People ask me all the time what they can do to help improve the food system. Given that some of the problems that need fixing (like unsustainable agriculture, mistreatment of workers and animals, hunger, and diet-related disease, to name just a few) are so complex, widespread, and downright daunting, it's easy to overlook the things that any of us can do any day to move the needle in the right direction. Some of the items on this list are easy, some slightly harder (and some you may already be doing); all are important. (And if you're curious, I've got plenty more to say about our food system, why it's not working, and how we might fix it in my just-published book, A Bone to Pick.)
1. Cook. If you already do, teach someone else to cook. If you have or know kids, teach them. I could go on for pages about the importance of making your own food. Cooking not only benefits your health, your wallet, and the planet, but also makes you a much more conscious participant in the food system. When you're making choices every day about where to shop, what to buy, and what to cook, you become automatically attuned to all sorts of critical issues related to food: where it comes from, how it's produced, what's in it, how much it costs, how it tastes. The more active cooks (as opposed to passive eaters) we have, the better off we'll be.
2. Eat fewer animal products. The writing has been on the wall for years: overproducing and overconsuming meat and dairy is bad for the environment and bad for our health. Plus, the system of factory farming required to raise and kill...