Civil Eats

Big Ag is big business–and big profits. And when anyone raises questions about the billions of tax dollars lavished on the largest industrial growers of corn, soybeans and other commodity crops or points out the harm that these perverse incentives do to the environment, Big Ag’s lackeys lash out.

But bullying your critics and worried consumers is not always the best public relations strategy. Sometimes you need to cultivate the softer sell. Read More

We featured Lisa’s ideas back in July [Work with Passion: Four Reasons Why Blending Business and Life Rocks for Women in Agriculture] as a part of our support of Farmer Jane. As the work of women farmers continues to gain attention, we wanted to learn more about this dynamic woman who champions the voices of women farmers and ecopreneurs from her bucolic Wisconsin bed and breakfast. Lisa is also a Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow specializing in the role of women in agriculture and speaks on the subject frequently.

What issues have you been focused on?

I work on a diversity of issues under the sustainability umbrella. My family and I run Inn Serendipity, a diversified farm and bed and breakfast and grow our own food and food for the business. We specialize in a 10-feet breakfast, from the garden to the B&B plate. Read More

Join Kitchen Table Talks and CUESA for a conversation about the contributions of women farmers, producers, advocates, and activists. Temra Costa will speak about the women she interviewed for her new book, Farmer Jane, and a panel of women who work in the food system including Sarajane Snyder from Green Gulch Farm and Il Cane Rosso’s Chef Lauren Kiino, will delve into ideas of women’s work, the joy of being in the dirt, and the ways women juggle home, family, community, and other endeavors as they plant, till, sell, and promote their wares.

We’ll gather Wednesday night, June 9, in the Port Commission Hearing Room at the Ferry Building, 2nd Floor at 6:30 pm. The event is free though donations are always appreciated. Please RSVP here to reserve your seat.

Kitchen Table Talks is a joint venture of CivilEats and 18 Reasons, a non-profit that promotes conversation between its San Francisco Mission neighborhood and the people who feed them. Space is limited, so please RSVP. A $10 suggested donation is requested at the door, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Farmers’ market-sourced food and refreshments will be provided, courtesy of Bi-Rite Market.

Temra Costa is a sustainable food and farming advocate and author of Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat. Civil Eats will feature her profiles of some of America’s women farmers and food advocates over the coming weeks.

Farmer Jane caught up with newly appointed Executive Director of People’s Grocery, Nikki Henderson, to get the inside scoop on what brought this dynamic woman to the West Coast from Brooklyn. As Executive Director, Nikki will be spending her time working to address one of the most important questions of the food movement: How can the sustainable food movement increase the health and well-being of economically disadvantaged people? In Nikki’s case, the people of West Oakland. Read More

The New York Times ran a special food-themed issue of its Sunday magazine a week back. It was kicked off by a fine piece by Mark Bittman, who observed quite rightly that the conversation being had in the magazine’s pages reflects America’s new, and healthy, interest in what they’re eating. Read More