For the eighth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by Locavore, the newest restaurant at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2014."

This morning, Growing Power's third National-International Urban Agriculture & Small Farm Conference announced two speakers – renowned food writers and thinkers Will Allen and Michael Pollan – for the opening night of the three-day event, held this year at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. The conference begins Friday, Nov. 7 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 9. 

Pollan is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, with works including the books "Cooked" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto." He's a James Beard Award winner for best food writing, as well as a well known speaker and New York Magazine contributor about food and agriculture.

Meanwhile, Allen is a farmer, the author of "The Good Food Revolution" and the founder/CEO of the event's host Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based national nonprofit and land trust with the mission to support people of diverse backgrounds and their environments by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high quality, safe and affordable food. 

Both men were named by Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people back in 2010. 

Moderated by writer and longtime Wisconsin Public Radio host Jean Feraca, the opening day conversation between Pollan and Allen will discuss the food movement, social justice, the politics that surround the food we eat and grow, and the current food system overall. 

The rest of the conference will hit on a wide range of topics, including urban aquaculture, urban farming, youth, government, education, fundraising, food and technology, food policy, Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative (GFJI) and food and farming around the world. 

Growing Power first held the National-International Urban Agriculture & Small Farm Conference back in 2010 with nearly 1,500 participants – including farmers, renewable energy experts, urban planners, corporate executives, politicians, chefs, academics, microbiologists and more – from across the world.

Tickets and more information about the conference are available at Growing Power's website.