The future of food is ancient, according to Bob Quinn.
23.04.2020
Organics is currently the fastest growing sector of the U.S.’s food industry. Americans spending USD 52.5 billion in 2018 on organic foods and products, the number of certified organic farms grew nearly 40 percent in five years and income for organic farmers has concurrently nearly doubled, according to the Organic Trade Association.
When Bob Quinn began regenerative organic farming in the mid-1980s, fellow farmers thought he was crazy and his methods of increased biodiversity and naturally fertilized topsoil would never reach the same results as with using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. But they were wrong, and his company, Kamut International – named for his primary crop of kamut wheat, a species of ancient wheat – grew into a multimillion-dollar business.
He recounts his story, which parallels that of the organics industry as a whole, in his recently published book Grain by Grain, which he co-authored with Stanford University lecturer and environmental scientist Liz Carlisle.
Bob Quinn spoke with Global Landscape Forum‘s Gabrielle Lipton and gave his thoughts on where organic farming has yet to go.