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This past weekend The Greenhorns held a Rabbit Roast event at Glynwood Center in Cold Spring, New York. It was a gathering of young hearts and young minds energized to learn new skills and share innovative ideas about how our generation of young farmers, chefs, eaters and activists may continue to grow deep roots into one of the most challenging, but also most rewarding (and extremely important) work forces of our country–cultivating our local food systems, both literally and metaphorically.

Workshops included a tour of the Glynwood Center farm and an introduction to their programs, a talk on beekeeping and top-bar hives by Sam Comfort of Anarchy Apiaries, a film screening by Alan Webber of Rural Routes Film Festival, a Food Politics discussion with James Subudhi of We ACT for Environmental Justice, tincture-making with Tracy Piccard, a fermentation workshop where we learned how to make our own Kimchi, and a meat curing workshop with Tom Mylan of Diner and Marlow & Sons.

The highlight for many, however, may have been the bravely executed demonstration of rabbit skinning and dressing by Severine Von Tscharner Flemming, the young farmer/filmmaker/activist who founded the Greenhorns. On her way to becoming a successful rabbit farmer, Severine guided her captivated audience through the process step by step, making sure to warn the faint of heart when things were about to get R-rated. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties, there was no bicycle-powered roasting at the Rabbit Roast. Perhaps for some, this might have been a welcome omission (having been so intimately involved in the slaughter), but I would guess that most would have preferred to bring the experience full circle and take part in the most delicious part of the process–savoring the flavor and taste of our local food and sharing it with friends!

Saturday evening all devoured a delicious buffet of fresh food, the majority of which came directly from young Hudson Valley farmers, and rejoiced to the sounds of Red Rooster and The Ginger Ninjas as attendees took turns peddling to keep the bicycle-powered amps singing.

So, what did we take away from this meeting of the minds, hearts, and tummies? Support local food and local economies. Vote with your fork. Be a vocal participant in food policy.

Stay tuned for next year’s Greenhorns event at Glynwood which hopes to expand to include hundreds of participants and even more workshops! In the meanwhile check out the launch of the Greenhorns newest project, Serve your Country Food, a mapping database of our young American farmers.

To learn more about the Greenhorns’ vision for a sustainable food system, check out their recent post on Grist.