In fact, I don't advocate any particular diet for anyone. I think that's a very personal decision that people have to make. I will say this, however: There are more and more studies in terms of the health benefits of veganism; there are more and more studies that are showing that a properly executed vegan diet is highly beneficial for cleansing, for detoxing, in addition to lowering the risks for and even ameliorating chronic illness. We all have our own body constitutions and cultural food ways and personal tastes that determine what will work for us.

The thing that I think about most often is the loss of biodiversity. We talk about these food issues so often with concern to historically excluded communities, but I'm concerned with everyone having access to healthy foods. Consumers across the board are being robbed of biodiversity.

I don't necessarily think veganism is going to save the world.

What makes the farmers market such a special place is that you are actually creating community around food.

Within an hour I can be at the ocean, the forest, the mountains in San Francisco...But really, I fell in love with the city the first time I came out here in 2003. In addition to the natural beauty, this is ground zero for the food justice movement.

I think that the agriculture system in general is rooted in racism - consider that historically black labor on plantations was the backbone of the economy. These workers didn't reap the benefit of that system.

Given that I'm from the South, I wanted to do something to address that. I have been focusing more energy and resources on addressing those issues.