(Editor’s note: This is an adapted excerpt from Becoming a Sustainable Runner, courtesy of Human Kinetics Publishers.)
I grew up in northern Arkansas, working on my family’s apple orchard. My earliest memories include running around the orchard, climbing trees, and eating fresh apples.
From an early age, I had a unique glimpse into what an ideal relationship with food could look like. For me, it looked like working side-by-side with my grandfather at the farmers market, chatting with folks who were buying their groceries, and helping them pick the perfect type of apple for their pie or their kid’s sack lunch.
My dad, a professor who specialized in researching sustainable and organic crop development, let me follow him around on his research farm, picking berries, weighing root balls, and falling more in love with how food is a meaningful way to engage with climate action. At age 17, I swore off meat and became a vegetarian (though the idea of swearing off nachos permanently was too scary.)
That relationship with food soured as I grew older. My body changed in ways I wasn’t comfortable with, and a bent towards…
