The winds of change are always blowing.

With Occupy Wall Street serving as a gauge for U.S. contentment, it’s not hard to see we just aren’t a very happy nation. As with any cause, however, there are always bands of people who do more than walk the talk – they shout from the rooftops and actively work to move us away from the negative and into the positive.

In Seeing The Gulf From Above, Anna Brones writes, “A picture is worth a thousand words. The expression may sound cliche, but in the conservation movement, it couldn’t be more true.” In her story, Brones highlights Tom Hutchings, who takes Gulf of Mexico visitors up in his Cessna 182, knowing very well the visual power of seeing the Gulf oil spill’s environmental catastrophe from above. Giving people the ability to see outside of their immediate life circle to see we’re all very connected? Now that’s what we’re talking about.

Occupy Wall Street is giving people a voice to express their frustration with the status quo. But who are the leaders and participants and who are they to think they can rally and invigorate when they themselves lack social skills? In Sex by Numbers: What We Can Learn From #occupywallstreet, columnist Abigail Wick writes: “It is my conviction that the quality of our relationships – how we engage with and support one another – can have profound societal implications.”

Vacant spots as eyesores? Seed bomb ’em. That’s what groups of guerrilla gardeners are doing to forcefully create change in their neighborhoods. In Flowers of War: Seed Bombing Gets Political, London writer Sarah Lewis-Hammond quotes seed bomber Vera Zakharov, “Seed bombing is activism. It allows us to continue a relationship with the spaces around us, even if the law says we can’t.”

Writer Scott Adelson did a series for EcoSalon on Angel Investors “examining equity investment’s relationship with businesses that have traditionally been out of its mainstream, including women-owned, green and long-term-growth-oriented.” What Adelson uncovered in his series VC’s, Angels and Investing in Women: What Are They Not Thinking? was pretty startling and worth the read on how successful women are running businesses with little investment from Angels (and how that should change).

Remember the food pyramid when you were little? Well the triangle has changed quite a few times over the years and it’s because food and diets have actually gotten very complex. Writer Anna Brones interviews Dr. Marion Nestle who weighs in on how food guidelines have changed in Foodie Underground: Dr Marion Nestle On The Complexity of Food Issues.

The post The Friday 5: Winds of Change Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnIt’s only April, but 2011 promises to be a big year for food issues in the news.

We’re not talking about big food (so long, Supersize). But food is big this year. From longtime recipe columnist Mark Bittman of the New York Times switching to a food issues beat, to the USDA’s approval of genetically modified alfalfa, to the possibility that foodies might save the green movement, edible stories early this year indicate big changes on the horizon in the world of food.

Foodies Might Save the Green Movement

As movements go, the food movement has relatively quickly become a mighty force that is both decentralized and diverse. According to Bryan Walsh, in a much discussed article in Time, this force might just save the environmental movement because the good food movement, which is about both pleasure and health, speaks to a broad swatch of Americans. How does activism around better, healthier food have anything to do with the environmental movement? Because the way we grow food is environmentally disastrous and resource intensive. Reforming and revolutionizing our agricultural practice in the service of better food can go a long way toward breathing new life into the environmental movement.

Mark Bittman Ends Minimalist column and Takes up Food Issues

After 13 years of writing a column aimed at making cooking more accessible to more people, New York Times columnist and cookbook author Mark Bittman throws in the ladle and starts a new column that focuses on food policy, environmentally sustainable eating, and diet and health issues.

This shift did not come as a surprise to those of us who have followed his personal journey from a rather standard meat-heavy diet to a way of eating that considers both the environmental and health costs of a meat-centric diet. But it’s huge news signaling that The Times is taking food issues very seriously. And that means readers are, too.

USDA Approves Unregulated GM Alfalfa

Earlier this year, the USDA approved the unregulated planting of GM alfalfa. Since alfalfa is an important feed source in the organic dairy industry and there is a high likelihood of contamination of non-GM crops,  this move could kill the organic label, putting many organic farmers out of business. Expect to see more action in the courts around this issue and increased calls for testing and verification of non-GMO foods.

Tomato Pickers in the Spotlight

Early this year, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), finally won an extra penny per pound for tomato pickers in Florida, a fight that has gone on between the CIW and growers and retailers for years. Journalist Barry Estabrook was nominated for a James Beard award for his work highlighting the plight of these tomato pickers in a famous story in Gourmet Magazine, and now he is about to release a book on the subject called Tomatoland. The plight of farm workers in America could be the next issue for ethical consumers and forward-thinking businesses. On Cesar Chavez Day, food service provider, Bon Appétit Management Company and the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), released an inventory documenting the laws and protections relating to farm work in America.

FDA to Reconsider Warnings on Artificial Food Dyes

Following years of studies indicating food dyes might cause or exacerbate behavior problems in children, the FDA is finally considering warning labels, something the food industry does not want to see. But many consumers and consumer groups like Center for Science in the Public Interest do want to see. Will the FDA follow the European Union’s lead and place warning labels on foods containing artificial colors? We will wait and see.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Skånska Matupplevelser

The post The Green Plate: Food Is Big in 2011 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sometimes one Foodie Underground a week just isn’t enough. In fact, we couldn’t keep this one on ice until Monday, so we’re bringing you an Extra Fresh Edition to feature Foodprint.

The partnership between food and cities is a no-brainer; travel itineraries are often created around the food of a certain place. And Foodprint is an initiative that takes a look at just that concept. An “exploration of the ways food and cities give shape to one another,” Foodprint is the brainchild of two digitally savvy, foodie obsessed women who put these series of international conversation together to get people talking about urban foodscapes.

The inaugural Foodprint was held in New York in February, and this weekend marks the next one, being held in Canadian metropolis, Toronto.

If you’re in the area, this is shaping up to be a great event. Held on Saturday July 31 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the schedule includes interesting topics like Culinary Cartography and Edible Archeology. For the full list of programming and speakers, go here.

Fortunately, because Foodprint is all about creating an international conversation, you don’t actually have to be in Toronto to take part; tune in here to watch the event live.

What’s interesting about Foodprint is that it’s diving much deeper into the issues of urbanity and food than most of us even dare venture. Think way above and beyond food carts; the potential for the conversations and conclusions that this initiative can create is exciting and we’re looking forward to see where it goes.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

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