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First published on Civil Eats

Through a very sophisticated mathematical calculation, I have figured out that I have baked 1,532 cupcakes, cookies and little gooey pecan thingies for school bake sales. I hated every minute, but I did my tour of duty. And yes, I cheered when the last of my kids hit middle school and it became uncool for his mom to show up with cupcakes for any reason. But even I am horrified that bake sales are on the chopping block in the fight against childhood obesity. Bake sales? Really?

In New York, school officials are working to create a policy that would limit bake sales. In an effort to reduce childhood obesity, they are looking to ban baked good sales from schools, with the exception of one day per month or after 6 p.m. when very few people are around to buy or sell their wares. Instead, PTAs and other groups will be allowed to sell fresh fruits and vegetables along with some packaged items that are on the district’s list of healthy snacks.  Doritos are on the list. A chocolate chip cookie baked by Grandma, not so much.

I had a heated discussion about this issue with one of my young, zealous friends who is almost always a food buzz killer.  “But don’t you think that schools can raise just as much money if they sell carrots...

Originally published on Worldwatch Institute Nourishing the Planet.  Check out Fred Bahnson's other recent posts on agroecology in Mexico and Cuba.

Our Man in Havana: Sustainable Agriculture Thrives in Cuba

Miguel Salcines Lopez is a farmer of the 21st century. With a stylish jean jacket and rakish cowboy hat adorning his six-foot frame, Miguel looks more like a Cuban John Wayne than a stooped, tired farmer. That’s part of his game: he wants to make agriculture attractive, especially to the younger generation.

Miguel is the president of Organoponico Vivero Alamar, Havana’s largest and most successful organic garden. Actually, at 11 hectares, it’s more of an urban farm than a garden. Recently, I visited Vivero Alamar with several other Kellogg Food & Society fellows. “In the past,” Miguel told us, “agriculture in Cuba was demonized. People preferred to do anything but agriculture.” But today, Cuban farmers—especially urban farmers—have become respected members of...

IATP Food and Society Fellow Sean Sellers is on the road with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as part of a Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum traveling across the state.  The museum consists of a cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), accompanied by displays on the history and evolution of slavery in Florida.

The museum's central focus is on the phenomenon of modern-day slavery – its roots, the reasons it persists, and its solutions. The exhibits were developed in consultation with workers who have escaped from forced labor operations as well as leading academic authorities on slavery and labor history in Florida.

According to a preview story by the Fort Meyers News-Press, the hot, cluttered space inside the 24-foot cargo truck is a replica of the one the Navarretes--a group of field bosses for some of Florida's biggest tomato fields-- used before they went to federal prison in 2008 with slavery charges. The story makes those cheap tomatoes impossible to swallow: "After promising the Mexican and Guatemalan men work, Navarrete family members confiscated their IDs, tied,...

If you had to pick ten of the most inspiring people in sustainable food, who would that be?  Well, a best-selling author (Michael Pollan), an Oscar-nominated movie director (Robert Kenner) and a celebrity chef (Jamie Oliver) are all obvious choices. But who are you going to pick that has been really working on the ground and closing the loop between food production and consumption?

I'm delighted to say that two fellows are included in Fast Company's list of inspiring people. Deborah Kane, vice president of Food and Farms at EcoTrust, spearheaded the creation of FoodHub, an online service that connects food buyers with the bounty of locally grown foods in the Pacific Northwest. And Roger Doiron, director of Kitchen Gardeners International,  was included on the list for his incredible organizing effort to get a kitchen garden on the White House lawn. 

Deborah and Roger are developing on-the-ground systems and inspiring people to eat better, grow their own food, and advocate for better food and agriculture policies. Congratulations to both of them, as well as all of the IATP Food...