iEat Green – Denise O’Brien – 06.09.16

Denise O’Brien is a farmer and community organizer from Atlantic, Iowa. She has farmed with her husband, Larry Harris, for 40 years. She maintains sixteen acres of organic fruit and vegetable production incorporating high tunnel production. O’Brien also raises turkeys and chickens for meat and egg production. Denise mentors many women who are the next generation of farmers.

Through farming, Denise has had numerous opportunities to work within the agricultural community working on policy development on the state, national and international level and becoming involved in the community of women in agriculture, organic production, local food systems and conservation issues.

Denise has been involved in her community as well as in the agricultural sector. She is the founder of Women Food and Agriculture Network. O’Brien was a Food and Society Fellow, a W.K. Kellogg funded program from 2001 to 2003. She currently serves on the board of the Pest Action Network and the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust. In 2012 O’Brien completed a year assignment with the United States Department of Agriculture as an Agriculture Adviser in Afghanistan.

Baba Ghannouj 3 lg Eggplants, roasted, 1 cup Tahini 2/3 cup lemon juice 2 Tbs. chopped garlic 1 Tbs. cumin 1 ½ t. salt ¼ t. pepper ¼ cup chopped Parsley In a food processor, pulse eggplant until blended. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Add water, and puree until desired consistency.Adjust seasonings for taste. *Garnish with Olive Oil, pine nuts and parsley or pomegranate

iEat Green – Tamar Haspel – 04.14.16

Tamar Haspel is a journalist who’s been on the food and science beat for the best part of two decades. She writes a monthly Washington Post column, Unearthed, which covers food supply issues: biotech, pesticides, food additives, antibiotics, organics, nutrition, and food policy. The column has earned a James Beard award nomination each of its two years, winning in 2015, and one of her columns was selected for Best Food Writing 2015. Haspel is knee-deep in the public food conversation, and speaks frequently at venues where the debates about our food supply play out, including the National Academy of Sciences, food- and ag-related conferences, and SXSW.

When she’s tired of the heavy lifting of journalism, she gets dirty. She and her husband, Kevin Flaherty, raise their own chickens, catch their own fish, grow their own tomatoes, hunt their own venison, and generally try to stay connected to the idea that food has to come from somewhere. They also have an oyster farm, Barnstable Oyster, where they grown about 50,000 oysters a year in the beautiful waters off Cape Cod. Haspel revels in the idea that New York diners pay $3. a pop for their product, and she can eat as many as she wants.