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Corby Kummer

@ckummer.bsky.social
3.3K followers 218 following 468 posts

Executive Director, Food & Society at the Aspen Institute, senior editor of The Atlantic, senior lecturer at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We're live! Join "The People Who Feed Us: Building a Food System That Works for Workers" right now, through 2 PM ET. aspeninstitute.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I asked a climate week crowd who's bought cod lately. four hands went up. That gap is the whole reason we love gatherings like this hosted by @foodtank! Watch this incredible panel: ow.ly/cunL50ZSRah
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Tomorrow! "The People Who Feed Us: Building a Food System That Works for Workers" airs live Oct 1, 1-2 PM ET. Free and open to all: grab your spot now: aspenfood.org/2026/08/07/conversati…
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"The juicy Bronx grapes she placed in my hand literally stuck to me as did this: “School Supported Agriculture is what I believe in right now. I'll let it go if it doesn't work. But I was always that way with Chez. Love and determination go together for me." danimhoff.substack.com/p/lunch-with...
danimhoff.substack.com
Lunch with Alice Waters
On the essence of Farm to Table food and the genius of School Supported Agriculture
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Marion folded her arms, looked into the camera, and said: "Presumably, you asked me here for a reason." That was mid-pandemic, my students star-struck into small talk. Vintage Marion. Happy 90th! More: ow.ly/FEKv50ZRurx
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A powerful day at the The Aspen Institute for a convening on strengthening nutrition and health for rural older adults — great group in the room, and grateful to The John A. Hartford Foundation for backing this work. More soon.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Today on Boston Public Radio: Wendell Berry, whose 50-year argument for small farms shaped how we think about land + community, with a clip of my time with him just weeks ago. More: aspenfood.org/corby-kummer
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The fall festival will take place on September 26th! Info: berrycenter.org
berrycenter.org
Home - The Berry Center
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This weekend at The Berry Benter holds its annual Fall Festival. It carries forward what ran through Wendell's 50 books: respect for yourself, your work, community, the land, the air. His joyous voice—recorded just 6 weeks before he died—will fill it. Here's my tribute: ow.ly/uGjK50ZMC8E
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It’s a beautiful, instructive place carrying forward the connections that were the spine of Wendell’s 50 books: respect for yourself, your work, your community, the land you walk on, the air you breathe.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Who benefits from the food economy and who should? Our Oct 1 panel brings together voices in labor policy, farmworker advocacy, and employee ownership to explore what a fairer food system could look like. Register: aspeninstitute.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I was lucky to spend the day with Wendell, his wife of 69 years, Tanya, and his daughter, Mary, who has created the extraordinary Berry Center to further his life’s work. I’d visited Wendell and Tanya several times at their kitchen table. Here’s an excerpt from part of the day I’m so glad I filmed.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I asked Wendell Berry why he used the word "manners" so often in his writing. His answer moved from the formal etiquette book his parents gave him as a child to something plainer — manners as a practical ethic, not a social one. From one of my last conversations with him.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
And one of several very big and recent missed opportunities to tighten food safety regulation:
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Excellent article on gutted food inspection by Eric Schlosser in @theatlantic.com. On an ongoing botulism outbreak: "The contents of a single can of formula may contain milk from thousands of different cows. Nobody has ever fed babies this kind of stuff before." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Should We Be Afraid of Our Food?
America’s food-safety system is being methodically dismantled by the Trump administration.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ever wonder how one apple tree can grow FOUR different kinds of apples? I break down the art of grafting and share why the Roxbury Russet (yes, named for Roxbury!) is worth seeking out at Boston farmers markets this fall. More: aspenfood.org/2026/09/03/g... #BPR #NewEnglandApples
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Every meal depends on a long chain of labor, from the fields to your table. Join us Thurs, Oct 1 (1-2 PM ET), part of our Conversations on Food Justice series. Free & open to all. More: ow.ly/59SC50ZI0Ue
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Terribly sad news: Wendell Berry died today. Here's a long, good obit in @nytimes.com. How lucky I was to spend an afternoon with him only a few weeks ago. And how startled, and sad, I was to see myself five people away from Wendell in a photo in the Times obit. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Ever gotten a CSA box and had zero idea what to do with the nine bags of greens? You're not alone but here's why farmers and Chef Sarah Stegner love them anyway. Watch this moment from our Aspen Ideas conversation: ow.ly/HoYQ50ZEYWZ
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Communists vs Native Americans a revelations, and always assumed image on box vs Speaker's Corner.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I like to window shop on Fifth Avenue/I like banana splits, late supper at the Ritz/How about you? (though for Babes on Broadway, not a show)
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The Farm Collaborative: Five years ago, this market was part of Food Leaders Fellow Eden Vardy's action plan. We returned with the fifth cohort to this gorgeous building. But what touched our hearts is that he and his team specifically designed spaces for this and future cohorts. Thank you, Eden!
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"Somewhere along the line, we lost the true purpose of food."-Isabel Mace That quote from Isabel Mace stuck with all of us as we kicked off the fifth cohort of The Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellowship. We were treated to a beautiful supper at the Catto Center at Toklat. Join us in welcoming them
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
From 5 vendors in a high school parking lot to 45 farmer's markets across Chicago, Chef Rick Bayless breaks down how small grants moved the needle. A great moment from the Aspen Ideas Climate. Watch the full conversation: ow.ly/hV3W50Zxfqv
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I sat down with three people at Aspen Ideas Climate, all of whom have spent decades getting Chicago closer to its food. Chef Cliff Rome from The Obama Foundation shared the lesson from his grandmother. More: ow.ly/zz8o50Zx54l
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Food companies are suing countries to block warning labels and it's working. On Boston Public Radio, I talked about the fight over ultra-processed food regulation. Full segment: aspenfood.org/2026/08/04/ultra-proc…
aspenfood.org
Ultra-Processed, Ultra-Litigious: Big Food's Lawyers vs. Your Ingredient List - Food & Society
Corby joins Boston Public Radio for a segment that starts with why customers can't quit their favorite "upset tummy" food despite the cyclospora outbreak. Then he digs into the World Health Organization's fight against food-industry lawsuits blocking warning labels on ultra-processed foods. Finally, he takes a surprising look at how declining alcohol consumption is reshaping
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
@drtedros.who.int on industry lawsuits against (mostly poor) countries trying to limit ultra-processed foods: “When harm and profit are tied to the same product, a familiar pattern of industry interference emerges: sowing doubt and obstructing regulation.” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Ultra-processed food companies hindering health drives by suing countries, says WHO
Exclusive: Director general accuses corporations of obstructing efforts to tackle obesity crisis after investigation by Guardian and others
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
"We get to build it ourselves." Accepting the 2026 McNulty Foundation Prize, our Fellow Tom McDougall of 4P Foods challenged us to stop patching the food system and start building a better one — piece by piece. He's got 89+ siblings (aka fellows) building with him. Watch: ow.ly/s2BS50ZsqQO
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Scared of salad right now? Wait for the recipe! The cyclospora outbreak isn't confirmed to be just Taylor Farms and here's the kicker: Michigan has the MOST cases not because it's the epicenter, but because it has the best-staffed disease investigators. More: ow.ly/50o250ZtWCo
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
powerful, enduring thoughts that should inform how we treat each other and the world we live in. (You might not want to miss Nick Offerman's wonderful narration on the audio version.) 7/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
accelerated by industry and a ruthless economy that enslaves lands as well as workers, with startlingly current examples from the current administration in Wendell's incomparably simple language for... 6/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
More on the incredible work of The Berry Center, which you should visit, this week. For now read Wendell's The Need to be Whole, a beautiful summary of his thoughts on the severing of a nourishing link between people and land... 5/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We started with what we were reading, specifically fiction and Faulkner. I'm rereading The Old Man and the Sea, Wendell said, because I can never forget a one-paragraph review Faulkner wrote. Would you like me to read it to you? 4/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
For several hours our conversation ranged from the unspoken and constant help neighbors always give neighbors in communities tied to the land to his thoughts on the afterlife. The dialogue of the present with the eternal, and our connection with G d, was everywhere. 3/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
So splendid that with the permission of Wendell and his fantastic daughter, Mary, founder of the Berry Center in New Castle, outside Louisville, I'm posting this video. 2/7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Last week I spent a miraculous afternoon in the company of Wendell and Tanya Berry, as I had been very lucky to do on several occasions though none since the pandemic. They were in splendid form. Thread count 1 of 7
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Truly great card from spouse.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
We always think Tom McDougall is surrounded by a halo—something many of our Food & Society at the Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellows have in common. So glad the McNulty Foundation agrees! Here he is at the McNulty Prize ceremony at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum on the The Aspen Institute campus.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
At The Aspen Institute, Bobby Flay told a room that when he sees me walk onto the set of Beat Bobby Flay, his first thought is: "If it's not perfect, I'm dead." Truly the best thing anyone has ever said about me. Full conversation: aspenfood.org/2026/06/23/corby-kumm…
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Thank you! We fixed!
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
"These platters looked like what you might put on the table at home, simple to the point of unremarkable, but there was beauty in that." A four-star @nytimes.com by Tejal Rao with two stars. So glad I'm out of the star-giving business. And that Tejal got Chez Panisse. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/d...
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New work-requirement rules just raised the bar for who qualifies for SNAP. States must now cover up to 75% of admin costs they never paid before. The impact is already visible Listen to my conversation with Christina and Shirley on Boston Public Radio: ow.ly/aqOj50ZqVLu
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The Taylor Farms lettuce recall is bigger than Taco Bell. It has hit Cisco--school, hospital, and college cafeterias too--but the company won't disclose full shipping details Watch my conversation on Boston Public Radio: ow.ly/Gowg50ZqOZw #Cyclospora
ow.ly
Lettuce, Cuts, and Cheese: A Week Inside America's Food Safety Net - Food & Society
https://www.youtube.com/live/08VS09FoOZs?si=L3OUSISe_46D60eR&t=2986 Corby Kummer starts from the ground up covering the latest developments in the investigation of cyclospora in this episode of Boston Public Radio. He points to the heroic efforts of a bare bones USDA analysts who remain after cuts started with the Biden administration and accelerated under the current one. He moves on to
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Watch Aspen Ideas conversation: aspenfood.org/2026/07/13/c... Read Ellen’s essay: foodishealth.substack.com/p/what-emerg... Review new Dietary Guidelines for Americans: odphp.health.gov/our-work/nut... Check out the AHA’s dietary guidelines: www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...
aspenfood.org
Corby at Aspen Ideas Festival 2026 - Food & Society
At this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, two of the most [...]
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Worth focusing on what needs to be done and supporting the changemakers who are working to improve America’s food system. We know a few and you’ll want to meet our Food Leaders Fellows!
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Means: the sat-fat cap wasn't raised (true). @marionnestle.bsky.social: full-fat dairy/meat makes it difficult to stick to that 10%
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Strip away the contention and we find common ground. That’s what Ellen Brown writes in her recent essay, What Emerges Is a Food Agenda, Not an Argument (link in the last thread) @aspenfood.bsky.social
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Congratulations to Tom McDougall, founder of 4P Foods and a Food Leaders Fellow, on the well-deserved 2026 John P. McNulty Prize! His work building resilient, equitable food supply chains inspired us the moment we met him. Congrats to fellow winners! More: ow.ly/2Ee850Zol6E
ow.ly
The Prize | McNulty Foundation
The John P. McNulty Prize awarded in partnership with the Aspen Institute, celebrating those who use their leadership abilities and private sector talents to address the world’s toughest challenges.
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I moderated this panel and will never forget! Calley Means and Marion Nestle disagreed sharply and audience voices raised more than once. But Ellen Brown looks beyond from the friction to a real, shared food agenda Video & essay: ow.ly/nn7750ZnZt1
substack.com
What Emerges Is a Food Agenda, Not an Argument
Removing the Friction From A Contentious Aspen Panel
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Corby Kummer @ckummer.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
New from Aspen Ideas: a MAHA senior advisor and the nutrition world's most influential critic shared a stage. It got heated fast. Watch the conversation: aspenfood.org/2026/07/13/corby-at-a…
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