In the late 1960s, there were alarming predictions that worldwide famine was around the corner. I wondered if humans had already lost the race, overrun the Earth's capacity. I let one question lead to the next, and unearthed information that would forever change my life: Not only is there enough food in the world to feed every man, woman, and child on Earth, there is enough to make us all chubby.

I think back to when I was growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1950s, during the [John] McCarthy era, with two parents who founded a Unitarian Church. We lived in a little frame house, and my bedroom was just down the hall from the kitchen. My favorite memories of childhood are of the smell of coffee wafting into my bedroom as my parents and their friends talked about the big, important things - about racism and about how to move our country to live its values.

Old models of farming with chemicals and credit mostly favored privileged men.

For me, just showing up for the traveling and writing gave me the power to overcome my fear of fear.

History doesn't proceed in incremental little notches.

I never like to use those terms [like pessimistic].

How we frame the world - how we talk about it and define it - affects how we see things and how we live.