Media Alert

FOODSTOCK: Save the land that feeds us 80 of Canada's best chefs cook up a storm to help Stop The Mega Quarry. September 12th, 2011 Honeywood, ON - On Sunday, October 16th 80 chefs from Nunavut to Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia will descend on a small Ontario farming community south of Collingwood, ON to help put a stop to a proposed mega quarry project that would obliterate thousands of acres of high yield, Class 1 farmland. The prospect of turning so much prime cropland close to the GTA into stone has got food safety, sustainability and sovereignty advocates on the rocks. The event, known as FOODSTOCK, promises to live up to its '60s era inspiration, with an anticipated crowd of 20,000 people in attendance. Celebrated chef Michael Stadtlnder-whose nearby Eigensinn Farm and Haisai Restaurant have become internationally celebrated gourmet destinations-is heading up the event together with the Canadian Chef's Congress. FOODSTOCK is a pay-what-you-can event featuring gourmet dished prepared by 80 of Canada's top chefs, including Jamie Kennedy and Canoe Restaurant's Andrew Walsh. There will also be music by the likes of Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, Sarah Harmer and a host of others, as well as scientist headliners speaking in opposition to the proposed mega quarry. The mega quarry proposal in question was put forward this spring by The Highland Companies, a Canadian corporation created by Boston-based hedge fund the Baupost Group. The proposed quarry would: Be Canada's largest open pit quarry at 2,316 acres

Require extraction of 600 million litres of water per day FOREVER, affecting the watersheds of southern Ontario rivers

 Obliterate thousands of acres of high yield, Class 1 farmland made up of Honeywood Silt Loam-a specialty soil now producing many kinds of vegetables in addition to approximately 50% of the GTA market for potatoes. See nomegaquarry.ca or NDACT.com for more details. FOODSTOCK will take place on on Sunday, October 16th from 11:00 to 5:00 at the Frenchs' farm just west of Highway 124 at Conover, Ontario, north of the 20th Sideroad. MAP For complete details or to learn more about Michael Stadtlnder, please visit canadianchefscongress.com. To contact Chef Michael Stadtlnder, please email Christian Morrison or call 416 537 9977. For specific media inquiries, please contact: Carl Michener, Outwrite Communications 416 476 7484 ###