Worldwatch Institute Staff

Biography

Brian Halweil, Senior Researcher

Phone: +1 (202) 452-1992

Brian Halweil is a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute covering issues of food and agriculture. He joined Worldwatch in 1997 as the John Gardner Public Service Fellow from Stanford University, where he had established a student-run organic farm on campus. The farm was community-supported and sold produce to the university and local restaurants. In addition, Brian has set up community-supported farms and organic farms/orchards throughout California and assisted farmers who were making the shift from chemical to organic agriculture.

As a food and agriculture expert, Brian has testified before the U.S. Senate on biotechnology, poverty, and hunger. In addition, he has spoken to non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and industry groups on a variety of issues, ranging from organic farming to vegetarianism to genetically engineered crops. Brian's work has been featured in national newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, and New York Times, and on radio networks, such as National Public Radio and Voice of America.

Brian has traveled extensively in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, learning indigenous farming techniques and promoting sustainable food production. He holds Bachelor's of Science degrees in Earth Systems and Biology from Stanford University. He has also completed research, fieldwork, and coursework at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California at Davis. His work at Davis included participation in the "100 Year Sustainability Project" as well as the Student Experimental Farm for Alternative Agriculture.

Brian writes from Sag Harbor, New York, where he and his wife tend a home garden and orchard.

Selected Publications

"Meat and Seafood: The Most Costly Ingredients in the Global Diet," in State of the World 2008 (W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), co-authored with Danielle Nierenberg.

Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient Levels in U.S. Food Supply Eroded by Pursuit of High Yields (The Organic Center, September 2007).

"Farming the Cities," in State of the World 2007 (W.W. Norton & Company, 2007), co-authored with Danielle Nierenberg.

Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans, Worldwatch Paper 172, November 2006.

"Can Organic Farming Feed Us All?" World Watch, May/June 2006.

"The Irony of Climate," World Watch, March/April 2005.

Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004).

"Why No One Wins in the Global Food Fight," Washington Post, 21 September 2003.

"A Win-win-win-win Industry for the Tropics," World Watch, May/June 2002.

"Farming in the Public Interest," in State of the World 2002 (W.W. Norton & Company, 2002).

"Biotech, African Corn, and the Vampire Weed," World Watch, September/October 2001.