Catching Up

It seems impossible to accurately convey in one email what we experienced in the last two weeks . . . but we've got to start somewhere!

TAYLOR'S TALE OF WORLD DOMINATION

On July 11th - 13th, Taylor visited Portland, OR to attend the World Domination Summit, which is not nearly as imposing as the name might suggest. Essentially it's a gathering of 3,000 people, all trying to answer the question: how do we live a remarkable life in a conventional world? Through a series of 12 TED-style talks on the main stage, as well as independently organized meetups, parties, and other social gatherings, she spent the weekend interacting with hundreds of people who were living some sort of 'alternative' lifestyle and/or making their living in a profession that was likely not mentioned as a possibility by your high school guidance counselor.

And how did this feel? INCREDIBLE. It's as if she had found 'her people'. Except for one minor thing: in this crowd of 3,000 - where nearly everyone had a job / interest in the environment / arts / design / business / coaching / writing / being all-around progressive - guess how many worked in food? Just guess. Out of 3,000.

4. Yes, FOUR people worked in sustainable food / food systems / food culture. Granted, she may have missed a few, but Taylor has a way of making herself known, so we have a feeling they would have connected with her before the weekend was over.

To us, this is shocking. Although Taylor had found 'her people' in one sense, she was totally out of her element in another. We at GFJ are so used to being surrounded by people who travel to a city primarily to eat the local food, or when out at a restaurant order everything for the table and share it, or plan their everyday life around what they are cooking for each and every meal.

And this was not that crowd. It was eye-opening in more ways than one. It felt exhilarating to know that we were spreading the GFJ gospel to so many 'virgins', but it also prompted the thought: have we become that disconnected? In this swarm of do-gooders from around the country, how is it possible that so few devote their professional lives to food?

We finally determined that it is neither a good nor bad thing - it's something to be aware of. We find such comfort in the GFJ community. Every time we meet one of you it feels like a gift - someone who gets and wholeheartedly supports our desire to do good in the world via the lens through which we view everything: food. But it appears that there is more work to be done. There are more people to meet, more pleasure to spread, and more good food to be grown / prepared / shared.

Over the coming weeks we'll share more stories about people that we met, ideas that we learned about, speakers that we heard, and follow-ups that we had. But for now we leave you with this:

As you may know, Taylor won her ticket to WDS through a contest, and to pay it forward we are running our OWN contest where TWO people can win a ticket to the 2015 World Domination Summit. We've created a web page to tell the whole story. Be sure to sign up and stay tuned. If Taylor's experience was any indication, then it's a worthwhile trip for anyone looking to make a difference in the world.

WIN A TICKET TO THE 2015 WORLD DOMINATION SUMMIT.

Taylor also had the pleasure of speaking at the CT NOFA Summer Gathering this past weekend (psst . . . in case you aren't familiar with NOFA it stands for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, and there are chapters in several states that provide valuable resources to organic farmers and home gardeners).

Her talk came just before Joan Gussow's keynote address. It was such an incredible honor to see Joan in the 3rd row, listening to Taylor's talk, and laughing with the crowd. Her work is some of the biggest inspiration for what we do - with Good Food Jobs and in our own gardens. As Michael Pollan says, 'Once in a while, I think I've had an original thought, then I look and read around and realize Joan said it first.'

(for those of you who don't know her work, we implore you: explore it now. Books. Videos. Articles. Talks.)

At nearly 86-years-old Joan presented an hour long talk about the state of the (food) world - as well-researched, well-crafted, and well said as ever. She's got such an incredible way about her. She does not mince words, and is quite candid about the dire state of the environment, but she also does something about it. Not the writing or the teaching or the speaking (although those all help, especially because she does them so well) - but the acting. The growing. The eating from her own back yard. The sharing of traditional wisdom. And the observing of nature - listening, learning, and adapting, respecting the relationship.

She left us (and we'll leave you) with a quote from Barbara Kingsolver,

'The honorable choice I see is to power-down; stop taking airplane jaunts, repair old things, get out the clothespins, grow food, walk. And face the truth, that I am party to something so enormously destructive I can hardly know its edges. The conquering of any addiction begins with these words: I am the guilty party.'

May you power down, speak up, slow down, and meet-up. Early and often. With 'your people', and with others who can appreciate your efforts and share in the desire to make the world a better place through small, yet important change.

Cheers,

Taylor & Dorothy