Today in the Thought Kitchen, we’re featuring an interview with writer, environmental scientist and sustainable food activist Temra Costa. She is the author of Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat, a new book tracking the growth of the sustainable food movement and the role that women are playing in transforming the way we eat and farm. The book profiles thirty-two women in the sustainable food industry, from urban farmers to farm-to-school advocates.

The Thought Kitchen: I suppose it’s appropriate here in The Thought Kitchen that we’re talking about food and the issues around sustainable agriculture. What made you want to write this book?

"Farmer Jane" Author Temra Costa. Photo by Bart Nagel.

Temra Costa: Farmer Jane really provides an alternative lens through which to looking at sustainable food and agriculture. I feel that a lot of issues have been well articulated by other authors, but the whole feminine perspective has yet to be really well explored. Sixty percent of employees at grass roots Ag organizations are women, and moms in homes are the ones cooking meals and controlling upwards of 85 percent of household spending. In 2007 when the USDA came out with their last Ag census it showed that women farmers were the fastest growing demographic by 30 percent since 2002. So women are really making things happen and while they don’t always put themselves in front of cameras, they’re definitely behind the scenes making it happen every day.

TTK: I wanted to ask you about the word Sustainability. One of the things we struggle with in the apparel industry is defining an objective standard for what sustainability means: Is it shrinking your carbon footprint? Only using natural biodegradable materials? Or is it something more economic: supporting local economies, or creating affordable products? I’m wondering if you find the same diversity of interpretations of sustainability in the food sphere? And how, as eaters, can we be sure that we’re making the right choices?

TC: Well absolutely, I think there is a broad spectrum of what people view as sustainable; even the word Organic has become somewhat diluted. The way that I use the word Sustainability in my book is in terms of regeneration. Right now we’re growing our food at a deficit across the board: we’re draining our water resources, we’re depleting our soil of humus and fertility. Sustainable farming is growing with future generations in mind. It’s not just by growing and selling food as close to home as possible to reduce that carbon footprint, but it’s also regenerating the soil and providing habitat for animals and insects. There are number of ways that farmers are doing this, and that the other women in the book—whether they are chefs or educators or activists—are advocating for these changes in the organic standards, in regenerative practices, in creating habitat and soil diversity that we need to continue growing food well into the future.

TTK: It seems like one of the threads that connects the stories in the book is the playful audacity that getting involved in the local agriculture movement brings out in your subjects.

TC: Its true, a lot of people in the sustainable food movement are having a lot of fun, and that’s part of what draws so many people into it: it’s such a celebration of community and healthy food and a great environment. One of the women in my book, Novella Carpenter, wrote a memoir of her adventures growing food in Oakland—in what many consider a ghetto part of Oakland. One of the stories I tell in the book is called “Adventures in Pigs,” and it’s a really hilarious exploit of when Novella decided that it was a good idea to try to raise two pigs only on dumpster-diving garbage. She had moved into a home, and there was vacant lot next door, so she started growing food and offering that food to the homeless people who were living around her house. For her, the definition of an Urban Farm is a farm or garden that feeds the community.

TTK: For the newcomer to sustainable food, what are some easy ways that people can take just the first step toward getting involved?

TC: People often ask me, “Where do I start?” A lot of people don’t have access to open space or green space living in cities, but if you can start with potted plants or herbs and start adding it to what you are preparing at home, that’s one easy way to start.  Bees are usually another gateway urban animal—bees and chickens. A lot of people will start with bees or chickens, and bees are pretty low maintenance versus chickens. Chickens require a little bit of work everyday.

But not everybody is willing or interested in working with bees or chickens so I would recommend starting by volunteering at a local farm; that’s a really good way to get your hands dirty with some supervision. It will start incorporating its way into your life in more ways than you think. As you get more and more adventurous and more comfortable around plants that are growing and around animals that are living, you find you really want to get involved in a deeper way.

TTK: I’m curious, now that you’ve been involved in the sustainable food movement for over a decade, how do you see your role as author turned activist—or is it the other way around?

TC: [laughs] The other way around! Activist turn author. Throughout my career, I’ve always wanted to focus where I felt my impact would be the greatest. Really, my goal is getting the stories out there, because when people know about the food system…the more you dig into it, and the more you know, the only type of food your going to want to eat is food that supports the environment and the people. There isn’t any other choice. You can no longer just look the other way and say, well I know that that’s really bad for me and the environment, but I’m going to continue eating it. So education is key, and that’s what I’m committed to doing for the rest of my life. Whether or not there is another book, I’m certainly going to continue telling stories through the FamerJane.org website. It’s just about getting people informed.