Brian Halweil

Brian Halweil (born 1975) is an American sustainable food writer and researcher. He is the publisher and editor-in-chief of "Edible East End", "Edible Brooklyn", "Edible Manhattan" and "Edible Long Island" magazines, devoted to chronicling the food communities in and around New York City. Previously, Halweil was a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, where his work focused on organic farming, biotechnology, hunger, seafood and rural communities.
His writing has been published in "The Washington Post", "The New York Times", "Los Angeles Times", "San Francisco Chronicle", "The Christian Science Monitor", and "International Herald Tribune", among others. In 2015, Halweil was named a "40 Under 40" Business Leader by "Long Island Business News" for his commitment to the local community and the local food movements.
Halweil has traveled and lived in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and East Africa learning indigenous farming techniques and promoting sustainable food production. He currently lives in Sag Harbor, NY, where he and his family keep a home garden and orchard, and raise ducks and oysters.
Education.
Halweil graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BS in earth systems and biology, and also completed coursework in agriculture and soil science at University of California, Davis. In college, he worked with California farmers interested in reducing their pesticide use and set up a 2-acre student-run organic farm on the campus of Stanford University. He conducted undergraduate research in Mexico and Cuba and completed his honors thesis on Biointensive farming in those regions.
Career.
Worldwatch Institute.
After completing his education in California, Halweil went on to work as a Senior Researcher for Worldwatch Institute in Washington D.C. There he conducted research and wrote on issues related to food and agriculture, ranging from water scarcity to organic farming, from transgenic crops to hunger. He authored articles for "Worldwatch Magazine", and chapters for the Institute's books, "State of the World" and "Vital Signs". He served as Director for the Nourishing the Planet project, a 2-year research effort on global hunger supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Halweil continues to work at Worldwatch Institute as a senior fellow.
"Edible" magazines.
Halweil is the publisher and editor-in-chief at "Edible East End", "Edible Brooklyn", "Edible Long Island", and "Edible Manhattan" magazines. He also helped to launch "Edible East End" in 2005, "Edible Brooklyn" in 2006, "Edible Manhattan" in 2008, and "Edible Long Island" in 2013, which are all part of the national network Edible Communities. Halweil contributes regularly to these titles and serves as a spokesperson for the network. Additionally, Halweil has been a proponent of the local food movement and established several community food organizations including the East End coalition of School Gardens, the Food Lab at Stony Brook Southampton, and Slow Food East End. Long Island Business News recognized his efforts by naming him one of the "40 Under 40" Business Leaders in 2015.
Other activities.
Halweil serves as a board member to the Food Tank: The Think Tank for Food. The organization, founded by Danielle Nierenberg, spotlights environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and works to create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change.
Additionally, Halweil is a board member of Slow Money NYC, a national non-profit organization supporting local food enterprises and organic farms. He also works with Stony Brook University's Food Lab.
Public speaking.
Halweil has spoken on food and agriculture issues at national and international events. He was a keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) annual meeting, and also provided a keynote address to the Urban Zen teacher training in New York City. He presented at the inaugural TEDxManhattan in 2011 on the local food movement and issues with the global food system.
Personal life.
Halweil was born in Middletown, New York. His family moved to New York City when he was a child and he attended the Allen-Stevenson School and then Trinity School.
Halweil is married to Sarah Halweil, a registered nurse who directs the Urban Zen Integrated Therapy program at Southampton Hospital. He and his family moved to Sag Harbor, New York, where they keep a home garden and orchard. They also raise oysters as part of Cornell's Southold Project in Aquaculture Training program.
He and his wife are the founders of the Sag Harbor Farmers Market, the first farmers market on the East End, which inspired many subsequent markets. Halweil also serves on the board of several food-related organizations in the region, including the Wholesome Wave Foundation and Edible School Gardens of the East End. He is also a "Creative Collaborator" with the Parrish Art Museum.
Selected bibliography.
Books: