Brian Halweil
Brian Halweil (born 1975) is an American sustainable food writer and researcher. He is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Edible East End, Edible Brooklyn, Edible Manhattan and Edible Long Island magazines, devoted to chronicling the food communities in and around New York City.[1][2] Previously, Halweil was a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, where his work focused on organic farming, biotechnology, hunger, seafood[3] and rural communities.[4]
Brian Halweil | |
---|---|
Born | 1975 (age 44–45) |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Stanford University |
Occupation | Author, journalist |
His writing has been published in Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and International Herald Tribune, among others. In 2015, Halweil was named a "40 Under 40" Business Leader by Long Island Business News for his commitment to the local community and the local food movements.[5]
Halweil has traveled and lived in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and East Africa learning indigenous farming techniques and promoting sustainable food production. He currently lives in Sag Harbor, NY, where he and his family keep a home garden and orchard, and raise ducks[6] and oysters.[1]
Education
Halweil graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BS in earth systems and biology, and also completed coursework in agriculture and soil science at University of California, Davis.[7] In college, he worked with California farmers interested in reducing their pesticide use and set up a 2-acre student-run organic farm on the campus of Stanford University. He conducted undergraduate research in Mexico and Cuba and completed his honors thesis on Biointensive farming in those regions.[8]
Career
Worldwatch Institute
After completing his education in California, Halweil went on to work as a Senior Researcher for Worldwatch Institute in Washington D.C. There he conducted research and wrote on issues related to food and agriculture, ranging from water scarcity to organic farming, from transgenic crops to hunger. He authored articles for Worldwatch Magazine, and chapters for the Institute's books, State of the World and Vital Signs. He served as Director for the Nourishing the Planet project, a 2-year research effort on global hunger supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Halweil continues to work at Worldwatch Institute as a senior fellow.[9]
Edible magazines
Halweil is the publisher and editor-in-chief at Edible East End, Edible Brooklyn, Edible Long Island, and Edible Manhattan magazines. He also helped to launch Edible East End in 2005, Edible Brooklyn in 2006, Edible Manhattan in 2008, and Edible Long Island in 2013, which are all part of the national network Edible Communities. Halweil contributes regularly to these titles and serves as a spokesperson for the network.[10] Additionally, Halweil has been a proponent of the local food movement and established several community food organizations including the East End coalition of School Gardens, the Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton, and Slow Food East End.[5] Long Island Business News recognized his efforts by naming him one of the "40 Under 40" Business Leaders in 2015.[7]
Other activities
Halweil serves as a board member to the Food Tank: The Think Tank for Food. The organization, founded by Danielle Nierenberg, spotlights environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and works to create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change.
Additionally, Halweil is a board member of Slow Money NYC, a national non-profit organization supporting local food enterprises and organic farms.[11] He also works with Stony Brook University's Food Lab.[12]
Public speaking
Halweil has spoken on food and agriculture issues at national and international events. He was a keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) annual meeting, and also provided a keynote address to the Urban Zen teacher training in New York City. He presented at the inaugural TEDxManhattan in 2011 on the local food movement and issues with the global food system.[13][14]
Personal life
Halweil was born in Middletown, New York. His family moved to New York City when he was a child and he attended the Allen-Stevenson School and then Trinity School.
Halweil is married to Sarah Halweil, a registered nurse who directs the Urban Zen Integrated Therapy program at Southampton Hospital.[2][15][16] He and his family moved to Sag Harbor, New York, where they keep a home garden and orchard. They also raise oysters as part of Cornell's Southold Project in Aquaculture Training program.[17]
He and his wife are the founders of the Sag Harbor Farmers Market, the first farmers market on the East End, which inspired many subsequent markets.[18] Halweil also serves on the board of several food-related organizations in the region, including the Wholesome Wave Foundation and Edible School Gardens of the East End. He is also a "Creative Collaborator" with the Parrish Art Museum.
Selected bibliography
- Articles in general press: "The Kindest Cut," New York Times, July 4, 2012; “Bonac Clam Pie,” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, May 1, 2005; "Shop in Your Backyard," New York Times, 6 March 2005; My Floating Garden (Organic Gardening magazine, October/November 2014); Who's Afraid of Egg-less Mayo? (Edible Manhattan November 2014); "Vintners Go Back to Organic Basics,” New York Times, 8 August 2004; "Why No One Wins in the Global Food Fight," Washington Post, 21 September 2003; "Microbial Migrations," Orion, Summer 2001; "Biotech Industry Faces Financial Turmoil," Tomorrow, April 2000; "Portrait of an Industry in Trouble," Yes, Spring 2000.
- Editorials and Articles for WorldWatch magazine: "The War of Words and Images," July/August 2002; "A Win-win-win-win Industry for the Tropics," May/June 2002; "Biotech, African Corn, and the Vampire Weed," September/October 2001; "Setting the Cheez Whiz Standard," November/December 2000; "Where Have All the Farmers Gone?," September/October 2000; "Escaping Hunger, Escaping Excess," July/August 2000; "Politically Modified Foods," May/June 2000; "The Emperor's New Clothes," July/August 1999; "U.S. Intransigence on Biosafety," May/June 1999; "The Unintended Effects of Bt-Crops," January/February 1999; "On July 4th, U.S. Leads World Meat Stampede," July/August 1998; "China's Water Shortage Could Shake World Food Security," with Lester Brown, July/August 1998; "Bioserfdom and the New Feudalism," May/June 1998; "Richard Nixon Gives the Peace Sign," March/April 1998; "USDA Organic: 100% Farmer-Free," March/April 1998.
- Miscellaneous op-ed's on farm subsidies, population growth, meat consumption, organic farming, and water shortages, published in Washington Post, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and International Herald Tribune.
- Papers: Brian Halweil: "Home Grown: The Case for Global Food in a Local Market," Worldwatch Paper 163, November 2002; Critical Issue Report: Still No Free Lunch (Organic Center, September 2007); Gary Gardner and Brian Halweil, "Underfed and Overfed: The Global Epidemic of Malnutrition," Worldwatch Paper 150, March 2000; Lester Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil, “Beyond Malthus: 16 Dimensions of the Population Challenge,” Worldwatch Paper 143, September 1998; Brian Halweil, "Huertos Familiares, Biointensive Farming in Mexico: Household Food Production as a Means to Improve Health, Income, and the Environment," submitted to the Goldman Honors Program in Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy, 14 May 1997, Institute for International Studies, Stanford University.
Books:
- Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, W.W. Norton (2004)
- Vital Signs, W.W. Norton (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 editions)
- State of the World, W.W. Norton (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 editions)
- Lester Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil, Beyond Malthus: 19 Dimensions of the Population Challenge, W.W. Norton, 1999
- Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability (2012).
References
- Edible Manhattan "Brian Halweil author page". Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- Susan M. Novick (November 14, 2008). "Table's Bounty: Keeping It Local". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "Eating Sustainable Seafood - Three Tips to Steer Clear of Fisheries Collapse". Worldwatch Institute. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- Worldwatch Institute "Brian Halweil bio page". Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- Staff Writer (February 24, 2015). ""40 Under 40" Earned". 27east. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- Schwarz, Jeff; Kessler, Greg (April 17, 2014). "A Chef in the Field- Duck Eggs". The New York Times Style Magazine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "40 Under 40 Awards – January". Long Island Business News. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- Mary Harrison (May 22, 2012). "The farm on the Farm". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "Brain Halweil Bio". Worldwatch Institute.
- "About Brian Halweil". Edible Manhattan. Archived from the original on 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
- Sarah Telzak (January 31, 2015). "Slow Money NYC Welcomes New Board Members". Slow Money NYC. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "Core Food Lab Team". Stony Brook University. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "From New York to Africa, How Food is the Solution". TedXManhattan 2011.
- "TEDxManhattan: Brian Halweil - From New York to Africa, Why Food is Saving the World". TED Talks. April 7, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "Weddings: Sarah Horton, Brian Halweil". The New York Times. June 23, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- Emily J. Weitz (August 28, 2013). "Urban Zen Initiative Brings Alternative Therapies to Southampton Hospital". The Sag Harbor Express. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "heritage laying ducks". A Chef in the Field, Duck Eggs, T Magazine.
- Sergei Klebnikov (July 18, 2012). "Brian Halweil: Eat Locally, Save The World". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
External links
- Brian Halweil, Senior Fellow at Worldwatch Institute
- Brian Halweil on Facebook
- Brian Halweil on Twitter