessary viewing equipment.
5. Do a trial run to resolve any technical difficulties in advance.
6. Obtain nametags or nametag-making materials (including low-odor markers).
7. Create enough signage to help participants find the meeting space. With a wide marker, add arrows pointing left, right, or ahead as needed.
8. On an index card, write the table grace provided below.


Welcome to the potluck!   (40-60 minutes)

Arrive early enough to post signage and set up your meeting space.
As participants arrive, greet them and invite them to make a nametag.
Give index card to participant who has volunteered to lead the table grace.
To the assembled group, say: Welcome [back] to DOVE! We're excited to be offering this series of potlucks and film discussions. Let's serve the food, say grace, and then while we're enjoying dinner, we can do introductions.

After everyone is seated, announce: _______ has volunteered to lead our table grace. 
The part we all say together is, “We give thanks.” 

For the many people, near and far,
who plant and pick and deliver our food,
We give thanks.
For the earth and rain and sun that sustain us,
We give thanks.
For this day, this meal, and this joyful time together,
We give thanks.


After grace say: Let's go around the table, introduce ourselves and say something about the food we brought. I’ll go first, to model.  My name is _____ , I’m participating in DOVE because ________   (take this opportunity to describe any background or qualifications you have that are relevant to your role as a DOVE facilitator) and tonight I brought ________ .
Let each participant take a turn doing the same.

When the meal is finished, announce: Let's get started now with our screenings. The theme is justice activism, making connections and common cause between struggles. We're going to start with two short videos about Dolores Huerta, and a talk by lauren Ornelas. We'll break to discuss those, and then finish with the classroom documentary about Genesis Butler and Cesar Chavez.

Dolores trailer (2 minutes) Introduce this way: First up, we're going to watch this trailer for the 2017 documentary about Dolores Huerta.

Dolores Huerta on Why Unions Matter (2 minutes) Introduce this way: In this short video we hear from Dolores Huerta herself, speaking on the importance of unions and sharing her view that the work of putting food on our table is sacred work.

lauren Ornelas' Human Rights Are Animal Rights 2013 conference talk (16 minutes) 
Introduce this way: If you took DOVE Course B, you may remember learning about lauren Ornelas, and her justice activism at Food Empowerment Project for farm workers, food access, and animal rights. In this talk from 2013, lauren urges us to recognize the connections among these and other struggles for justice. (There are no graphic images, though lauren does use one swear word around the 8-minute mark. Also, be prepared for a video-splice at 3:22 in the recording; at that point, the sound quality changes for the better.)

Discussion break   (15 minutes)

Invite participants to share initial thoughts/reactions. Consider using a timer to facilitate the discussion. You can say: Let's give everyone a turn to share your initial thoughts or overall reactions. Take up to two minutes if you like, and it's fine to pass. I'll give you a wave at two minutes. Who will go first?

To stimulate further discussion, you can pose these questions:
  1. Has anyone seen the full-length documentary, Dolores? If not, did seeing the trailer today make you want to see the film? Has anyone seen the full-length feature film about Cesar Chavez that came out in 2014?
  2. If we understand the work of putting food on our table as vital or even "sacred" work, how can our community support those who do that work (better than we currently do)? What state-level or national farmworker campaigns could our community support? How many of us know about the national boycott of Wendy's (endorsed in 2016 by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the UU Service Committee)? Or the boycott of Driscoll's Berries? What local farmworker organization(s) could our community partner with?
  3. Did you know that Huerta is vegetarian? Who else exemplifies the message that we can do both: care about people and care about animals? (Examples: Dick Gregory; Angela Davis; Amie "Breeze" Harper; Brenda Sanders of Thrive Baltimore; Keith Tucker's Hip Hop Green Dinners; A Well-Fed World; Chilis on Wheels; Food Not Bombs; Community Solidarity.)
  4. What (else) did lauren say in her talk about food justice issues that you want to lift up, or reflect on more deeply?  
To recap: her talk begins with observations of who experiences oppression and exploitation [women, workers, people of color, animals] and why [for profit]. 
She urges her audience to have empathy and speak out about all forms of oppression—to think about the farm workers who pick their fruits and vegetables, including children, and to think about the human trafficking that's part of the cocoa industry, which also involves children, and to think about the issues of food access and life circumstances that can make it not so easy to adopt a healthy vegan diet. 
She raises the issue of dairy, in light of the prevalence of lactose intolerance in communities of color. 
She finishes by recalling the example of Martin Luther King, Jr., who drew connections among issues—he was a civil rights organizer, as well as a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, and a supporter of workers' rights. 
You may want to share the following notes with participants:
  • Recently, lauren has begun replacing the term "lactose intolerant" with "lactose normal," since it's the biological norm to lose the ability to digest milk sugar after the age of weaning. 
  • lauren's succinct request nowadays, which reflects the same message she delivered in this talk, is that mindful vegan advocates include this preface when encouraging dietary change: "If you have access to healthy food, please go vegan." 

Cesar Chavez: Respect for All  (22 minutes)
Note: In this documentary, SEE-zer CHAH-vez is how Cesar's friends and family pronounce his name. 
Introduce the film this way: Shifting gears now, we will end with a gentle documentary about 9-year-old Genesis Butler who, at an early age, has made the connection between animals and the food on her plate. Genesis is also the great grand-niece of Cesar Chavez! In this film, Genesis learns about her famous relative from those who knew him well. He is lovingly remembered as a champion of nonviolence who advocated not only for farm workers but also for women’s empowerment, gay rights, and animals as well. The running time is 22 minutes. Right after that, we'll move into our discussion. 

Discussion, part II   (15 minutes)

Invite participants to share initial thoughts/reactions. Consider using a timer to facilitate the discussion. You can say: Let's give everyone a turn to share your initial thoughts or overall reactions. Take up to two minutes if you like, and it's fine to pass. I'll give you a wave at two minutes. Who will go first?

To stimulate further discussion, you can pose these questions:
  1. Who can relate to Genesis' passion for justice? Is anyone the parent of a young activist, so perhaps you can relate to Genesis' parents, Genelle and Anthony?
  2. Do you think this film achieves the goal of providing students as young as 5th grade with an introduction to Cesar Chavez' work and legacy? Would you recommend it for children/youth in your religious education program, and if so, which age range(s) do you think would be best?
  3. Genesis asks Daniel Redwood about the song "We Shall Overcome" and what it means to him. What does the song mean to you? 

Next session reminder & check-out  (5 minutes)

Before we end our session tonight, let me remind you that our next meeting will be [date, time] 
Let's conclude now with a brief check-out, which we will do at the end of each DOVE session. How was this session for you? Any positives (things you especially liked)? Any deltas (things you would change)?

Take note of feedback, and thank participants for coming.

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