in a world where only a minor portion of the land is really well suited to agriculture, man is using much of the best land with dubious efficiency.

What is different and exciting is how much we have learned. We learned we were right that we don't need the chemical model of agriculture. We know so much more about the life of soil now and we understand how plants synergistically work together with microbes and animals to create healthy conditions.

A life-long mission has been to counter the notion that political engagement is the spinach we must eat in order to have the dessert of freedom.

That's what happened when my own life crumbled. The people who came into my life bolstered me to take more risks, to be even more true to myself.

The spirit that I am advocating is reframing how we view the world, and shifting from the negativity of lack and "not enough" to the positive frame of aligning with Nature.

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

I understand, of course, that grain-fed meat is not the cause of the world hunger problem - and eating some of it doesn't directly take food out of the mouths of starving people - but it is, to me, a symbol and a symptom of the basic irrationality of a food system that's divorced from human needs. Therefore, using less meat can be an important way to take responsibility. Making conscious choices about what we eat, based on what the earth can sustain and what our bodies need, can help remind us that our whole society must begin to balance sustainable production with human need.