Blog

Originally published at World Ark.

I used to be a biker. Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But I did own a motorcycle. In divinity school back in the late '90s, I rode a Honda Nighthawk. Back then I was a bad boy among the pious, a rebel in a black leather jacket who thought he was challenging the seminary status quo. My biking career was short-lived, though. I had a nasty wreck on a friend's motorcycle that left my right side Flayed, my ego bruised and my wallet empty. Eventually I sold the motorcycle. But my inner seminarian never entirely displaced my inner biker.

When I learned that a group of bikers from a nearby town—members of a "biker church" no less—were starting a feeding ministry called The Giving Table, a social enterprise model that joins local farmers, churches and the hungry, I knew I had to meet them. I called up Dwight "Bubba" Smith, an associate pastor at Crossfire United Methodist Church who manages the church's feeding ministries. Smith told me to come up for their big "Jesus Rocks" motorcycle rally. They would be doing a free barbecue lunch for the hungry that day, and maybe we could even visit one of their partner farms.

On the First Saturday in May last year, I got out my old leather jacket, pulled on my leather boots and, in a sad attempt to earn myself some street cred with the...

Dear Whoopi Goldberg,

It’s time to get your (sister) act together.

As an African American woman, my association with you is already tenuous given how I am still healing, or perhaps reeling, from the infamous incident of you dressing your then-boyfriend Ted Danson in black face for a roast and then later admitting to helping him write the racist script.  This of course, is after you adopted a Jewish name to get ahead but yet pick up the African American mantle when it’s convenient.

But your recent rants on The View which can only be categorized as anti-breastfeeding and anti-truth don’t help any women at all, instead they only fuel the misplaced anger and hostility that unfortunately already cloud an important public health issue-an issue that could save millions of infant lives and bolster the health of millions of mothers.

Most importantly, you have a powerful and influential position yet you show negligent disrespect for that with your utter disregard for the facts before one of your riffs. Now, I strongly believe and agree that a mother should choose which first food is best for her and her baby. But supporting breastfeeding is not about removing choice, it’s about leveling the playing field which has, for decades, been tilted in favor of the big pharmaceutical companies that produce infant formula...

First published at Mochamanual.com.

True story. A high-level hospital administrator gets ready to start a meeting with the nursing staff of the neo-natal unit—the men and women who care for the hospital’s most precious arrivals. As the meeting sets to commence, several staffers say, we can’t start the meeting without “Phil”  (*names changed to protect the guilty and shameless). As everyone agrees Phil should be at the meeting the administrator can’t recall a staffer named Phil. She thought she was having a senior moment. Turns out, Phil is the infant formula rep. Not a hospital staffer.

But Phil had so cleverly insinuated himself into the culture of the neo-natal care unit that he was viewed as part of the team, someone’s whose input should be considered in administrative decisions.

Pause for WTH moment.

Sadly, the more I talk and travel and interview and ask and discover and observe, the more common these stories are.

Truth is, the pharmaceutical companies want your baby hooked on their infant formula whether you want to or not. And hospitals, who, given the state of America’s health should be focused on providing superior healthcare are instead serving as a marketing vehicle for the drug...

Food systems are big and controlled by powerful interests. To overcome inertia and realize a healthier, more just food system will take the strength of numbers. Professional associations can not only bring numbers, but also the resources of their staff and combined membership.

Dr. David Wallinga, Senior Advisor in Science, Food and Health at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, will provide a big-picture perspective on "talking food systems" with health professional organizations like the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association. He will discuss their increasing involvement in food systems issues, such as the Farm Bill and the use of antibiotics.

Angie Tagtow, a registered dietitian and environmental nutritionist, will share her experiences, strategies and successes for cultivating sustainable and accessible food and water systems concepts and competencies within the 72,000-strong Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association).

IATP Food and Community Fellow Cheryl Danley of the Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State shares her experience engaging young scholars of color in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), a national association with 72 chapters at grant universities from 38 states and one of the most diverse organizations of its kind.

Join our panelists for a discussion on the important role of professional associations in creating food systems change. This webinar is brought to you by Healthy...