This past weekend, I witnessed hundreds of volunteers working in a very tangible way to take back the food system for a community. The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” This was a stride. Two high schools in Richmond, Calif in the [...]

On Tuesday, while working on my capstone research, I delivered some Healthy Monday pedometers to the participants of a food survey at the school. The incentive for taking the survey as part of the “control” group in my study was this item from the Healthy Monday program. The students were extremely excited and [...]

When I first arrived in Amsterdam, I was thrilled to see that there was a good-sized and well-stocked organic market on the corner of the street I was staying on. I immediately saw that the awareness of and demand for biological (organic) foods was widespread. I saw organic markets littering many neighborhoods in Amsterdam, along [...]

I recently attended the lecture series at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  The topic of the talk was urban agriculture.  What I found most interesting was that the lecture series was targeted at architects, planners and builders; even though the topic seemed to be directed at the sustainable food movement.  I think this [...]

On the recommendation of a friend, I had to good fortune to attended the Baltimore Food Makers monthly potluck this Saturday to share home-grown, home-preserved and home-made food with a group of ~30 “food makers.”  Before eating we all gathered around the spread of food and each maker discussed with zeal his or her dish– covering [...]

Yesterday I spotted a segment on the China Central Television (CCTV) web site describing the vegetarian restaurant scene in China and the emergence of a low-carbon diet trend. Meat consumption has risen dramatically in China in the last few decades; research by Barry Popkin at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and others [...]

Last week I discussed why obesity experts, such as Drs. Kelly Brownell and David Kessler, believe highly processed foods are leading to excessive overeating. Until healthier unprocessed foods are more readily available and affordable, today I want to focus on one way we can thwart the cravings believed to be triggered by eating foods engineered [...]

I’d like to expand a little on my recent interview for a CNN piece by Elizabeth Landau entitled “Farmed or wild fish: Which is healthier?”
At face value, this question can partialy be answered by comparing the nutritional content in farmed and wild fish and weighing the health benefits of fish consumption against the risks of [...]

Charm City government leaders are following the lead of the Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) and fully embracing the Meatless Monday campaign. Members of the the Mayor’s office, city employees and BCPS officials visited Hampstead Hill Academy this Monday to serve students meat-free meals. According to city officials the  event was organized to highlight the importance [...]

The latest posting by FoodforeThought summarizes recent debate in the United Kingdom about the role of genetically modified (GM) crops in planning for future food security. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) report, Food 2030 was released at the Oxford Farming Conference. The comments below by William Surman captured the mood of [...]