Cultivating a
Better Food System
in 2013!
by Danielle Nierenberg & Ellen Gustafson
As we head into 2013, let’s resolve to fix our
food system.
With nearly 1 billion people still hungry and
another billion suffering from the effects of being overweight and obese, it’s a resolution we
can’t afford to break.
We have the tools—let’s use them in 2013!
Growing the Cities: Food production doesn’t
only happen in fields or factories. Nearly one
billion people worldwide produce food in cities. In Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, farmers are growing seeds of Indigenous vegetables
and selling them to rural farmers. At Bell Book
& Candle restaurant in New York, customers are served rosemary, cherry tomatoes,
romaine, and other produce grown from the
restaurant’s aeroponic rooftop garden.
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Creating Better Access: People’s Grocery in
Oakland and Fresh Moves in Chicago bring
mobile grocery stores to food deserts, giving
low-income consumers opportunities to make
healthy food choices. Instead of chips and
soda, they provide customers with affordable
organic produce, not typically available in their
communities.
Eating Healthier Food: Food writer Michael
Pollan advises not to eat anything that your
grandparents wouldn’t recognize. Try eating
more fruits, vegetables, and whole foods without preservatives and other additives.
Cooking More: Home economics classes have
declined in schools, and young people lack
basic cooking skills. Celebrity Chef Jamie
Olive