Brian Halweil

executive editor, Edible Manhattan

Brian Halweil is a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute covering issues of food and agriculture. He joined Worldwatch in 1997 as the John Gardner Public Service Fellow from Stanford University, where he had established a student-run organic farm on campus. The farm was community-supported and sold produce to the university and local restaurants. In addition, Brian has set up community-supported farms and organic farms/orchards throughout California and assisted farmers who were making the shift from chemical to organic agriculture. As a food and agriculture expert, Brian has testified before the U.S. Senate on biotechnology, poverty, and hunger. In addition, he has spoken to non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and industry groups on a variety of issues, ranging from organic farming to vegetarianism to genetically engineered crops. Brian's work has been featured in national newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, and New York Times, and on radio networks, such as National Public Radio and Voice of America. Brian has traveled extensively in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, learning indigenous farming techniques and promoting sustainable food production. He holds Bachelor's of Science degrees in Earth Systems and Biology from Stanford University. He has also completed research, fieldwork, and coursework at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California at Davis. His work at Davis included participation in the "100 Year Sustainability Project" as well as the Student Experimental Farm for Alternative Agriculture. Brian writes from Sag Harbor, New York, where he and his wife tend a home garden and orchard.