Food Justice Meets Eating Local in Chef Bryant Terry

by Expat Chef (Beth Bader)

After the publication of In Defense of Food, and the book’s prose that suggested we should all be spending more on better food, Michael Pollan was accused of being “elitist” along with a generalized slam on the “Eat Local” movement. I took it personal. These are the kinds of negatives that can take away from an important grass roots effort like Eat Local Challenge. Even so, I had to admit, there was a grain of truth there.

While I actually save money buying better produce and meats direct from the farmers instead of a Whole Foods, I also know that even this more affordable approach is still out of reach for many. And that has to change. Food policy has to change. And hopefully it will through efforts of individuals like Bryant Terry.

Bryant Terry is an activist for “Food Justice” and his efforts are truly compelling. Terry founded b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating and Lifestyles to Help Youth) in 2001. The program aims to empower youth to be active in creating a more just and sustainable food system. He also initiated the Black and Green Food Justice Fund that supports community-based projects promoting food justice. This year, Terry has started the Southern Organic Kitchen Project with the help of a Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellowship.

Bryant Terry managed to make some time to do an interview for Eat. Drink. Better. on Food Justice and his current projects just as he started major work on his next book due out in 2009, Organic Soul. The interview and his site are both good reads for anyone interested in Food Justice. And good recipes.

While Bryant Terry is an activist, he is also an “eco-chef” and the co-author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, His resume includes three episodes of the BET series “My Two Cents,” and the Sundance Channel’s original series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet.” Bryant is also a host on “The Endless Feast,” a 13-episode PBS series that explores the connection between the earth and the food on our plates. Online, Terry contributes blog posts on Eco-Soul Food on TheRoot.com.