Recently, Tom Philpott wrote an article for Grist titled: "Acknowledging Women's Role in the Sustainable Food Movement" and after reading it, I felt inspired to reiterate some of what he wrote. While the sustainable food movement does have a group of men in the spotlight (Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, etc) the voices and names of the women in the movement are becoming more and more recognizable every day.
Personally, I find myself so drawn to this topic because most of my biggest role-models in sustainable food are women.-Firstly, I have my mom to thank for introducing me to farming and gardening at our home in suburban Boston. She is the one who first taught me how to plant a seed, help it grow, harvest the food, and compost the rest. Thanks mom.
-I learned the principles and practices of Permaculture from a woman named Joanna Pearsall, who is co-creator and organizer of the New Zealand EcoShow, a conference to bring together sustainability professionals. She is also an integral member of the New Zealand permaculture movement, and much more!
-I was inspired by the grit and determination I witnessed in Ann Cure, who co-taught an Agro-Ecology course I took during my BA at the Naropa University. Ann used to be the farm manager for the university-owned educational farm in Boulder CO, until the school's board of trustees decided to sell the farm to free up some cash to finish building the MFA facilities elsewhere... Personally, I left Naropa's environmental studies program after the sale of Hedgerow Farm. Ann lost her job at the farm, but she didn't even flinch. She went out, found the financing, and bought her own farm, Cure Organic Farm, which she runs to this day. She continues to provide educational opportunities to children in the Boulder area, along with delicious organic food to high-class restaurants and at the farmer's market.
-After Boulder, I moved to Oakland CA, where I was lucky enough to meet Temra Costa, who was then program director of CAFF (Community Alliance with Family Farms). I was inspired by her commitment to sustainable food, and then totally wowed when she released her book "Farmer Jane"
which is all about the ways women are changing the food system. On her website, Temra writes: "As farmers, moms, businesswomen, chefs, and activists, women are changing the way we eat and farm. They are the fastest growing demographic to own and operate sustainable farms, comprise the largest percentage of sustainable agriculture nonprofit employees, own sustainable food businesses, cook the majority of household meals, and control household budgets. “Farmer Janes” are creating a more healthful, sane, and sustainable food system for present and future generations."
-Another influential woman I encountered in California was Alice Waters. Her work as a chef led her to focus on where her food came from, and well beyond. I was lucky enough to spend some time at the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, and witness what growing a garden can do to change the way a child sees the world. Inspired by Alice and her work, I went and taught a gardening class at a small elementary school in San Leandro where the kids and I built up a beautiful and fruitful garden.
-I work with a company providing information, products, and equipment to the growing agriculture movement increasingly known as 'Biological Agriculture' which focuses on managing the microbial communities in the soil and on plants. The technology is amazing, and stands to put Monsanto out of a job. This technology, and the scientific approach to its agricultural applications, has come from Dr. Elaine Ingham, now president of Soil Foodweb Inc. I attended an educational workshop of hers after listening to her lectures on CD, and my life has never been the same since. In fact, I decided to pursue a master's degree in business to be able to figure out a way to bring these technologies to the world!
-Currently, my inspiration from Dr Ingham has led me to a very interesting project I am developing. I am working on a way to assist in breaking the cycle of chemical dependency in rural Indian agriculture. In my research, I have repeatedly come across the work of Dr Vandana Shiva (not to mention really enjoying her books Soil not Oil
, Stolen Harvest
, Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development. Also, be sure to catch her interviews in films like Dirt: The Movie
, The Corporation
, and Blue Gold
). Not to be overwhelming, but she also founded Navdanya, an organization networking, training, educating, and facilitating people working toward sustainable food in India (oh, and did I mention that Navdanya is a woman-centric organization and has a branch called Diverse Women for Diversity?)So, without going further (and I assure you I could!), it is abundantly clear to me that women are back when it comes to sustainable food, or maybe they never left and we just haven't been hearing about them. In his Grist article, Philpott (actually his girlfriend) made the observation that: "the whole "vote with your fork" ethos that has dominated the food movement for decades is arguably a permutation of one of '70s-era feminism's central insights: "The personal is political." Lets keep that mentality moving!
In conclusion, it is clear to me, at least in my own path and development, that women have played a major role in leading me to where I am today in sustainable agriculture and food systems. Lets all try to find ways to recognize the women in ag who are shaping the next generation of food producers around the world. To my woman readers: what ways can I, as a man, help to support, promote and recognize the critical role women are playing in the food system?
Renewed in my gratitude to the women in my life who have helped to shape my perception of what a sustainable food system looks like, I'll end this post. Hopefully I'll be coming back to this topic less as a way to point out the unrecognized women of ag, and more to celebrate a wide-reaching public perception of women as an obviously powerful force in our food system.
Here's to the ladies!
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