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Hot on the heels of a new USDA study (PDF)* which revealed that only 64% of US farms have access to a computer (and only 59% have access to the internet) came the news that the panel we’ve proposed for next year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive festival is up for consideration and has entered the voting process.

It may seem counterintuitive to think about farmers spending a lot of time online, but the web is actually a critical tool for many farmers — being the most democratic medium the world has ever seen means that it can help to level a radically uneven playing field when it comes to marketing.  Where else can a small producer even think of competing with multinational corporations?

This was no doubt the reasoning behind the Eat Well Guide when it was initially conceived by our friends at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).  It was certainly our reasoning behind last summer’s publication of Cultivating the Web: High Tech Tools for the Sustainable Food Movement.  And it’s the reasoning behind this panel:

Cultivating the Web: Netroots Action for Grassroots Food: The “organic” nature of social media creates fertile ground for activists, but how can online advocacy move beyond e-actions and Facebook Fan pages, translating to local, on-the-ground actions? This panel will explore various innovative and creative uses of social media and online technology to support the local food movement.

Unlike the book, this panel would not merely present case studies of the best and brightest resources and campaigns in the sustainable food world, although we’d start with that — it would go further and discuss how to hone the internationally-available tools of the web to make change on a local level. Panelists would include myself, Rob LaFave (CEO, Foodzie.com), Roger Doiron (IATP fellow, Kitchen Gardeners International, of Eat the View fame) and Marla Camp (publisher, Edible Austin).

Voting for panels started yesterday and will run until Sept 4th.  Although SXSW Interactive is basically a giant digital media trade show, it has tremendous influence over emerging trends. Having our panel on this platform would further the sustainable food agenda through increased media attention and by engaging thought leaders in leveraging emerging technologies to help farmers rebuild regional food systems.

Although public votes make up only a portion of the decision, there have been over 2,000 panels submitted this year, so competition is fierce and every vote counts.  It’s super quick to register and vote, so please spare a moment and help us out.  While you’re at it, check out some of the other food panels that have been proposed and consider voting for them too, as well as the other nonprofit proposals, which Beth Kanter has compiled all into one blog post.  Thanks for including us, Beth!

(hat tip to the Ethicurean)