Eric Holt-Gimenez

Eric Holt-Giménez has been the Executive Director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy since July 2006, an organization described by the New York Times as one of the country's "most established food think tanks." Before this, he served as Latin American Program Manager at the Bank Information Center in Washington, DC, where he monitored the projects and policies of the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

With over three decades of experience in international agricultural development, he has held academic positions such as lecturer in International Development and Agroecology at the University of California, Boston University's Global Ecology program, and has also taught at institutions including the University of the Pacific, Antioch University in Colombia, and the National Gastronomic University of Italy. Throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, Holt-Giménez lived and worked in Latin America where he was instrumental in organizing and training farm leaders in agroecology and served as a consultant to various non-governmental organizations, government ministries, and foreign aid agencies.

Holt-Giménez is a prolific author and editor, having contributed significantly to the discourse on agroecology, food justice, and food sovereignty. His publications include "Can We Feed the World without Destroying It?", "A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism: Understanding the Political Economy of What We Eat", and "Land Justice: Re-imagining Land, Food, and the Commons." His notable works also include "Food Movements Unite! Strategies to Transform Our Food System" (2011), "Food Rebellions: Crisis and the Hunger for Justice" (2009), and his pioneering work "Campesino a Campesino: Voices from Latin America’s Farmer to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture" (2006). His research and writings at Food First cover a wide array of issues including global food crises, the U.S. Farm Bill, agrofuels expansion, land grabs, neighborhood food systems, dismantling racism in the food system, the agrarian question, and the rise of food movements. He holds a Master of Science in International Agricultural Development from the University of California—Davis and a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of California—Santa Cruz.