National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive
This Archive is a work in progress led by Ron Kroese, Garden Avenue Associates and Senior Fellow in the Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems at the University of Minnesota.
The first round of interviews was published in April 2017. More are underway to capture a greater diversity of memories and viewpoints.
U of MN Media Archive - Complete Collection of Interviews
Individual Interviews:
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Bob BerglandFormer U.S. Secretary of Agriculture |
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Roger BlobaumOrganic Farming & Food Policy Advocate, Educator |
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George BoodyScience & Special Projects Leader, Land Stewardship Project |
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Don BustosFarmer; Co-Founder, National Immigrant Farming Initiative |
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Denny CaneffSustainable Farming, Healthy Rivers Advocate |
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Kate ClancyFood Systems Consultant, Visiting Scholar at the Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health |
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Ken CookPresident and co-founder, Environmental Working Group |
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Craig CoxVice President, Environmental Working Group |
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Bob GrayWashington DC Rep, National Center for Appropriate Technology |
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Chuck HassebrookFormer Executive Director, Center for Rural Affairs |
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Ferd HoefnerFounder and Federal Policy Advocate, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition |
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Wes JacksonPresident Emeritus, The Land Institute |
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Loni Kemp and |
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Margaret KromePolicy Director, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute |
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Mark LipsonResearch Associate in Organic Agriculture Policy, University of California, Santa Cruz |
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Amy LittleFormer Policy Director, NE Sustainable Agriculture Working Group |
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Kathleen MerriganDirector of Sustainability, George Washington University |
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Lorette PiccianoExecutive Director, Rural Coalition |
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Jim Riddle, Joyce Ford, and Doug NoparSoutheast Minnesota Farmers, Organic Farming & Food Advocates |
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Mark RitchieFormer President, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy |
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Roundtable Session 1 |
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Roundtable Session 2 |
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Roundtable Session 3 |
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Ricardo SalvadorDirector, Food & Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists |
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Mark SchultzExecutive Director, Land Stewardship Project |
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Bob ScowcroftFormer Executive Director of Organic Farming Research Foundation |
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Bob Scowcroft and Mark LipsonFormer Executive Director of Organic Farming Research Foundation (Scowcroft); and Research Associate in Organic Agriculture Policy, University of California, Santa Cruz (Lipson) |
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Sister Mary TachenyEducator, Sustainable Farming Advocate, School Sisters of Notre Dame |
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Bob WarrickFormer Agriculture Chair, Sierra Club |
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Mark WinneCo-Founder, Community Food Security Coalition |
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Garth YoungbergFormer Executive Director, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture |
Through a series of video-recorded interviews, this oral history project is documenting the formation and evolution of what today is known as the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), including the federal policy reforms NSAC and its allies have achieved over the last three decades.
Topics covered include:
- The political and social context surrounding the formation in the early 1980s of what became NSAC
- The evolution of NSAC from its early days as an informal network of grassroots organizations -- most of which were located in the Midwest, with Minnesota groups playing prominent roles -- to the more formal structure of regional Sustainable Agriculture Working Groups (SAWGs) in the 1990s, to the NSAC of today with its 120 organizations from around the country
- A review of the policy gains that support organic and sustainable agriculture achieved through the past six Farm Bills
- A discussion of where the efforts of sustainable agriculture advocates came up short, as well as an exploration of further policy changes needed to advance sustainable agriculture and a healthier food system
Ron Kroese, Garden Avenue Associates, and
Senior Fellow, Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems
rkroese@visi.com
Related Resources:
National Agricultural Library: Oral Histories
1988-1994
"Growing Right" Oral History Project in Ohio
Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
