Last Sunday’s NYTimes magazine was dedicated to examining issues around the international rising cost of (cheap) food and it’s consequences: obesity at home, and malnutrition abroad. There are a series of interesting articles about the broad topic,  everything from a letter from Michael Pollan to “Mr.President-Elect” about food policy,an article about the complexities, politics and implications of  “Vietnamese catfish”,  and a piece by Mark Bittman, who ruminates on a question I have been thinking a lot about recently: “Why Take Food Seriously?”. My favorite article so far is the interactive piece called Inside the Fridge of a Foodie, where “five food leaders talk about the eating habits that fuel their professional pursuits.” There’s also a related piece, Food Fighters, that showcases seven young food justice advocates.

In all, the articles are extremely timely and approach the issue of food justice from some unique perspectives. Definitely worth checking out.

see you there?

click for more info

the green…what?

While we’re on the topic of growing food, I thought I’d mention something I came across a few weeks ago. The Greenhorns is a film directed by Severine Fleming, a graduate of Pomona college, that “explores the lives of America’s young farming community.” While the film hasn’t been released yet, the topic remains a relevant one considering that a. I don’t know any 20-35 year old is interested in farming as a career (and I challenge you to find one) and b. farming, while deeply rooted in the history and making of the U.S., is pretty much a dead field. As of September 2007, less than 1% of the American population claim farming as an occupation. It seems like the film will address these issues while simultaneously showing the profile of the New American Farmer, certainly a demographic far below anyone’s radar. Are they the Farmer Brown types, a piece of hay dangling out of their mouths as they explain the milking habits of their Holstein cows in a southern drawl? Where do they come from? What are their fears in entering a dying career? Why do they farm? As an amateur gardener and food enthusiast, I’m excited to see this film shed light on the new generation of young, revolutionary green thumbs.

(links to The Greenhorns’ site is to the right…their blog is worth a peep too)

Also, this is an interesting article about the resurgence of (young) farmers in the New York Times.