Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa! I'm here for the World Food Prize and Borlaug Dialogues, and I have a confession. I love coming to this gathering. I've attended since the early 2010s, often as one of the few sustainable agriculture advocates in rooms filled with scientists, policymakers, and Big Ag executives. I've had some fascinating conversations, including one at a hotel bar where two men accused me of criticizing their organizations. I hadn't. Their explanation? "People like you do." I'm now friendly with both of them. I even made it onto one's Christmas card list. That experience reminded me how quickly we decide we already understand someone else. And why we need to spend more time listening to people who disagree with us. I believe deeply in the World Food Prize Foundation and its mission. But I also think we need to ask harder questions about whose knowledge counts, who gets invited, and what kinds of leadership we recognize. For me, a Green Evolution means putting farmers' livelihoods, healthy soils, biodiversity, and nutritious diets at the center of how we measure progress. This year, during the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer, I wish we'd seen a woman farmer recognized with the Prize itself. Think about leaders like Esther Penunia in Asia, Elizabeth Nsimadala in Uganda, or Mariam Sow in Senegal. Women helping farmers organize, protecting agricultural biodiversity, and advancing agroecology. Their work changes lives. It deserves the world's attention. I'm glad the World Food Prize is evolving under Thomas Vilsack and Mashal Husain. And I'm glad the Dialogues are bringing more diverse voices into the conversation. But participation means more than an invitation. Smallholder farmers, farmworkers, and grassroots organizers need the resources to actually be in these rooms. I'll keep coming back because I believe conversations across differences matter. I've changed my own mind over the years, and I've seen relationships change too. But I also want us to ask more of the institutions that bring us together. Who gets invited? Who can afford to come? Whose knowledge counts? Who gets recognized? Who has the power? I'm looking forward to listening this week. And to asking, and being asked, some uncomfortable questions. Read my entire piece: foodtank.com/news/2026/10/on…

“One of the things I've learned after more than two decades of visiting farms is that farmers are rarely asking for someone else to solve their problems. They're asking for partners. Partners who listen. Partners who invest. Partners who understand that every healthy farm is producing far more than food. It's producing healthy soil. It stores carbon. It protects water. It supports wildlife. It sustains local economies. And it preserves knowledge that has often been built over generations.” -@DaniNierenberg, Food Tank

“Farmers have shown us that they are willing to innovate. The question is whether the rest of us are willing to innovate alongside them. Because farmers cannot carry the climate transition alone. If we want healthier soils, if we want cleaner water, if we want to protect biodiversity, if we want nutritious food, if we want thriving rural communities. Then we have to build an economy that rewards the people making those outcomes possible." -@DaniNierenberg, Food Tank

“Storytelling is part of systems change. A statistic can inform us. A report can give us evidence. But a film, a song, a performance, or a really powerful story can make us feel something and sometimes that’s what moves people to act.” -Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank

“A Better Food System requires listening. Listen to farmers instead of assuming we know what they need. Listen to workers and communities. Listen to scientists and researchers. And listen to people who disagree with us, because sometimes those conversations teach us the most.” -@DaniNierenebrg, Food Tank

“Reducing food waste can cut emissions. It can save businesses and households money. It can conserve land, water, and energy. It can create economic opportunities. And it can make our food systems more resilient. That’s an extraordinary opportunity.” -Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank

What does the future of sustainable protein look like? Join us on October 29 for a special Food Tank conversation and Q&A with Rohan Shirwaiker of the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State and @BruceGFriedrich of @GoodFoodInst. An opportunity to ask questions, exchange ideas, and connect with others working toward a more sustainable food system. Become a Food Tank Member to join the conversation! FoodTank.com/Join

Farmers markets are so much more than places to buy fresh food. They're gathering spaces, economic engines, and essential parts of strong, resilient communities. On the latest episode of Food Talk with Danielle Nierenberg, Dani sits down with Catherine (Cat) Oakar, Executive Director of @FRESHFARMDC, to talk about the growing pressures facing families and farmers, the impact of federal funding cuts, and why investing in local food systems matters more than ever. Plus, we explore new approaches to childhood obesity, the exploitation of food workers, growing global hunger, and efforts to get more nutritious seafood into food banks. 🎧 Watch and listen to Episode 576 of Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg here: youtube.com/watch?app=deskto…

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Young people want to farm. The question is whether we will give them the chance. Access to land, capital, and resources will determine who gets to grow our food and what the future of farming looks like. As Karen Washington reminds us, the next generation is ready. Now we need to make sure the path is open.

Food belongs in every classroom. It connects science, history, culture, climate, health, economics, agriculture, and so much more. Yet for too long, food education has been treated as something extra instead of something essential. It’s time to change that. As @DaniNierenberg says, “Food might be the most interdisciplinary subject we have.”

Mentorship is "fundamental in culinary education." -Chef Marcus Samuelsson, Eight-Time James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Restaurateur, Author, and Founder of Red Rooster Harlem Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC

“Teachers need skills in addition to the content that they’re teaching, and they need permission to be creative.” -Caitlin Arens, Food Education Fellowships Director, Pilot Light Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC

“You can’t serve kids without serving parents, because kids don’t have buying power.” -Shanon Morris, Harlem Grown Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC @HarlemGrown

“If we can eat better, we can teach the next generations to love the garden and the harvest and the things that we can pull from the ground.” -Rev. Linda Carmen Bryant, Co-Founder, San Antonio Million Gardens Project and Pastor of Grant Community AME Church in San Antonio, Texas Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC

“NYC has so many incredible food and health education organizations…When everybody is speaking the same language in the classroom, that’s when we have impact in the broader community.” -Taylor Meredith, Education Policy Advisor, Pilot Light Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC

“We’re more and more trying to optimize the cafeteria as a classroom…NYC kids may not know that carrots come in many colors.” -Nancy Easton, Executive Director and Founder, Wellness in the Schools Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC

“We want little ones to understand that they have a voice. They can advocate. It’s just teaching them how. Little kids ask amazing questions.” -Amanda Torres, Educator, PS 72x William Dorney Tune in live! youtube.com/live/528p0wNnikE #ClimateWeekNYC