The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center is a founding Executive Committee member and fiscal sponsor of a statewide coalition of sustainable and organic agriculture organizations called the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). Founded in response to both the threat climate change poses to agriculture and the sustainable farming solutions it can offer, CalCAN is a coalition that advances policies to support California agriculture in the face of the climate crisis.
Both OAEC and CalCAN are committed to building an ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable food and farming system in California.
Impact
In California, climate change is expected to cause extreme and unpredictable weather, drier conditions, reduced water resources and increased pest and disease pressures. These potentially profound impacts on the viability of California agriculture require immediate action.
Fortunately, many of the practices developed by the sustainable and organic farming community offer powerful strategies for reducing GHG emissions, sequestering carbon, and making agriculture more resilient to climate change by decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, conserving water, and increasing soil fertility. The benefits go beyond climate protection—sustainable agriculture also offers environmental and health benefits such as clean air and water, increased biodiversity, and enhanced wildlife habitat.
Believing that agriculture can play a constructive role in responding to the climate crisis by reducing its carbon footprint, CalCAN strives to be a voice for the positive contribution agriculture can make on climate protection and adaptation. CalCAN serves as a bridge between agriculture and the environment and cultivates farmer leadership on the issue.
CalCAN is the only organization in the country focused solely on advocating policy solutions at the nexus of climate change and sustainable agriculture in California.
More Information
For more information, visit the California Climate & Action Network website.
- Sign up for the monthly CalCAN newsletter, which includes action alerts regarding how to influence policy.
- Follow CalCAN’s blog to stay updated on the latest sustainable agriculture and climate policy news.
CalCAN Contact information:
Renata Brillinger
Executive Director
(707) 823-8278
