East Bay writer and urban farmer Novella Carpenter will be at the Claremont branch of the Berkeley library today at 4 p.m. Photo: courtesy Novella Carpenter NOVELLA CARPENTER AT THE LIBRARY Today, Friday, local writer, urban farmer, educator and activist Novella Carpenter will take part in a free author chat at the Claremont branch of the Berkeley Public Library. […]
Novella Carpenter
To improve the food system, start with the words
Douglas Gayeton’s new book is a dictionary of sorts, albeit with gorgeous images. He hopes it will change the way we make and consume food.
Meat matters: 2 new films focus on hot issues
Two new films, one featuring Berkeley’s own Local Butcher Shop, look at how the meat industry can adopt more sustainable practices.
Berkeley acupuncturist finds bliss in seasonal food
Nishanga Bliss, the author of Real Food All Year, on eating seasonal whole foods for optimal health and energy.
BioFuel Oasis: 8 years on, and still powered by idealism
Jon and Val, customers at BioFuel Oasis, which is celebrating its eighth anniversary in Berkeley. Photo: Melissa Hardy By Nathan Pensky Even in a community as amenable to progressive values as Berkeley, there are few small businesses so powered by idealism as BioFuel Oasis, which this month is celebrating its eighth birthday. An environmentalist mainstay since 2003, […]
Faith-based urban farm opens in Berkeley
Families enjoying the festivities at the Urban Adamah Grand Opening and Farm Festival yesterday. Photos: Sarah Henry Sunday marked the grand opening of Urban Adamah, the first faith-based, modern urban farm in West Berkeley, at 1050 Parker Street near San Pablo Avenue, opposite Fantasy Studios. The one-acre farm with Jewish roots offers a residential fellowship […]
Urban homesteader challenges city on sale of edibles
Sophie Hahn, founder, Berkeley Edible Garden Initiative Should city dwellers be allowed to sell their backyard bounty? Sophie Hahn thinks so. The North Berkeley resident wants to share the abundance from her residential produce plot and offset some costs she incurs maintaining her edible garden. But Hahn ran into hiccups with the city last year […]
Urban farmer Willow Rosenthal plants seeds in Berkeley
Willow Rosenthal harvests Sophie Hahn's garden. Photo: Sarah Henry. The aptly named Willow Rosenthal grew up around trees in Sonoma County in a community that farmed its own food. Raised by hippies who didn’t have a lot of money, she nonetheless ate well. She also learned how to grow her own food by working on […]
Berkeley Bites: Aaron Betesh, Blue Heron Farms
Aaron Betesh. Photo: Sarah Henry For 10 years, Blue Heron Farms vendor Aaron Betesh has been selling organic vegetables to customers at all three Berkeley Farmers’ Markets. Betesh is part of the Blue Heron crew which, for much of the year, hawks salad greens, Asian greens, herbs and flower — along with carrots, kale, and […]
Eat Real Lit Fest features Berkeley scribes
The second annual Eat Real Festival, a three-day showcase of the best of the Bay Area’s street food carts, local growers, artisan beer and wine purveyors, cheese makers, urban homesteaders, and other local food crafters kicks off tomorrow at Jack London Square in downtown Oakland. The event that promises to “Put the Food Back in […]
Berkeley Bites: Samin Nosrat, ex-Eccolo and co-creator of the Pop-Up General Store
Samin Nosrat is a veritable poster girl for the current trend (some would say necessity) of workplace reinvention. Since the shuttering last summer of Eccolo, an acclaimed Italian eatery on 4th Street, that restaurant’s one-time sous chef now juggles an impressive number of part-time jobs in the culinary world. Nosrat is the co-creator (along with […]
Food and farming: Double header this Thursday
Berkeleysiders interested in food and farming may find themselves torn between two edible events being held downtown — or bouncing between both this Thursday. The Earth Island Institute and VegNews Magazine host a hot-topic debate: “Can You Be a ‘Good Environmentalist’ and Still Eat Meat?” In one corner, Nicolette Hahn Niman, a Marin rancher and […]