civil eats — Articles — Larissa Zimberoff

Sonoma County Says its Grapes Can Be ‘100% Sustainable’ By 2019

Wine is usually a fun topic, but in the Golden State, the fourth-largest wine-producing region in the world, it’s also big business: 85 percent of domestic wine comes from over 600,000 acres of grapes grown in California. Operating at this scale means the wine business must also consider land stewardship. Two of the state’s biggest and best-known wine counties—the neighboring communities of Napa, which has more vintners, and Sonoma, which has more growers—are both working toward achieving goals of 100 percent sustainability within the next few years.

Brewing up a Local, Sustainable Cup of Tea

Your morning tea—Matcha, Darjeeling, English Breakfast—most likely comes from far away. While there are a few dozen tea growers in the United States, the harvested leaves, many of which come from an evergreen shrub called Camellia sinensis, are not native to this country.

This Visionary is Helping Hospitals Take Food Seriously

Marydale DeBor loves her job. The pixie-sized woman, with a short crop of gray hair and funky glasses, runs Fresh Advantage, a consulting firm that helps hospitals and medical schools integrate improved food and nutrition programming into their approaches to healthcare.

Kernza: Can A Perennial Save Our Soil?

Kernza’s arrival has been a long time coming. The new grain variety from the Land Institute is derived from an ancient form of intermediate wheatgrass, a perennial that is actually a distant relative of wheat. And there’s a widespread team of researchers hoping their work will pave the way for an entirely new form of food.

North Carolina Governor Vetoes Ag-Gag Bill

Civil EatsLarissa ZimberoffJune 1, 2015ag gag, civil eats, factory farms, ncaggag, north carolina

Recap: TedX Manhattan 2015

“The food movement needs money,” announced Shen Tong to hundreds of attendees at last weekend’s TedX Manhattan. He paused, thanked the crowd, and pretended to walk off the stage as if to end his talk there. “That’s probably the shortest TED talk you’ll ever hear,” he said. Virtually everyone at the one-day conference clapped and cheered at the investor and Food-X founder’s point (and it wasn’t the end of his talk). And while the food movement does need investment, it’s not as simple as writing a check.

A (70s) Macrobiotic Cooking School is Brought Up to Date

When people talk to Anthony Fassio about his new role as CEO at Manhattan’s Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI), he tends to field the same question: “Isn’t that the vegan school?”

This Urban Farmer is Breeding Seeds for Rooftops

Urban farmers in New York City face many obstacles—from high winds, to lack of space, extreme temperatures, and more. But now, there’s a line of seeds made just for them. Zach Pickens of Rooftop Ready Seeds, a small NYC start-up, has been cultivating, packaging, and selling seeds bred specifically for New York urban farms for the past four years.