Civil Eats

Wouldn’t it be great if eight-year-olds immediately thought of a banana, instead of a bag of chips, when they wanted a snack? In the decade that I have been involved with school food here in San Francisco, we have added salad bars in all our middle and high schools, replaced juice with fresh fruit at breakfast, and added fresh fruit daily at lunch.

But it is still a hard sell to get some kids to take and eat the fresh produce, because it just isn’t in the mindset of many inner city kids, who may rarely if ever see a fresh vegetable or piece of fruit at home, or in the corner store. Meanwhile they see thousands of commercials a year for junk food, which is available everywhere. Read More

Last week, I opened my copy of the New Yorker, and stumbled upon an ad for agricultural seed and chemical giant Monsanto.  “How can we squeeze more food from a raindrop?” the ad asks, above photos of corn and soybean seeds.  Then below, “Our goal is to develop seeds that significantly increase crop yields and can help use 1/3 less water per unit produced.  Producing more.  Conserving more.  Improving farmer’s lives.  That’s sustainable agriculture.  And that’s what Monsanto seeds are all about.” Read More