So much coverage of food politics tends towards elitism, or at least luxury: what we can and should be buying. Mine certainly does - I've been blogging lately about my Whole Foods boycott, and before that I think I wrote something about organic cheese. But there is a much broader movement out there towards food democracy: the effort to ensure healthy food for everyone, and to change our global food systems so that we all have more control over what we grow, buy and eat. In short: It's bigger than my hot bar organic Indian lunch, and that's easy to forget.
I'm proud, then, to be flacking (it's my day job) The Nation's special issue that's out this week - "Food for All".
It's our second "food" issue in three years, but this one looks closely at what kinds of changes are needed to "democratize" food; at some of the current battle lines in food activism; and at ways everyone can get involved. There are two top tens (break up The Nation!) one about ten ways to support community gardening, by the great Walter Mosley, and the other about ten great ways to improve our food system. Also?
- There is a forum with luminaries like Alice Waters and Blue Hill's Dan Barber;
- a great slideshow about a sustainable farming revival in one of America's poorest counties;
- pieces from Michael Pollan and Anna Lappe (on dining hall campus activism!);
- a survey of key food safety legislation moving forward;
- and, since it's The Nation and we like to stir up trouble, a look at the work of the Gates Foundation fighting hunger in Africa, and if their approach is the right way forward.
I'll just link to the main page for the whole issue -- if you are into food and food politics, there should be something for you. It's an effort at surveying the "food activism" landscape in a more comprehensive way and I wanted to share it with HuffPost readers; you tell me how we've done in the comments.