ganic industry that’s close to that. This growth has happened because of great distribution, but also because our product is much closer in price to conventional than
many other organic products.
OP: What inspired you to write The Earthbound Cook?
Goodman: In addition to recipes, my first cookbook, Food to Live By, also included
the founding story of the farm and a lot of content on the importance of organic.
Many people I met would say, “Because of your book, I’m now really committed to
organic!” It made me realize that through these cookbooks I could have a lot of impact while doing something I really enjoy.
“We can’t all go out right now to buy an
electric hybrid car, but we can all decide that the
portant. Today, people are bombarded
with so many brand messages that most
companies are just hoping to get them
to visit a website or Facebook page, or to
read the copy on the side of your label.
So when you can put a 300- to 400-page
book in their hands, that’s an amazing
connection.
My first book, Food to Live By, is about
to go into its sixth printing, and right
now there are already 126,000 copies in
print. While this might not be large in
comparison to the millions sold by the
Food Network stars, it has been a really
successful book.
dinner we’re going to have tonight is going to be
When I wrote my second book, I felt like there was so much more to being a
green kitchen in addition to supporting organic. Many people aren’t aware of what
a huge impact their food choices and preparation have on the environment, and
this cookbook was a way I could share information I thought would inspire people.
For example, I was able to include information on sustainable seafood alongside my
fish recipe. I try to show how small changes have a big impact—from buying post-consumer recycled products to eating less meat, or making more humane, eco-friendly choices. There are also segments on saving water and energy. I include a
statistic from the Natural Resources Defense Council stating that the energy consumed for the collection, distribution and treatment of drinking water and waste-water nationwide releases approximately the global warming pollution of 10 million
cars. This is followed by ways to conserve water. I also talk about avoiding food waste.
In this country, anywhere from 25 to 30 percent of our food is wasted and that
means all the resources that it took to make and transport that food are also wasted.
As I say in the introduction of my book, my goal was to combine the pleasure of
food with the power of food. I wanted to share both my passion for delicious,
healthy food and my passion for protecting the environment, and help people understand that there’s a close connection; that the food that we choose to eat can
have more of an impact on the environment than the kind of car we drive. And it’s
the kind of decision that each of us can make tonight. We can’t all go out right now
to buy an electric hybrid car, but we can all decide that the dinner we’re going to
have tonight is going to be as sustainable as possible.
”as sustainable as possible.”
OP: As an organic brand, how have your books helped you create more of a connection to
consumers and build your brand?
Goodman: Compared to how many units of salad we have on the shelf and how
many books we’ve sold, we sell a lot more salad than books. However, there is an intimate connection created when a person brings your book into their kitchen. In
the online reviews, people say they loved hearing the story of how the farm started.
They feel like they understand the company, our values and why organic is so im-
OP: Any favorite moments on your tour?
Goodman: One of my favorite moments
was in Austin when a woman walked up
to me with a copy of my first book, which
was held together by a rubber band. It
had completely fallen apart and had
Post-it notes everywhere. She asked me
to sign it and said, “This was the book
that inspired me to start cooking and
made me fall in love with fresh produce.
You’ve changed my whole life. It’s my fa-
vorite cookbook. It’s going to be my fa-
vorite book for the rest of my life.”
Then in Phoenix, a mother had
driven over an hour with her two daugh-
ters because she loved my first book so
much. She said that I was her hero and I
inspired her to eat healthy. She was so
excited to meet me and wanted her pic-
ture taken with me, and said, “You’ve just
inspired me so much, I want my daugh-
ters to see you.” That was really sweet.
With both books I have also been able
to connect with a lot of people by doing
cooking segments on television. For my
first book tour, I was on Live! With Regis
& Kelly when Donald Trump was the
host. This tour has focused on mainly regional TV stations, and I have also been
on Good Morning America Health, which
runs on all their cable networks and on
the Internet.
One interesting thing to point out is
that before I wrote the book, public relations was always a little bit harder be-
