Food Policy in the Post-Bloomberg Era
Wagner Food Policy Alliance had the opportunity to hold a panel and participant discussion on “The Future of Food Policy in the Post-Bloomberg Era” as a part of the Talking Transition initiative. Food policy advocates and superstars Janet Poppendieck from the NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College; Joel Berg from the NYC Campaign Against Hunger; Diana Robinson of the Food Chain Workers Alliance; Kady Ferguson of Brooklyn Food Coalition; and Raymond Figueroa-Reyes, Jr., President of the New York City Community Garden Coalition discussed the needs for their organizations. After their brief introductions, the panelists and Just Food’s trained facilitators helped guide breakout sessions with the hundreds of attendees. Members of the audience proposed 16 different subjects and groups met to discuss the problem on a community level, policy level, and program level. Topics ranged from poverty to food access to universal school lunches to composting to fraccing. Participants brainstormed ideas that fit their communities and then compiled all of them for a short presentation at the end to the general audience. Afterwards, the notes from all of the discussions were compiled and presented as recommendations for the New York City Food System to Mayor Elect de Blasio.
Technology has made it so easy to convey ideas and facilitate conversation. For this event, it made the hopes and dreams of the public transparent. The experts provided support, experiential knowledge, and academic knowledge to assist the active gather ideas and propose policies to improve the way our city views and consumes food. But it was the audience members that suggested the topics, shared personal stories and experiences, and thought of realistic and practical suggestions for New York City’s food system. It was clear, practical, logical, and engaging. We all saw the process, understood it, talked it out, and presented. Simple, efficient, and transparent. Now we have to wait and hope our ideas are internalize. Then we can begin the process to change our food system and the way we view food. But it started with the people. — Amy Black
For more information on “The Future of Food Policy in the Post-Bloomberg Era,” please check these articles at Serious Eats:New York & The Huffington Post.
Thanks, Good Eggs!
(photo courtesy of Good Eggs NYC)
First of, a huge thank you to those who attending our Talking Transition event yesterday. We’ll be giving a recap in our next blog post. If you were watching our Instagram or Twitter yesterday, you would have seen the Good Eggs gift bags our fearless speakers received in gratitude. But what is Good Eggs? Well, it’s been called “the Amazon of local food” by Alexandra Chang at Wired and an “orgy of visual pleasure” by Jenna Wortham in The New York Times. It’s an online farmers market where each producer has their own “stall” and the produce is harvested within a day or two of reaching your door. And yes, that’s the best part, there is delivery. You don’t even need to be home to sign off on your order.
Just last week, Good Eggs fully launched their Brooklyn delivery–no matter where you are in Brooklyn, you’re covered. If you’d rather save $3.99 and carry your own groceries, there are also a bunch of weekly pick-up sites spread throughout the borough. So go on over to their website to check it all out and be sure to use the code “THANKSBK” for $10 off! Now we have no reason to eat poorly during the impending final paper rush.
South Dakota 2013 Blizzard & Media Coverage
There has been much talk over Twitter regarding the early season blizzard that hit South Dakota on October 4th and 5th, with a large percentage of tweets regarding a lack of media coverage. But in preparing our October 15th newsletter, I found a good amount of national media coverage from the week following the storm:
Friday, October 4th:
- TIME Magazine covers the early snows rolling off the High Rockies, as well as the AP report.
- The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang highlights the blizzard
- The Huffington Post picks up the AP story on the storm that was released a few minutes before midnight
Saturday, October 5th:
- The AP sends out an article about the weather conditions being faced in the Upper Midwest. It’s picked up by FOX News, NPR, USA Today, Kansas City Star, the Huffington Post, and ABC News.
- Reuters files its reports on the Upper Midwest, which is picked up by the Chicago Tribune.
- LA Times includes news of the blizzard in a report on the various unusual weather conditions faced around the country
Monday, October 7th:
- The AP reports about cattle deaths and it’s picked up by the Washington Post, The New York Times, the Kansas City Star, ABC News, and CBS News.
- Accuweather discusses the storm in the early morning hours.
- CBS This Morning reports on the conditions during their broadcast.
- The Washington Post blogs about the NWS workers who hiked to work despite no pay and includes a report of cattle deaths in the National Digest section.
Tuesday, October 8th:
- Reuters continues its coverage of the storm with a report on cattle deaths and aid relief during the afternoon. Its report is picked up by the Chicago Tribune and NBC News.
- NBC News reports on the conditions faced during and after the blizzard
Wednesday, October 9th:
- There is talk of the cattle loss by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Thursday, October 10th:
- CNN files a report on the blizzard, as well as including it in their “5 Things You Need to Know”
Friday, October 11th:
This list does not include all the regional papers that covered the story nor the boost it received on October 14th when the disposal pits were opened and the cattle death figure rose. The news has even reached as far as the UK with recent coverage on the Guardian site (from a Wisconsin blogger who stated it’s not being covered in American news.) Coverage of the disaster wasn’t sustained throughout the week, but that could be due to many factors including the current government shutdown and the consolidation of our media industry. –Siobhan Wallace
Join Us For A Salon & Happy Hour With ALAS
(credit: slaintenyc.com)
About ALAS:
The Association of Latin@s and Allies in Public Service enhances the educational and social experience at Wagner by creating platforms from which the NYU community can engage and advocate for issues at the intersection of our fields of study and topics relevant to Latinas and their Diasporas around the world. ALAS provides a community-based space for exchanging knowledge, networking, and making cultural connections.
About Professor Setrini:
Gustavo Setrini is a political scientist who studies globalization, agriculture, and rural development. His research examines the opportunities and constraints that global markets offer for small farmers in poor countries, and his work aims to identify the institutional foundations of sustainable agriculture at the transnational and local levels. In 2008, Setrini won a Fulbright scholarship to study the effects of Fairtrade and organic certification on farmer organizations in Paraguay, where his research has also examined the effectiveness of donor-funded, NGO-led development projects to promote sustainable agricultural techniques and integrate small farmers into global supply chains. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011, and he served as a post-doctoral research associate at MIT’s Center for International Studies and Department of Urban Studies and Planning before joining Steinhardt.
Study Abroad With Steinhardt
San Agustín Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico
WFPA Mixer Tomorrow Night
Join the WFPA board for a night of good food, great beer, and lively conversation about food policy, and tell us the topics you would like to see featured at our events this year.
Jimmy Carbone is one of the grandfathers of the New York local food scene. His Slow Food-approved restaurant and craft beer dive bar, Jimmy’s No. 43, opened in 2005 as one of the city’s first places serving affordable Greenmarket-inspired meals, and has been housing good food events and meet-ups ever since including the first Wagner Food Policy Alliance mixer of the 2013 fall semester this Tuesday, September 24th, from 6:30pm – 9:30pm. When not spreading the local food and great beer gospel at his place, Jimmy can be found on Heritage Radio Network hosting Beer Sessions Radio(TM), fulfilling his duties as Co-Founder of the Good Beer Seal, or advising everyone from New Amsterdam Market to GrowNYC’s Greenmarkets.
The WFPA Board will be arriving around 6:30, but feel free to drop in at any time. Also, RSVP so we know how much food to order. We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday!
Jimmy’s No. 43
43 East 7th St (the bar downstairs)
East Village
(212) 982-3006
GMO OMG Opens in New York
(credit: GMO OMG)
The New York public got its first look at GMO OMG over this past weekend. GMO OMG is just the latest in a long line of documentaries discussing the issues surrounding the American food system and how federal food policies affect what’s found on our grocery store shelves. Our Communications Chair, Siobhan, was able to attend a press preview with a Q&A that included the director Jeremy Seifert and writer Caitlin Shetterly, who discussed her allergy to GMO corn. One of the main issues for anyone attempting to thoroughly research the effects of GMOs is the manufacturers’ animosity towards answering any deep question, which is displayed in the film. They also brought up the fact that New York’s own GMO Labeling bill died in Albany due to a lack of public support (though there is a plan to introduce it again next year.)
While GMO OMG does have its critics, it is important to highlight that each of these films educates more of the general public on the issues surrounding our food system which can only be a good thing. The film is playing just a short walk from campus at Cinema Village at 22 East 12th Street through Wednesday.
A Tale of Two Asias
(credit: Asian Development Bank)
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), a major player in the fight against poverty in developing Asia, issued a new report this past week on “Food Security in Asia and the Pacific.” And yesterday, WFPA and NYU Wagner’s Office of International Programs hosted a sit-down discussion with Cyn-Young Park, ADB’s Assistant Chief Economist, Director of the Economic Analysis and Operations Support Division to discuss the findings and recommendations.
Parts of the report collate data proving that Asia’s economic inequalities are leading to over nutrition in the upper classes along with a continuation of malnutrition in the lower stratum. The report also discusses the future food production issues across the region. Feel free to click the links above to download a free PDF version of the entire report. For other resources on global food security, please turn to the World Food Program and the USDA.
And if you missed your chance to meet members of the WFPA Board, stop by the Wagner Student Group Info Fair this Thursday from 5pm to 6:30pm. Chandan Sharma and Keely Gerhold will be there to discuss our mission and to hear what food policy topics you want us to cover this year!
Meet the 2013-2014 NYU WFPA Board!
Between the first NYC Mayoral Candidate Food Forum to the splitting of the Farm Bill in the House of Representatives, the summer has been interesting for national and local food policy. Of course, WFPA is here to help you understand it all, and anything else that occurs during our next school year. But, before we do that, you need to know who we are! Without further ado, may we introduce ourselves…..
Chandan Sharma, Chair
Why you joined the WFPA board: To facilitate (with a great group of people!) much-needed conversations on food-related issues, policies, and politics
Classes most looking forward to this year: Capstone
Dream job or current job: Public Policy advocate for healthy school food nationwide
Favorite ingredient: Toss-up between kale and Brussels sprouts
Amy Black, Treasurer
Why you joined the WFPA board: To work with a body of students in creating events and planning discussions and panels on food, food planning, and waste issues.
Classes most looking forward to this year: Each and every one of them.
Dream job or current job: Own a small farm (urban or rural) somewhere around world. That or do some policy work or writing on food access, food waste, and food safety in the United States and abroad. I would be pretty happy if I could swing both.
Favorite ingredient: Cheese.
Keely Gerhold, Event Co-Chair
Why you joined the WFPA board:
I joined the WFPA board because as a South Dakota farm girl, food has always been a key part of my existence, whether I knew it or not. I want to learn more about food policy and how students & New Yorkers relate to food, and the WFPA is a place where people can come together to talk about issues and explore solutions. NYU is a great place to learn from our peers and New York is a beautiful city that has a lot to give, and the WFPA can be a significant platform to connect these things. I also think urban farming in NYC is fascinating and I hope to continue to bring WFPA members out to farms in the city to get our hands dirty. I’m excited to dig into some real community and food related issues as the Events Chair this year!
Classes most looking forward to this year:
I started at Wagner in January, so I’m beginning some of my International focused classes this semester. The faculty has already proven to be amazing and I’m really looking forward to getting to know more professors and learning from them. I’m taking Race, Identity and Inclusion in Organizations with Professor Erica Foldy, and I am nerdily excited to take a class with her and challenge myself with this course in particular.
Dream job or current job:
I have so many dream jobs that I couldn’t even tell you. I love working outside, working with kids, international relations, music, environmental politics (and all things environment and outdoors), agriculture and Hillary Clinton, so there’s a lot of variety in my experience and passions. I can see myself urban farming or working for the State Department (amongst a million other things), and Wagner is the perfect place for me to explore dream gigs.
Favorite ingredient:
Mexico has brought a great many things into my life, including its food and my favorite hot sauce, Tapatio. I can put Tapatio on just about anything (however popcorn is really one of the best things). I was also recently given Alice Waters’s Art of Simple Cooking cookbook after interning at Slow Food USA and I want to make everything in it. Simple is best!
Eddie Shumard, Event Co-Chair
Why I joined WFPA: I joined the WFPA board because I wanted to engage and encourage a more open and transparent conversation about food and food policy. I also am thrilled to broaden my network at NYU by working side by side with my fellow WFPA board members from the Wagner School of Public Policy. Together we will host what will likely be some of the most progressive dialogue anywhere in the country around food and food policy, with the leaders and innovators in policy development, community building, business, and agriculture.
Classes most looking forward to this year: Pretty stoked on both Contemporary Issues and Food Policy this semester, as Krishnendu Ray and Marion Nestle are both rock stars in their own regards in the food studies community.
Dream Job: Owning my own business that works to educate and engage citizens in food and agriculture through interactive and innovative events. I also wouldn’t mind hosting my own TV (internet or traditional network television) show that catches people in food and agriculture doing good things from around the United States and the world. For now you can listen to me talk about food and with student leaders in food and agriculture on HeritageRadioNetwork.org, listen to Summer of Food and keep a look out for my new show with fellow NYU Food Studier Steven McCutcheon debuting this fall.
Dream Big!
Favorite ingredient: imagination
Siobhan Wallace, Communications Chair
Why you joined the WFPA board: As I participated in WFPA events over the past year and a half, I came to utilize them either as a complement to my studies or as a way to dabble in unfamiliar policy discussions. I realized my personal schedule would be changing as I entered into the second half of my time with the Food Studies program and felt the time had come to not only attend more WFPA events, but to help continue the food policy conversation and use my creative energies for new topics.
Classes most looking forward to this year: I decided to take a new path this semester and registered for the Environmental Policy class offered by Steinhardt’s Environmental Conservation Education department. I will be taught by the amazing Michelle Land, who also the Director of Pace University’s Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies and shares one of my research interests: the intersection of animal welfare and conservation policy.
Dream job or current job: I really enjoy helping to expand the consumer market for sustainable purveyors, be it the producers themselves or the middlemen, via my writing, and would love to continue, though many who know me best would not be surprised if I up and bought a farm and a couple of herding dogs.
Favorite ingredient: Without a doubt, fresh sweet butter.
Applications open for 2013-2014 WFPA Board
We are happy to announce that the application is now open for the Wagner Food Policy Alliance 2013-2014 board. Applications are due by midnight on Friday April 12. For general questions please contact us at wagnerfpa@gmail.com. To ask questions of the current board, go ahead and contact us at our email addresses below. Descriptions for the open board positions below.
Chair | Alisa Ahmadian
Events Chair | Lauren Bush
Treasurer | Monique Marez
Community Outreach Chair | Noah Isaacs
Communications Chair | Rachel Hannon
First Year Board Member | Chandan Sharma
Apply to the 2013-2014 WFPA board using this link:
https://docs.google.com/a/nyu.edu/forms/d/1gv_8YZN10UY6AbwacYihEgD-DDMBainVDavjNjslpuU/edit
Available Positions:
[Chair]
This role represents the WFPA and its mission to the Wagner community, and individuals both inside and out of the greater NYU community. This person is the initial point of contact for alumni, current students, and student groups within and outside of Wagner, as well as within the greater NYC Student Food Collaborative – FoodEDU, and grow relationships with other NYC schools and universities. With the help of fellow board members, this individual sets all the agendas for leadership meetings with the WFPA board and oversees the planning and implementation of WFPA events, ensuring a broad connection and cohesive trajectory among many themes. The emphasis of these efforts is to foster face to face connections and ongoing working relationships among WFPA networks. This board member will have the responsibility of sending regular newsletters to the WFPA listserv.
[Communications Chair]
The person serving in this capacity has the primary responsibility of creating strategic communications through online forums and coordinating outreach to WFPA group members, the greater Wagner community, and the graduate food studies program at NYU Steinhardt. Outreach consists of, but is not limited to, sharing in the responsibility of updating the Facebook page, twitter feed and group calendar, as well as organizing WFPA blog and blog writers. Especially related to the WFPA listserv communications, this position will work in close collaboration with the chair focused on developing external relationships. The emphasis of this role is to best utilize WFPA online resources to build the momentum and presence of the group through strategically employing these tools and building more specialized audience and readership bases. Additional responsibilities may include graphic and web design, and any other activities undertaken to promote a cohesive WFPA brand.
[Treasurer]
The Treasurer oversees and manages the WFPA budget proposal, while working closely with the WSA board. As budgets for the upcoming academic year are proposed in the spring semester before the newly elected WFPA Board assumes full leadership the following fall, this process begins in the spring semester, usually mid-April. The person serving in this capacity is also responsible for managing WFPA event business payments and student reimbursements. The Treasurer also directs WFPA Board and sub-group contingency fund requests throughout the year.
[Events Chair]
The person in this role serves as the logistical coordinator for all publicly sponsored WFPA events that take place within the NYU and FoodEDU Student Collaborative settings. Responsibilities include securing location, ordering any necessary materials and food, and maintaining coordination of publicity and supporting functions. This role will also work closely with the Community Outreach Chair to establish sustainable and slow food options for events with locally sourced vendors and farms.
Thank you–we are excited to work with the oncoming board to help continue shaping progressive discussions about food policy, justice and security for the next year!
-The Wagner Food Policy Alliance Board
Wagner Food Policy Alliance 