What People are Saying About Food Freedom
The following is some of the early feedback on Food Freedom from Robin’s colleagues and Dear Friends.
“In formal debate, taking an extreme position often yields understanding of an issue that would never occur when both sides tip-toe diplomatically around the main disagreement. Robin Greenfield is an extremist, but this is why everyone needs to read his story. Extremists frame truth like no one else. Living at the edge of extremism, Robin takes us on a spellbinding and provocative journey of discovery. Only an ultra-maverick can learn and communicate at this level of awareness and authenticity.
“If you feel enslaved or shackled by industrial food and farming, Robin’s story is like an emancipation proclamation shouting: ‘Free yourself!’ This may be the most profound modern story explaining the path to possibility. His story, compelling and profound, grabs you and shakes you like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. Most of us need that level of shaking to embrace truth and practical conviction. Prepare to be challenged, informed, and transformed.”
– Joel Salatin, Farmer, Author
“These times are calling on us to shatter the illusions of limitation, free our imagination, and reject everything our forefathers deemed impossible. Robin’s testimony is proof that the power to dissolve mental and physical prisons is in our hands.”
– Dr. Lyla June Johnston, Dine’ Historical Ecologist
“Join Robin for a nourishing adventure that will forever change the way you think about food. Having lived a few of my own dietary experiments, I can deeply feel the bravery and determination in his story. In Food Freedom, Robin’s philosophy and practice merge into a timely call to culinary action and food awareness.”
– Samuel Thayer, Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants
“Robin is the ultimate permaculture practitioner. His life is a testament to what is possible by living carbon neutral in modern times, more than is imaginable by the average person. Robin has the highest ethics of anyone I know and the best energy audit lifestyle. This is a book for surviving the future and the present reality. You need this book and so do your grandchildren.”
– Geoff Lawton, World-Renowned Permaculture Consultant, Designer and Teacher
“Food Freedom is more than a chronicle of Robin’s experiences with food acquisition. Rather, this is an informative, entertaining guidebook that will serve as a roadmap for so many of us who wish to be in right relationship with our Mother Earth. This book draws you in and makes you feel like you are part of Robin’s journey. Although we all have varying experiences and challenges – some of us have 9-5 jobs, some of us have families, some of us are new to food production – Robin’s book is a vision – a glimpse into a world where food has been liberated from the market economy.”
– Linda Black Elk, Ethnobotanist and Food Sovereignty Activist
“Robin’s book Food Freedom is the inspiration we need! Through following Robin’s incredible year-long journey, we are given practical and accessible steps we can take toward being in better relationship with our food, community and Earth. Above all, Robin’s book is a testament to his integrity and a reminder that each day we can align our most sacred values with our actions.”
– Amanda David, Community Herbalist and Organizer
“Robin Greenfield’s Food Freedom is an intimate offering of one human being’s search for an action-fueled metamorphosis to shed societal norms and embody a sustainable existence.”
– Tashia Hart, The Good Berry Cookbook
“Robin Greenfield has dedicated his life to bringing humanity back into connection with the earth and all its fellow inhabitants. Food is our umbilical connection to the earth – it’s the way we take nature into our bodies on a daily basis. Food Freedom is a call for us to rejoice in the bounty and abundance, and a call for all of us to safeguard and nurture this as a basic human right that should be accessible to all.”
– Tristram Stuart, Waste, and The Bloodless Revolution; Founder of Feedback Global
“Robin set out on a truly remarkable endeavor in doing what most people would call impossible, growing every morsel of food and sustenance on his own. In this empowering book, Robin shows how to incrementally take small steps to your very own Food Freedom, while influencing the communities around us to take back control from Big Food conglomerates. This book will inspire you to take a closer look at your food and to eat what nature intended, real food.”
– Vani Hari, New York Times Best-Selling Author of Food Babe Kitchen
“Food Freedom is a revolutionary exploration that redefines our understanding of food and its connection to the Earth. With humility and unwavering resilience, Robin’s incredibly rich journey compels us to fundamentally reexamine how we source and consume our food. This book is far more than a guide; it is a profound call to action, urging us to reconnect with the land and cultivate more resilient food systems that prioritize local sources, ecologically sustainable practices and nurture deeper respect and curiosity for nature. Robin’s journey will empower you to take bold, meaningful steps toward embracing true food freedom and becoming better stewards of the world around us.”
– Ashlie Thomas, Gardener and Author of How to Become a Gardener
“In Food Freedom, Robin takes us on a remarkable food adventure where he shares his trials and triumphs while spending a year eating nothing but what he could personally grow or forage. The book is a fascinating story packed with homesteading, gardening and foraging tips, as well as insights about nutrition and our dietary choices, the global food system and community.
“His actions are a combination of educational event, political commentary, street theater, and personal challenge. Few of us would choose such a challenging path, but Robin reminds us that we can always challenge ourselves to do better.”
– Doug Elliott, Naturalist, Herbalist, Storyteller
“Robin is a modern-day monk. His ascetic practice is dedicated to the playful yet devout exploration of the human condition and our relationship to the Earth. I remember Robin staying with us towards the end of his time eating only wild foraged food. He had bags full of nuts and dried persimmons he carried with him, like a giant human squirrel, sea salt and wild rice which he had harvested in his travels. I watched him take a bite out of the first commercially grown apple since his fast began. He proclaimed that it was tasteless compared to the sour and sweet wild fruits he was now used to.”
– Laney Sullivan, Musician, Høly River, Co-founder of Fonticello Food Forest
“The ethos of surviving in the manner of our grandmothers and ancestors by procuring food, water and medicines from the natural and horticultured world is the salvation of humanity. If we want this sacred world, we have to fight for that world. Our right to live in a spiritual economic reality is threatened daily by the violence of the corporate, extractive, linear system which has separated us from our connection, our natural abilities, our relatives. Mitakuye Oyasin is a philosophy of the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux Nation) meaning everything that is, is my relative. As a species, we must realize our responsibility to recreate and pursue a respectful relationship with our relatives before we further our own extinction. Only the human will go extinct because it has lost its way. There is a critical mass of us who know the way and are seeking the way to save ourselves from extractive corporate throwaway consumer slavery. We are family and we will depend on each other in this fight for the power of our peace. I look forward to the day we forage in my sacred homelands for the nourishment which has sustained indigenous nations for untold millennia.”
– Chase Iron Eyes, Director and Lead Counsel of Lakota People’s Law Project
“Marketers have fed us lies—that we can’t survive without the industrial food system, that this system frees us from the daily “drudgery” of caring for our families and ourselves, and that we are incapable of producing food. Robin Greenfield’s immersive quest shows that we have more options than we may realize. Will you go as far as Robin? Not likely. But you will come away from the story of his journey to food freedom feeling inspired to throw off—or at least loosen—the shackles of industrial agriculture.”
– Anne-Marie Bonneau, The Zero-Waste Chef
“Everything about this book shines like a beacon of hope for humanity at this critical moment of our journey to becoming a just and sustainable global civilization. I am immensely grateful to Robin for the profound wisdom and practical information contained in this book as well as his life of utmost integrity that reflects his deep love of the Earth and service to all beings. What a great blessing this book is to all of us looking for inspiration and guidance on our Earth path.”
– Steve Torma, Former President of Earthaven Ecovillage, Co-founder of The REAL Center, Compassionate Communication Teacher and Life Coach
“Food Freedom is an inspiring and thought-provoking read into a quest towards sustainable living and self-sufficiency from the guru and eco-warrior himself, Robin Greenfield! Food Freedom provides a detailed account of Robin’s journey to break free from the constraints of mainstream food culture towards a more balanced, equitable, and regenerative lifestyle, ultimately manifesting in the challenge of only eating what he grows and forages for an entire year! I have personally lived with and witnessed the passion that Robin brings to sustainability through his hands-on experiences and the stories shared in this book, and I genuinely feel this book is a must-read for anyone interested in eco-conscious living.”
– Chris Castro, Former Director of Sustainability & Resilience, City of Orlando, Founder, IDEAS For Us
Foreword by Alice Waters
When I first met Robin Greenfield, I was struck by the radical nature of his mission. Robin has made an uncompromising commitment to exist in harmony with the Earth. This is not just a personal commitment; it is a provocative public experiment that reveals what is possible if we reimagine our relationship with food.
Food Freedom tells Robin’s story of foraging and growing all of his food for an entire year. Robin does nothing by half measures: By his rules, every bit of his food—oil, salt, honey, meat, fish, spices, tea, even medicine—would have to be grown, harvested, caught or foraged. By foregoing the industrialized food system entirely, Robin upends what I like to call fast food culture and its values. Fast food culture extends far beyond a McDonalds drive-through or the ultra-processed foods in the convenience store. Fast food culture is defined by an insidious belief system based around consumption and waste, all to benefit the for-profit multinational conglomerates that exploit the fragile resources of our planet. In an age where the values of speed, convenience, cheapness and uniformity often trump the slower, more earth-bound values of seasonality, simplicity, biodiversity, and beauty, Robin offers an unwavering vision of what is possible when we break free from the fast food values we have been fed for the past 60 years.
Robin has taken food self-sufficiency to its most radical extension—but as he is the first to acknowledge, this experiment depended upon the support he received from his community. Over the course of a year, he learned about wild berries, greens and mushrooms from experienced foragers, acquired seeds from local nurseries, and tended to gardens he planted in his community members’ yards. This experiment reveals an important truth: despite the best efforts of fast food culture to separate us from our food sources and one another, we are all interconnected—and we are at our best when we foster those connections. The health of our food systems, our communities, and our planet are inextricably linked.
We cannot all participate in the same uncompromising experiments as Robin, but we can learn from his experiences. A whole world of delicious wild edibles can be found all around us, at our fingertips, if we open our eyes to it. And when we eat regenerative food that is grown locally—whether we are foraging it, growing it ourselves, accessing it through community gardens, participating in community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), or purchasing through farmers’ markets—we strengthen our community bonds and support the people who are taking care of the land.
I have always believed in the power of food to transform lives and communities. I have witnessed it happen firsthand at the Edible Schoolyard Project, a garden and kitchen program I founded 30 years ago at a public middle school. When you get students out into the garden—when they can plant a seed, watch it grow, harvest it, and cook it into something delicious—their whole relationship to nature changes. Food is far more than sustenance. It is a source of connection and growth, a way to fall in love with nature and mend our broken relationship with the planet. Food Freedom shows that when we take control of our food choices, we take control of our future. We become active participants in the creation of a culture that values the planet. This book shows us what is possible and calls us to action, to make these small, meaningful, pleasurable, rewarding changes in our everyday lives. Most importantly, it reminds us that we all have the power to make a difference, one meal at a time.
– Alice Waters