I realized this week that I really am a New Yorker. It’s my other home. Often, I feel like I live in so many different worlds and have multiple lives. But this week they all came together in New York City: My work with the Rodale Institute and food and farmers. My gardening and landscaping love. My writing. My friends. My passion for art. So this post is going to be written in the style of a very old W Magazine, back when it was an oversized color newspaper which could be recycled as the coolest wrapping paper. W is what made me fall in love with New York in the first place. Meaning, there will be a lot of “bold names,” literally names written in bold with all the inside tea about what my life is really like. Back then, there was no internet, so bold names didn’t have links you could click to find out who is who. So there are only a few links here. And hang on to your seats because it’s a wild ride…
Saturday night I had dinner with my friend Pamela Redmond, the author of Younger (now a show on Netflix). She’s about to do a one woman show in NY called Old Woman Naked. I think it’s already sold out. But maybe it will make it to Broadway! (I provided a link because if you just google “old lady naked” some weird shit shows up.
On Sunday afternoon, I was invited to the UN to see Maya Lin open her exhibit called What If. It’s a series of inspiring and informative posters that will be placed on bus shelters around the city during Climate Week that ask all sorts of What If questions. The show was sponsored by an organization called Art2030, which is a Danish group that aims to inspire change through art. (Actually, the What If link goes to Maya’s What is Missing Project, which is also really cool. For some reason the Art2030 site wouldn’t link here.) Interestingly, I named my daughter Maya after Maya because back in 1982, Maya Lin was a young student who won the commission to create the Vietnam Memorial. It was a scandal! A perfect scandal. Maya is also dear friends with my friend Edwina Von Gal, who is an amazing landscape architect who has a non-profit called Perfect Earth. I’ve just joined the board along with Faith Popcorn, who I remember reading about when I was a young women. Life is so freaking weird!
Sunday evening I went to an event hosted by Danielle Nierenberg, who runs Food Tank. Called Hope on a Plate, it was a jam packed full night of great speakers, including the chef Dan Barber and my favorite friend who I had never met in person before, Brita Lundberg, fourth generation of Lundberg Rice, which is certified Regenerative Organic. For the whole evening I sat between Marion Nestle and Shannon and Jack Algiers, of Stone Barns. I also got to meet Brita’s parents, which was a treat. I love their rice!
Monday morning (and the day of the Autumn Equinox) I met up with Edwina and Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture at the Highline. Did you know the Highline is all organic?! It’s so beautiful if you ever get a chance to walk it. Then it was off to lunch with a wonderful book publishing friend, Gail Gonzales, who still works for Rodale Books, but now at Penguin Random House. Sticking with the theme of publishing (and horticulture), I went to an event at the Rizzoli book store for a fellow author, Adam Alexander, and his book The Accidental Seed Heroes (Chelsea Green). He was interviewed by Alex McAlvay, from the New York Botanical Garden. It was fascinating and I bought two books because it’s important to support authors!
Are you exhausted yet? Because I was!
Tuesday I had to go to mid town to get my hair cut. I’ve been going to Pancho at Panca Salon for over 30 years! But getting there was a total nightmare, because not only is UN Week in general a nightmare in the city, but Trump was in town. Panca Salon is one block from Trump Tower, which was SURROUNDED by giant dump trucks that said SDNY which I think stands for Sanitation Department of New York. I know they were there to “protect” the building. But it seemed like an apt metaphor for the whole situation. Plus, there were so many barricades that I had to go way out of my way just to get where I was going.
Tuesday evening Jeff Tkach, Luke Howard, and the Rodale Institute (which I am co-chair of) hosted a private dinner to honor Gary Hirshberg with the Organic Stewardship Award. I love Gary, who co-founded Stoneyfield Yogurt, and have known him literally almost forever, so it was a lovely evening. Alice Waters, a previous Organic Stewardship Award winner and dear friend was also there. As were a few other wonderful people, all committed to the regenerative organic mission, including Paul Lightfoot, from Patagonia Provisions, who is doing great work. And Walter Robb, former COO of Whole Foods. And Stephen Williamson, CEO of Forager Project, a plant based dairy company. Also seen in the restaurant Charlie Bird that night and a joy to meet in person for the first time was Clara Coleman, daughter of the iconic Eliot Coleman.
At this point my legs were giving out. I was walking about 4 miles a day, often at night. And I have to tell you if you are not familiar with New York City, it is a joy to walk in at all hours. Thankfully, I never have felt unsafe. I think the people who fear the city perhaps have never been here.
My last day at Climate Week I had lunch at Cookshop with the President of Kansas Wesleyan University, Matt Thompson, who the Rodale Institute is partnering with to train farmers. NY Governor Kathy Hochul came in, surrounded by secret service guys. She was with Barry Diller and Diane Von Furstenburg, whom I only mention because they were original bold names back in the day. I also ran into my old friend Paulette Cole, who is also a neighbor. New York really is a series of small neighborhoods.
From there I met with my lovely book editor Alex Bolotow, and publisher of Chelsea Green, Matthew Derr. They gave me the green light to keep going on my book on the history of organic, so I left feeling good!
My last event of Climate Week was the premier of the film Prairie Prophecy, by Michael Johnson. It’s about Wes Jackson and it was the perfect insight into who Wes Jackson is and how he fits into the whole organic story. I met him once when we were both waiting to meet Prince Charles. He was carrying a very long root system with him.
As busy as I was, I didn’t even scratch the surface of all the events happening for Climate Week. But I did all I could handle and skeedadled out of town to head up north, and felt a tinge of sadness to see the leaves already turning. As I drove I thought about how four years ago no one was even talking about food and farming at Climate Week. It was all venture capitalists looking to invest in technologies that can scale and make them rich. I’m sure those people were still there, they always are, but I didn’t see too many of them. So I was left with this thought…
What if…What if we keep believing that a wonderful future is possible? What if we keep on hoping but also acting on that hope? What if we start all working together rather than competing with one another? What if we use the power of our spending to fund the world we want to live in, not the world billionaires trap us into. What if the whole world went Regenerative Organic? What if we manifest magic? What if instead of waiting for some apocalyptic rapture, we make a world of happy rapture right here? What if instead of waiting for someone else to solve our problems, we just get it all done together, working hand in hand?
It is possible!
But also, now I need a little rest.
I’m tired just reading this, but also inspired. So much fun! And your hair really looks great!
Wonderful to hear of all the people who continue to support the earth.🌍 The circle ⭕️ of life is a great mystery .