Growing Together
Food Systems Research
With three book projects completed and a fourth underway, deep dives compel me, especially when they involve finding solutions to complex problems and sharing the possibilities with as many diverse audiences as possible. Working with hundreds of undergraduates and graduate students on research projects has helped me keep my eye on the horizon for new ideas, fresh visions, and a diversity of perspectives in tackling food systems issues around the world. Collaborations with regional food systems initiatives and business sector players have complemented and stretched my academic understanding in ways that have shaped a more nuanced understanding of levers (and impediments) for change.
Unfortunately, those of us who advocate for organic, regenerative, fair, and just food systems still have a long ways to go in transforming that advocacy into widespread food systems transformation. Part of that transformation involves bringing together people who seldom share the same table or perspectives in order to find collective opportunities for positive change–a role I find particularly important and meaningful.
Integrated Farm & Food Systems Education
“Either/Or Education” will not get us far in food systems transformation. An “All/And” approach is key to any successes we have in advancing farm and food systems education. Onsite, online, hybridized–whether education happens more in the classroom, on the farm, or virtually, the more we do to integrate the approaches, the greater the impact on students, communities, policymakers, and business interests.
With decades of experience developing a 23-acre organic education farm, the nation’s first online graduate program in food systems, a highly-successful undergraduate curriculum in sustainable agriculture, professional education courses, and food systems study tours, I believe personal transformation underpins food systems transformation. Education isn’t always the answer, but it tends to be the first critical step in generating voice and vision. Curricular innovation, educational farm design, local purchasing for dining halls, engaging education for professionals–I’m a passionate proponent of outside-the-box ambitions.
Study Tours: Brunnenburg Castle & Agricultural Museum
Located in the South Tirol province of the Italian Alps, Brunnenburg Castle & Agricultural Museum is home base for customized study tours that delve into the farming traditions and foodways of one of Europe’s best-documented agricultural regions. Beginning with the “food forensics” of the 5300-year old “Ice Man” found in the high-altitude mountains near our 13th-century castle residence, we explore the nexus between topography, crops, livestock, wild edibles, and evolving cultures. Field visits to remote valleys, farm-to-table restaurants, artisan food specialists, alpine pasturages, cheesemakers, and wineries are completed by museum explorations and shared cooking experiences, as well as farm work in Brunnenburg’s organic vineyards and orchards.
Having first resided at Brunnenburg in 1983 and eventually spending a total of four years working on the farm and leading study tours based at the castle, I’ve led dozens of groups on tours tailored to meet their educational interests. With a network of local connections built over the decades, my colleagues at Brunnenburg and I do our best to meet and exceed participants’ expectations. For an introduction to the region and its relevance to the bigger questions facing us as we work to develop new agricultural techniques while conserving heritage foods, consider reading my book, A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved Its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement. But first, check out the Toppling Goliath website created with my longtime collaborators at The Lexicon, which tells the story of the town of Mals through Douglas Gayeton’s stunning “information artworks.” These artworks have literally toured the world as a pop-up show to inspire other communities to transform home-grown activism into policy initiatives.
Keynotes & Other Media Engagement
Teaching, travel, and farming have all provided gifts of insight, thanks to the people, places, and travails encountered along the way. The pursuit of more sustainable food systems involves the sustenance to persevere. While good food is key to that perseverance, it is often the stories and solutions from other places that inspires and sustains us in what is often complex and uncertain work.
My goal in sharing these stories and insights through a variety of media is to help illuminate the path forward and generate conversations that might bring more people together in common cause. Keynotes, podcasts, and video production are all familiar terrain. However, my hope is that each opportunity to inspire and engage is adapted specifically to the intended audience. An overview of my approach to speaking engagements is available upon request, and a list of prior engagements is included in my Curriculum vitae (CV).
A Taste of UpTunket Farm
UpTunket Farm is our off-grid farm and homestead located in Pawlet, Vermont. With 97 acres of pasture and forest and additional leased acreage, my wife Erin and I have raised three free-range kids and a herd of American Milking Devon cattle, along with other livestock and gardens for homestead use. We began our off-grid lifestyle in a small 12’x28′ cabin, with wood heat and no electricity or running water for the first 8 years. Our homestead is about one mile from the nearest town road, remote enough that we spend several months each year walking in an out, often with kids and necessities piled into sleds for the uphill trudge and the downhill rip.
We gradually built barns and a multistory house powered by photovoltaics. We now have solar hot water, woodstoves, and backup propane and generator systems, as well as a grid-tied barn closer to the road. We are incredibly fortunate to live adjacent to and serve as stewards for The Nature Conservancy’s North Pawlet Hills Preserve, a unique ecosystem that hosts one of Vermont’s favorite hiking trails up Haystack Mountain, featuring a 360 degree view of the Green Mountains, Taconic Mountains, and the Adirondacks.
Guests from around the world venture their way to Oma’s Cabin, our Airbnb off-grid retreat that is accessible only by foot-and-sled throughout much of the winter. Set in the forest near the Haystack trailhead, Oma’s (Erin’s Mom) two-story tiny house offers a respite for digital natives and the digitally-averse alike. Farm tours and homestead consultations are also options when our schedules allow, and grassfed beef and eggs are usually available for purchase.
Time for Teamwork
Most projects require a team of experts, ready to collaborate to maximize impact. Whether serving as an additional team member to round out a team’s expertise or gathering and leading a team of external experts, I’ve always reveled in the challenge of tackling complex projects with clear goals, timelines, and–most importantly–impactful outcomes.
With more than three decades of experience working on projects at local, regional, national, and international scales, I find equal reward in working with grassroots organizations, policy initiatives, business and financial interests, higher education institutions, and farm-based education groups.
