How Good Can It Get?

Apparently there is such a thing as a free lunch, or at least a free magazine subscription. For now, donate $20 to one of the pre-selected non-profits and get a six-month subscription to this new 'zine. With a great mix of humor (Gary "I'm no Russian Debutante" Shteyngart writes about why he loves America) and political commentary (detailed maps show the crazy carvings of gerrymandering in this fine nation of ours) GOOD succeeds where most magazines about the good, the bad, and the ugly of our country fail. It's not too sappy or too earnest. It's not painfully, but downright artfully, designed. It's hip, but not so hip that it makes you feel like you've been holed up in a cave for a decade.

Edible Feast Dines in Brooklyn

Everyone is always shocked to hear about a farm in Red Hook, Brooklyn. But growing up on raised beds on top of an old concrete baseball diamond is the beautiful Red Hook Community Farm, run by Added Value.

We dined in the fields last night with the youth who work on the farm, their friends and families, and commuity leaders and Parks Dep't folks who have been supporters of the project. (Oh, and the crew from The Endless Feast wandered among us with their mics and cameras, capturing it all on tape).

The weather added the drama. Predicted thunderstorms and winds turned out to be an intense sky that kept changing--and a stressed out production team. In the end, everything worked like magic and Laurent's concoctions from all the local foods (and beer) was divine.

The beautiful pics below are courtesy Phil @ Digital Horizons.

Diners at the Added Value/Endless Feast dinner

The production team peppers local community leaders with questions and the farm.

Ian Marvy (co-founder, Added Value) and chef Laurent from the delicious ICI.

Bryant and me with youth from Added Value. After a GREAT meal!
The gorgeous Ludie Minaya (of Conscious Cravers) and me at the feast.

Madison, Mollie Katzen, and the Biggest Farmers Market Ever

Just finished up a fun, fun, fun weekend here in Madison, Wisconsin. (I'm writing this blog from the kind of cafe I wish we had more of in New York City: Big, airy, with lots of folks studying, talking, reading.) I was brought out here to join in the 8th Annual Food for Thought Festival. My first time at the Festival was in 2000 when my mother presented with Jose Bove and I got stung by a yellow jacket and spent the rest of my time doped on Benadryl diligently trying every farmer's remedy for a bee sting.

This year, I presented with Mollie Katzen (of Moosewood Cookbook fame). Mollie has a new book out with one of my all-time public health heroes, Dr. Walter Willett, called Eat, Drink, & Lose Weight. (One thing I learned on this trip: If Mollie ever wants to give up her career as a multi-million copy cookbook author, she could always go into stand-up comedy. She had us all in stitches.) We were joined by Wisconsin farmer Jim Goodman, who is an articulate voice for sane and sustainable food and farm policy -- and pretty darn funny in his own right.

The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Mess in Iraq

I'm proud to announce I've just joined the board of one of my all-time favorite organizations, the Center for Media and Democracy. For those of you who have read Grub, you'll know my indebtedness to the Center's work in exposing the public relations strategies of the chemical, biotech, and food industry that have kept so many of us in the dark about the truth about our food. I'll be sure to keep you posted in Center news. For now, I wanted to let you know about their latest book, The Best War Ever. Check out their short online video that gives you an overview of the book and the lies that got us into the mess we're in.

The Nation Does Food

I've been working this summer as a consulting editor on a Nation magazine issue on food... and it just hit newsstands. The issue includes a forum with Alice Waters. Waters asked leading thinkers about food, How do we fix our dysfunctional relationship with food? Eric Schlosser, Marion Nestle, Peter Singer and others, weigh in. (See One Thing to Do About Food: A Forum). Nation contributor Liza Featherstone takes on the Wal-Mart/Organic question and my mom explores the idea of food as a human right. Check out the whole issue for all of the great articles and visit this link to see my version of Monopoly: MONSANTOPOLY.
Thanks to all of you who helped with ideas and submissions! If you'd like copies of the issue, we might have some available. Please be in touch via email.

Hey Voters (that means you) Let Your Elected Officials Know You Eat (and You Care)

This November, let your elected officials know you're voting with food on your mind. Our friends at the Organic Consumers Association have put together a voting guide for you. Check it out here to learn more.

The Endless Feast Begins

Bryant and I are excited to be part of the first season of a 13-part series for PBS about... food, sustianable farming, and supporting your local farmers. Called Endless Feast, the episodes will showcase farmers in different regions of North America. Already, I've met incredible farmers and food justice and sustainability activists in Canada and the U.S. (We've roped in friends for the show, too, including Bryant's former colleague from b-healthy, Elizabeth Johnson).
This is Elizabeth and me in Virginia after visiting Polyface Farm, immortalized in The Omnivore's Dilemma.

My Brother, His Shooting War

If you haven't seen it yet, check out some of the final installments of my brother Anthony's Shooting War, a graphic novel set in the near future in Iraq. He just got a publishing deal, so check for the full-length version coming to a bookstore near you, soon.

Want to stay abreast of what you need to know about the latest news? Take a look at his blog, here. He posts to it almost every day. It's my first stop to get a handle on what we should be paying attention to.