Fair Food: Vision for a Healthy, Sustainable, Food System

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Brendy Barr, (248) 651-4858, brendy@barrcommuncations.com

ORAN HESTERMAN, LEADING GOOD FOOD PIONEER IN MICHIGAN, RELEASES FAIR FOOD, SHARING HIS VISION FOR CREATING A HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM

Book signing events to be held in Detroit and Ann Arbor to benefit local food banks

Ann Arbor, MI, April 25, 2011— Our food system is failing us. Once designed to bring us abundant food at low cost, it now nourishes us by destroying some of what we hold most precious – our environment, our health, and our future. A host of books and films have documented the dangers – from chemical runoff to soaring rates of diet-related illness – but very few have offered any viable solutions.  This void in public information is what compelled leading good food pioneer Oran B. Hesterman, Ph.D. to write Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All, a new book being released in May 2011 by PublicAffairs Books. Dr. Hesterman, president and CEO of Fair Food Network, shares his inspiring vision for changing not only what we eat, but how our food is grown, packaged, delivered, marketed and sold.  Fair Food is an enlightening guide in which Dr. Hesterman shows how our food system’s dysfunctions are unintended consequences of our emphasis on efficiency, centralization, higher yields, profit and convenience, and he defines the new principles that a redesigned food system should embody, as well as the necessary steps to restructuring it. In Fair Food, Dr. Hesterman also highlights people and organizations around the country who are already integrating these new principles in many creative ways within their enterprises, providing inspiring new models for producers, consumers, businesses and communities. For readers who want to be a part of the fair food movement, Dr. Hesterman offers a wealth of practical information.  His menu for change suggests how we can participate in collective action to precipitate the transformation of our food system, from the kitchen to the community to the state house to the White House. Enthusiastic praise for Fair Food and Dr. Hesterman’s vision comes from a vast spectrum of leaders across the country:

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Oran Hesterman has been both a longtime pioneer in the movement and, at the same time, a pragmatic visionary about food systems change. Fair Food is a book that many of us have been waiting for. — Josh Viertel, President, Slow Food USA

I have known Oran Hesterman for over 25 years. Oran is an important and thoughtful voice, in Michigan and in Washington, when it comes to discussions of agriculture and food policy. — Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chair, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry

Efforts that bring new insights and inspiration to the nation’s approach to food and food systems for all – and especially for vulnerable children and families – are critical to the health and wellness of our nation. I applaud Oran Hesterman on both his new book and his lifelong dedication to improving food system policy and practice. — Sterling Speirn, President & CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Dr. Hesterman will be conducting public book signings of Fair Food to benefit Gleaners Community Food Bank on Saturday, May 21 from 12 – 2 p.m. at Detroit Eastern Market outside the Welcome Center located at 1445 Adelaide between Market & Russell Street, Detroit, Michigan; and to benefit Food Gatherers on June 18 from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Ann Arbor Farmers Market outside the Welcome Center, 315 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Prior to founding Fair Food Network, Dr. Hesterman co-led the Integrated Farming Systems and Food and Society Programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, during which time the Foundation seeded the local food systems movement with over $200 million. A native of Berkeley, California, and a former professor of agronomy at Michigan State University in East Lansing, he currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Published by PublicAffairs (a member of Perseus Book Group), Fair Food: Growing a Healthy Sustainable Food System for All, is priced at $24.99 and now available for pre-order through retailers including Amazon.com.

For more information about Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All, please visit fairfoodbook.org. View the Fair Food book trailer on YouTube.

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About Fair Food Network

Fair Food Network (FFN) is a national nonprofit dedicated to building a more just and sustainable food system. FFN works at the intersection of food systems and social equity to guarantee access to healthy, fresh and sustainably grown food, especially in underserved communities. FFN implements model programs and brings the right people together to generate ideas, share resources and promote policy changes to repair our food system. To learn more about Fair Food Network, visit www.fairfoodnetwork.org.

Follow Fair Food Network on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

MEDIA NOTE:  To obtain a review copy of Fair Food and/or an electronic media kit, please contact Brendy Barr at brendy@barrcommunications.com or 248-651-4858.