July 26: Eat, Drink, and Fight Fracking
Date: Thursday July 26, 2012
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Brooklyn Winery, 213 North 8th Street, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Fracking for shale gas in New York’s southern tier continues to be today’s major hot button issue in the quest to protect our regional foodshed and water resources. Chefs for the Marcellus, a group of New York food professionals, is calling upon Governor Cuomo to ban fracking for natural gas in New York State in order to protect the state’s water supply, tourism and food businesses —winemaking, brewing, farming, restaurants, food manufacturing — from the hazards of industrialized drilling. The governor is expected to announce the start of drilling any day despite significant opposition throughout much of the state.
Chefs for the Marcellus was founded by FSNYC’s Hilary Baum and Jimmy Carbone, with chef Heather Carlucci and concerned citizens. With more than 100 chefs, farmers and other food professionals on board, the campaign is committed to educating and activating professional buyers of locally produced food and beverages about the risks to these resources and to the potentially affected upstate and downstate communities.
On Thursday, July 26, A Taste of the Marcellus will be held at Brooklyn Winery to benefit Chefs for the Marcellus and New Yorkers Against Fracking, a coalition comprising over 100 organizations. Tickets range from $25 -$250 with a 10% discount before July 9th!
The benefit will showcase the wines and beers of the Marcellus, including selections from Brooklyn Winery, Brewery Ommegang and Tuthilltown Spirits, paired with regional foods prepared by Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern), Heather Carlucci (PRINT), Mary Cleaver (The Green Table and Cleaver Co.) David Colston (Brooklyn Winery), Peter Hoffman (Back Forty and Back Forty West), Daniel Holzman (The Meatball Shop), Zak Pelaccio, (Fatty Crew), Chris Santos (The Stanton Social), Bill Telepan (Telepan) and others. Pairings are by Jimmy Carbone, Jimmy’s No.43 and Conor McCormack, Brooklyn Winery. Event tickets are $125 ($110 early bird, through July 9). VIP tickets, which include a pre-dinner guided wine and beer tasting, are $250 ($225 early bird, through July 9). There will be an Ommegang After-Party at Brooklyn Bowl for $25. All tickets must be purchased in advance: tasteofthemarcellus.eventbrite.com
Fracking, a highly industrialized form of extracting natural gas from shale, is already in widespread use in more than 30 states, including Pennsylvania, where it is putting farms out of business, poisoning the water supply and causing illness in humans and livestock. Governor Cuomo, who lifted a moratorium on fracking in New York State in 2011, is close to allowing drilling in the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation that covers a large area of the mid-Atlantic region, including much of New York’s southern tier.
