Big, volunteer-powered projects like the Victory Garden have the potential to unleash a wave of human energy. I could feel this energy during the event — there’s a desire to make things happen.

San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newson sat down with chef, food activist, and Slow Food International vice president Alice Waterso to help publicize Slow Food Nation, a giant celebration of food, farming, and culture that is coming to San Francisco on Labor Day weekend in late August.

It’s one of the ironies of our food system that here in Kansas, one of the largest agriculture states in the union, we don’t have a whole lot of local food. It doesn’t have to be that way. What’s more, a turnaround in that situation is a good economic development plan.
That was the message that […]

To introduce people in the Lawrence area to local meats — including many that are not from cattle — the Downtown Lawrence Farmers Market had its third annual “Local Meat: It’s What’s for Dinner” promotion and demonstration this past weekend.

The word “sustainability” came up a lot at the Sustainable Food Institute portion of the Cooking for Solutions 2008 shindig held last week at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And when I say a lot, I mean practically each minute. But thanks to six incredibly substantive panel discussions, several solo speakers, and all the informal conversations, I have a new respect for — and new ways of thinking about — what had previously seemed like a hollowed-out, meaningless abstraction.

Here in the United States alone, more than 170,000 children aged 12-17 — and that’s the legally hired number, estimates of the real number put it closer to 430,000 — are exempt from federal protective child-labor laws. That means they can work in 100-degree fields for six to seven days a week, 10 hours a day, for far less than minimum wage. They do so to help their families survive.

Could native foods be the next big thing in eating? Some people, Gary Nabhan in particular, are working to push things in that direction.

Tomorrow night (Monday, March 31) I’m moderating a discussion about making environmentally conscious food choices, sponsored by CUESA. It’s a pretty great panel — all women, incidentally:

Helene York, Director of Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation and Project Director of the company’s Low Carbon Diet program
Gail Feenstra, Food Systems Analyst at the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research […]

There was plenty of positive energy and discussion of the food and agriculture connection yesterday at the opening of the three-day Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program’s 20th anniversary conference, held this year in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 800 people were expected to attend, and even more that had been interested but planners […]

Last week marked the largest proportion of climate change naysayers gathered in one place since Dick Cheney walked into an empty room. Volunteers at the entrance to the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, screened people as they presented their ticket.
“Do you believe in global warming?”
“It sure is cold out today. I should have […]

The event last night in Vacaville with Michael Pollan went really well, I think. About 300 people showed up. I was able to ask most of my questions, many of yours, and quite a few of the audience’s. Most importantly, I didn’t trip, fall out of my chair, or spill my (ahem, bottled) water […]

On Thursday I’ll be interviewing Michael Pollan about his latest book, “In Defense of Food,” on stage in Vacaville, CA, as part of a fundraiser for Slow Food Solano and the Solano County Library Foundation. It will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing by Pollan.

As evidence that sustainable agriculture is hotter than a compost pile in July, the 28th annual Ecological Farming Conference known to all as Eco-Farm — from which I’ve just returned — completely sold out in record time. More than 1,500 farmers, ranchers, educators, and activists descended on Asilomar, the conference center set in a beautiful oceanside national park near Monterey, CA. Here, a few attendees tell why they were there.

On Wednesday, January 16, at 12 p.m., the California state legislature is holding a hearing to consider reversing — or at least amending — AB 1735, the sneaky Oct. 8 change to California’s Food and Agricultural Code that would basically shut down the production of raw-milk in the state. It is absolutely critical that everyone who cares about real food show up.

Michael Pollan is touring extensively for “In Defense of Food,” appearing at bookstores and lecture halls all over the country.