When it comes to putting Minnesota on the map, food-wise, Beth Dooley is front and center. A James Beard Award–winning food writer, Dooley has made her name “celebrating the bounty of America’s northern heartland,” as she puts it. She has written more than a dozen cookbooks, has a column in the Star Tribune, and appears regularly on local media outlets like KARE 11 and MPR. 

And at the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, Dooley has close ties with the Forever Green Initiative, which is focused on promoting regenerative agriculture. In fact, when she was a senior fellow and holder of the Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems for the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at the U, she authored The Forever Green Cookbook, available by mail order and also online as a free download.

In her latest book, The Perennial Kitchen, Dooley cultivates a deep connection between the principles of sustainable agriculture and the food we prepare at home. We spoke with her about the ecological and economic benefits of regenerative farming, the power of supporting our local economy, and the simple things people can do to make their relationship with food more sustainable. 

What are some small actions people can take to make their relationship with food more sustainable? 

First of all, shop at the farmers’ markets. Go to the co-ops. Our co-ops are amazing. The other thing is just becoming aware of the local foods that we have in this area. 

The wisdom is that $1 spent supporting the local economy is going to return $4 to our local region. It’s supporting people that are growing things in a way that improves our land, our water, our air, our pollinators, and our rural economy.

And it’s about building awareness, and not relying so much on packaged products, but reading labels and becoming an educated, empowered eater. The more active we can be as consumers, the more sway we’re going to have in getting things to change.

Can you offer any tips to home cooks who want to make their meals more sustainable? 

Well, again, you can just go into the co-op and look to see what’s local, right? That’s a great place to start. And then just work on making it easy. Don’t try and change everything at once. 

I think Martha Stewart did us a disservice by making cooking so fussy and so important, elevating it to the point that it makes it feel inaccessible to most home cooks unless you’re throwing a dinner party. It doesn’t have to be perfect. 

You know, our root vegetables are in their prime. And there’s nothing easier than chopping them up, drizzling them with some good oil, sprinkling them with coarse salt, and roasting them until they’re nice and caramelized. Then you can serve them over wild rice with a few chopped-up local hazelnuts, or some cheese, maybe throw them into a blender and add some stock for soup. I think it’s about not being so reliant on recipes but having a few basic techniques—like roasting or sautéing or simmering—that you can always rely on.

What is the focus of the Forever Green Initiative, and why did you get involved with it? 

The University’s Forever Green Initiative is doing work to regenerate farms, and by that I mean farming in ways that replenish the topsoil, capture water, retain nutrients, and shelter pollinators and wildlife. This also creates more opportunities for our rural communities. 

One thing the Forever Green Initiative is doing is working with farmers to keep continuous living cover on the land. Those methods of farming are great for the Mississippi River because we’re keeping nitrates, which are the chemicals that are growing the dead zone down in the delta, out of the water. 

How have regenerative farming practices been developed and tested over time? 

Many of these methods [focused on promoting sustainable agriculture] have been inspired by the traditional ecological knowledge that our Native communities have always used in their approach to land management and in the ways they grow food. But they’re also married to the science that our researchers, our agronomists, and our food scientists are locked into. So if we can marry traditional ecological knowledge with science, I think we have some hope of stemming climate change and regenerating our landscape.

What else should we know about sustainable agriculture?

It goes back to that old trope, “the personal is political.” What we put in our bodies is really intimate. It’s a very personal issue. So understanding that [sustainably grown food] is the best source of nutrition, understanding that this is going to be the most flavorful, understanding that this is going to have an impact on the quality of our water, the quality of our soil, the quality of our wildlife, and the quality of life in rural communities is so important. 

Support regenerative agriculture and help drive economic opportunities for Minnesota farmers with a gift to the Forever Green Initiative Fund.