Over at Grist, Bonnie Azab Powell reports that farmers markets are growing like weeds all over the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 6,132 farmers markets in the United States, a 16% increase from last year and a 214% increase from 2000. California leads the charge with 580 markets, followed by New York, Illinois, and Michigan. However, only one sixth of......read more
We're a month into the new year. If you're a student, that means it's due time to start figuring out gainful employment for the summer. Sucks, we know, but you can't just laze away four months in the sun. What you can do is work at something meaningful and productive in the name of local, sustainable food. Helene York, of Bon-Appetit, a sustainable food services company, has compiled a nice and......read more
We are in the midst of a food revolution. Urban farms are popping up all over the place. Wal-Mart is buying local, sustainable produce. Even the White House growing its own vegetables. Organic is the new conventional. This week, our friends at NRDC announced the winners of their 2011 Growing Green Awards, recognizing the incredible work being done to transform the future of our food system. The......read more
In theory, there aren't too many people opposed to the idea of sustainability -- especially as it relates to food. But for all the people who agree that sustainable food is a good thing, there are just as many definitions of what it means. "Sustainability" is as ambiguous as it is appealing. That issue was addressed by a panel of experts at last week's Food Summit hosted by The Atlantic.......read more
Anna Mia Davidson is an acclaimed documentary photographer whose editorial clients include The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Anna's personal interest in sustainability and rural America led her to travel around the Pacific Northwest, shooting farmers of organic food. "These individuals represent the resurgence of sustainable farmers in the Pacific Northwest, who are passionate,......read more
A new documentary about the U.S. food system hit its first round of theatres this month. American Meat, directed by Graham Merriwether, documents the lives of dozens of American farmers producing both industrially and sustainably raised meat. The film's main subject is Joel Salatin, a pasture-based pork rancher featured in Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Salatin has started producing......read more
To most of us, the sustainable food movement is a relatively recent phenomenon. But to chef/author/food activist Alice Waters, it began four decades ago, before "sustainability" was even a word. That's when she opened Chez Panisse, the Berkeley eatery that helped pioneer the now-popular concept of serving local, organic, seasonal food. Over the last forty years, Waters and Chez Panisse have......read more
From biodynamic to dolphin-safe, free range to grass fed, there are enough food labels out there to make your head spin. Any product can slap on a label with an environmental claim, but not all labels are created equal. Audobon Magazine cooked up a nice and simple breakdown of what labels have a leg to stand on, and which aren't much more than pasture-raised B.S. Third-party labels are the most......read more
The latest food rage that's sweeping the nation is taking place underground. Clandestine dinners are one-off events held at secret locations, where in-the-know guests rub elbows with like-minded diners. Next week, Stag Dining Group, Cocktail Lab, and FAIR. Spirits team up with SHFT at Sundance (in conjunction with Ford and W Residences Hollywood) to bring a shared......read more
The Hudson Valley in upstate New York is known for small-scale agriculture, making the town of Hudson a perfect place for a restaurant that sources all of its food from nearby farmers. Dan Gibson, a local farmer, thinks so. Gibson just opened Grazin', a diner that takes "farm-to-table" ideas seriously. The first restaurant in the USA to be certified Animal Welfare Approved, Grazin'......read more