State Policymaking

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Organic Activism: The Roots of the Northern California Food Movement
State Policymaking

Much of the wide-reaching and influential change around food and food systems occurs at the policy level. Government policies regulate access to products that appear in the marketplace, who is allowed to sell food products, and in what spaces. Leaders like Rich Rominger and Desmond Jolly guided state and federal agricultural policies to focus on issues such as organic produce, sustainable agricultural practices, and small farming.

Images from UC Davis Library Archives and Special Collections

"Winds of Change" title is at the top in black calligraphy. An illustration of Isao Fujimoto's backyard with trees and a stone path appears below the headline "Survival in the Suburbs:" and includes the handwritten caption: "The backyard at Isao's house, January 1981." The tagline below the illustration reads "Towards a More Efficient Use of Space." — Sketch of Backyard of Alternative Resource Center (Isao Fujimoto Papers, D-601)

Illustrated face on the left blowing wind which turns into type. Text on the right reads "Winds of Change, Box 1004, Winters, California 95594" — Winds of Change subscription coupon (Front)
(Isao Fujimoto Papers, D-601)

Beige pamphlet cover with the title "farming" in brown calligraphy at the top. A green pen-and-ink illustration of agricultural fields and orchards is in the center of the page. A subheading in brown script below the image reads "Sources for a Social & Ecologically Accountable Agriculture". Small print at the bottom reads "Alternative Agricultural Resources Project, Davis, California" in a green sans-serif font. — Farming: Sources for a Social & Ecologically Accountable Agriculture, 1976
Published by Dr. Fujimoto’s Alternative Agriculture Resources Project.
In 1976, this resource book received broad distribution within the burgeoning Northern California Food Movement. The publication promotes more “ecological and socially accountable alternatives to the dominant technological and capital intensive approaches to food production, distribution, and use.”

A poster with a big wheel at the top titled "grow with less" at the center. A description of the tool and sourcebook is at the bottom. — Grow with Less wheel, 1976 The wheel served as a tool to connect people with resources and other individuals who advocated for alternatives to the corporate food system. (Isao Fujimoto Papers, D-601)

Handcrafted brochure for Farming: Sources for a Social and Ecologically Accountable Agriculture (Isao Fujimoto Papers, D-601)

A black-and-white sketch of the backyard includes a farm animal; a pile of lumber and a person carrying logs; a chicken coop; and a person pushing a wheelbarrow. Text at the bottom reads "Backyard of Alternative Resource Center 870 Linden Lane Davis, California 95616. 916 753-3148". — Sketch of Backyard of Alternative Resource Center (Isao Fujimoto Papers, D-601)

“It is said that if we are going to make any sense of what we are doing, we have to know what story we are in.”
– Dr. Isao Fujimoto

Paper Handout for the "First National Conference on Land Reform" — Handout, First National Conference on Land Reform (Earthworks Collection, D-680)

A note from the Greg Frazier, USDA Chief of Staff to Rich Rominger, deputy secretary. — Note for the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1997 Rich Rominger, who served as head of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (1977-1982) and deputy secretary for the USDA (1993-2000) advocated for national standards for organic food. In this note, Deputy Secretary Rominger recommended that the proposed regulation be subject to public comment. (Richard Rominger Papers, D-087)

Introduction Food Cooperatives

Exhibit: Organic Activism: The Roots of the Northern California Food Movement

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