Meredith Epstein, an expert agricultural educator,  will be speaking at the Washington D.C. Food Tank Summit titled, “Cultivating the Next Generation of Young Food Leaders,” held in partnership with The George Washington University, The World Resources Institute, the National Farmers Union, the National FFA Organization, and the National Young Farmers Coalition on February 28, 2018. Food Tank spoke with her recently.

Food Tank: How are you helping to build a better food system?

Meredith Epstein: I am helping to train the next generation of environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially responsible farmers.

FT: What’s the most pressing issue in food and agriculture that you’d like to see solved?

ME: We need to focus on land access for beginning farmers. This is especially important as we approach the turnover of millions of acres of farmland over the next five years as the older generation of farmers retire.

FT: What is one small change every person can make in their daily lives to make a big difference?

ME: Every person should try to think more inclusively when it comes to agricultural production practices. Don’t villainize conventional, commercial, industrial — whatever you are calling it — agriculture. It is counterproductive and wastes precious time. We all need to be on the same team and all have things to learn from each other.

Read the full interview with agriculture educator Meredith Epstein at Food Tank.