Meet a Contributor: Evan Wiig
Writer/Farmer
Evan Wiig is a writer, soil worshiper, musician and community organizer working to promote a more just and regenerative food system through his work at Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF).
Who do you admire and why?
Leah Penniman, a farmer, educator and food justice activist. Founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black, she possesses an endless abundance of strength, compassion and wisdom and is on a mission to make sure every American grapples with the injustice rooted in our nation’s history, its farms and its food system. Meanwhile she shines a light on countless people of color doing amazing things for the soil, their communities, and our world.
What was the last best thing you ate?
A strawberry from my garden.
Name something you do or do not regret.
I won’t call it regret, but one thing I’m committed to doing better is stepping aside and using my privilege and platform to amplify the voices of those who’ve been silenced.
What 3 things bring you joy?
Watching racist monuments fall. Hearing kids demand accountability from their parents’ generation. The realization that wealth, power structures and civilization itself exist only by way of collective acquiescence.
Where else have you lived?
New York City, San Francisco, and Denver.
What are you good at making?
My granola isn’t bad.
Recall a time you changed your mind about something.
While protests raged over police brutality, I told stories of my own education around racism and white privilege. While sincere and well received by many white peers, a dear friend of color–though it was not her responsibility to do so–helped me realize that now is not the time to tell my story. Now is the time for folks who look like me to listen, stand in solidarity, and make space.
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Where’s the fun in that?
If you could instantly have one skill, what would it be?
To master the art of failure.
You host an intimate dinner party with up to 4 guests, living or not. Who’s coming?
Leah Penniman and, if she accepted my invitation, I’d ask her to invite the other three.