Want to Work in Sustainable Food?
I recently spoke at a women's networking event, which was hosting a small dinner entirely about sustainable food issues. For the record, the event consisted of scores of small dinners on all sorts of topics, but I found it notable that "sustainable food" is now garnering enough interest that it got a booking of its own.
A table full of young women attended the dinner, many of whom expressed some interest in the possibility of working in this field. Good news for the sustainably minded, food-loving job seeker: In this most burgeoning arena, there are opportunities aplenty, whether you're interested in growing food or making policy to govern its distribution.
You know a movement has really arrived when there's an entire Web site dedicated to jobs in that area. Check out the Sustainable Food Jobs Blog, started last November by an anonymous but enterprising soul named C.R.W. who was frustrated that there wasn't a central place to search for jobs in the field. Featured in SFWeekly (which called it "the Craigslist of Sustainable Food Jobs") and Brokelyn, this site seems to be catching on.
"The listings will specialize in non-profit/grassroots organizations and farms within the United States," says the site's "What's the Big Deal?" page. "No sifting through search engines. No green-washing. No thinly veiled corporate agenda. Just connecting you to what might possibly be the job opportunity that helps you change the world."
If you don't find your dream job on the site, refer to the page of further connections and resources. And if that doesn't quite hit the mark, there are plenty of other resources out there, and more all the time. Here a few good pages to get you started on finding the right fit for you:
- Green Collar Blog's Tips for Finding Sustainable Agriculture Jobs, which provides all sorts of ideas
- JobMonkey's Food and Sustainable Agriculture Jobs page, which focus on the scientific side of things and features a list of top university programs
- The Sustainable Living and Farming Jobs page at backdoorjobs.com, which describes and lists the employment sites for organizations that might be of interest
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service's page on Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships, which has listings for both the U.S. and Canada and is searchable by farm, state/province, and keyword.
- Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education's page of Links to Employment Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture
- Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture's announcement blog
- Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group's jobs page
- Sustainable Agriculture Education Association's page of Positions in Sustainable Agriculture Education
- For those with the itch to travel, Transitions Abroad's listing of Farm Work Abroad
And of course nothing beats simply growing your own food if you want some hard work in sustainable ag. It may not pay well, but it does the body and the earth good.







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