Our food system is broken, and it's endangering what's most precious to us: our environment, our health, our soil and water, and our future. In recent years, a host of books and films have compellingly documented the dangers. But advice on what to do about them largely begins and ends with the admonition to eat local” or eat organic.”
Longtime good food pioneer Oran Hesterman knows that we can't fix the broken system simply by changing what's on our own plates: the answer lies beyond the kitchen. InFair Foodhe shares an inspiring and practical vision for changing not only what we eat, but how food is grown, packaged, delivered, marketed, and sold. He introduces people and organizations across the country who are already doing this work in a number of creative ways, and provides a wealth of practical information for readers who want to get more involved.
Dr. Oran B. Hestermanis the president and CEO of Fair Food Network. For fifteen years he co-led the Integrated Farming Systems and Food and Society Programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A native of Berkeley, California, and a former professor of agronomy at Michigan State University in East Lansing, he currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Civil Eats,June 1, 2011Unless you travel in food policy or agronomy circles, you probably haven't heard of Oran Hesterman. It's time you had. Hesterman, who runs the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based nonprofit Fair Food Network, has written a book that just might wake you up and get you to care about what's going on with the food you eat and how it gets to your table.
Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for Allis what Hesterman is talking about, and I've got to admit, this reporter covering food news cracked open his book (which landed in bookstores yesterday) a tad wary. Would this highly educated and well-meaning agronomist-activist lâ