Careers in Organic Food & Agriculture
Through a partnership with the USDA Western Region Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), the BFI Education Program has developed resources for UC Berkeley students interested in careers in organic food and agriculture, and related values-based food supply job opportunities.
This page highlights eight career pathways in organic food and agriculture — spanning research, farming, policy, communications, supply chains, entrepreneurship, education, and food access — along with spotlights on BFI alumni working in each field.
For current job openings and more career planning resources, see our Jobs and Resources page.
Agriculture & Technical Assistance
From rural and urban agriculture to technical assistance, jobs in food production are the heart of the food system. In addition to farming and ranching, there are also opportunities for careers as consultants and technical assistance providers that support farms to improve their management practices.
BFI Spotlight
Moet Takata, Ecological Pest Management Program Manager, Community Alliance for Family Farmers, took BFI’s food systems courses during her time at UC Berkeley. She now works with farmers to develop and implement sustainable pest management practices at CAFF.
If you are excited about pursuing food production, take a look at the following technical assistance and farmers support organizations:
- Organic Agronomy Training Service is a training program for agricultural advisors that supports organic and organic-transitioning farmers to have access to the technical assistance and expertise for successful organic farming operations.
- Agriculture and Land-Based Training Program provides education and training programs in organic farming practices and farm management for aspiring farmers.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service National Organic Program creates and enforces the national standards and regulations for organic agricultural and food products.
- Kitchen Table Advisors supports disadvantaged farmers and ranchers with business advice and access to land, capital, markets, and more.
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, Office of Farm to Fork connects school districts and community members with California food producers.
- Farmpreneur at Haas Business School helps farmers develop business plans through 12-week cohorts
- California Farmlink invests in farmers, ranchers, and food producers by connecting them with land, financing, and business education.
- Center for Land Based Learning connects people to careers and opportunities in California sustainable agriculture and food systems work.
Read more from BFI’s Publications:
- Cross-UC Campus Agroecology Field Quarter Launched: Growing Food System Leaders
- Urban Agroecology
- The Vibrant Student Community at UC Berkeley’s Oxford Tract Farm
Policy, Advocacy, & Law
Careers in government policy can shape our food and farm systems. Local, state, national and international governance can shape the opportunities and barriers to advance equitable organic farming and sustainable food supply chains. This work shapes who has access to land, the types of farming practices that occur, the health and livelihood of food producers, healthy food access for consumers and more. Policymaking, from working within government to being an advocate, is vital to achieving justice for farmers, farmworkers, and eaters.
BFI Spotlight
Catherine Van Dyke, Director of Water Policy, CAFF is a UC Berkeley grad who majored in Political Economy with a concentration in food systems and agriculture, and currently works on statewide water policy, educating farmers about their Groundwater Sustainability Agencies and coordinating with farmers for sustainable groundwater management.
In addition to your local government, which may have food policy opportunities, these organizations focus on reforming the food system through law, policy, and advocacy:
- California Climate and Agriculture Network utilizes its statewide network to bring together food producers, researchers, agricultural stakeholders, and non-profit partners to advocate for advancements in public policies for sustainable food production practices.
- Community Alliance for Family Farmers represents over 8,000 small-scale farmers. CAFF advocates for policy changes that will improve the lives of these farmers and create a more equitable food system.
- Nourish California leads policy advocacy campaigns to improve access to food and fight poverty for all Californians.
- Californians for Pesticide Reform utilizing works to reduce and eliminate cancer causing pesticides through policy reform, education, and advocacy across the state.
- Change Lab Solutions, through law and policy expertise, provides support and resources to help people and organizations create lasting change.
- Food Policy Pathways mentors the next generation of policy professionals around healthy and practical food and agriculture policies.
- National Resources Defense Council utilizes its staff of lawyers, researchers, and policy experts to fight for environmental health.
- Capital Fellows Program is a year-long program within the California State government, providing government and policy experience for people in their early careers.
- California Council on Science & Technology, Science & Technology Policy Fellowship is a year-long program in which fellows work with policymakers to evaluate complex scientific issues.
- CDFA Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability provides technical assistance and financial incentives for the state’s farmers and ranchers to adopt sustainable and climate smart farm management practices.
Communications and Journalism
Food systems communications provides storytellers the opportunity to amplify the reach and impact of research, advocacy, people, ideas, and more. Successful communications can shape the way society understands and values sustainability and equity when they think about food. Careers in marketing and communications are valued in many different types of organizations for their ability to heighten the visibility of important work, translate complex ideas into clear messages, and influence consumption behaviors.
BFI Spotlight
Mark Schapiro is an award-winning environmental journalist. His most recent book, SEEDS OF RESISTANCE: The Fight for Food Diversity on our Climate-Ravaged Planet, investigates the search for seeds capable of surviving climate change and the struggle with agri-chemical companies to control them. He is a Continuing Lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, and represents the School on BFI’s Executive Committee. Previous books include THE END OF STATIONARITY: Searching for the New Normal in the Age of Carbon Shock, which reveals the hidden costs and consequences of climate change; and EXPOSED: the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power, an investigation into the health and economic consequences of toxic chemicals. His work is also published in Smithsonian Magazine, Inside Climate News, Civil Eats, Harpers, Bay Nature, and other publications.
Malaika Murphy-Sierra is the communications program manager at BFI where she amplifies BFI’s work and tells food systems stories to amplify the impact of research, advocacy, and urban and rural agroecology. Her experience in food systems includes communications for food business and non-profit board leadership and volunteering for Meals on Wheels of Alameda County.
Many publications tell food systems stories, but the media organizations below prioritize food, agriculture, and the environment, providing valuable information on current issues and solutions in food:
- Civil Eats is a news and media company that reports on relevant stories concerning the American food system.
- FoodPrint works to increase public understanding and awareness of the environmental and social impact of our current industrial food system and where change can occur.
- Earth Island Journal is a magazine that highlights the intersection between the climate and modern stories.
- The Organic Center provides unbiased scientific reporting on food, farming, and climate change.
- Berkeley School of Journalism provides educational opportunities in Journalism, including an undergraduate minor, a masters degree, and fellowships.
- Food and Environment Reporting Network is a non-profit that provides in-depth journalism on food, agriculture, and climate.
- Foodtank is a food think tank featuring innovative ideas in food systems.
- Agripulse provides comprehensive, relevant information in agriculture, food, fuel, and fiber industries.
- Resource Media is a creative consulting agency that uses communications strategies to help solve urgent social and environmental justice issues.
- Curator: is a holistic public relations agency working with companies to improve their brand image and amplify visibility and impact.
Food Supply Chains
Those working in food supply chains are essential to how food moves from farms to our plates. From distribution logistics to food purchasing and procurement to managing waste, careers in food supply chains have a unique ability to impact local food systems from the inside. In contrast to conventional food supply chains, careers in values-based supply chains develop alternative systems that give eaters access to organic, sustainable, and ethical foods.
BFI Spotlight
Victoria Quach is a graduate of BFI’s Food System Minor and previously served as a Sustainable Procurement Fellow with Berkeley Dining, a Global Climate Leadership Fellow with the UC Office of the President, and a Food Recovery Ambassador with the Berkeley Basic Needs Center. As Director of Sustainability at Daylight Foods, she is carving a path within Northern California’s food supply chain by building a sustainability program that connects institutions with local, climate-smart, socially impacted farmers and values-aligned vendors to advance more intentional and transparent sourcing. Her work centers on food literacy and strengthening connections between farms, vendors, institutions, and communities to help build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable regional food system.
From distribution to marketplace to food waste, these example organizations provide alternatives to the status quo of our food supply chain:
- Center for Good Food Purchasing manages the Good Food Purchasing Program, which helps large-scale purchasers adapt their procurement practices for greater environmental and human health.
- Veritable Vegetable is an organic fresh produce distribution company.
- FEED Sonoma is a cooperative food hub that aggregates local foods and delivers them across the Bay Area.
- California Certified Organic Farmers supports the expansion of organic agriculture in California through their support for farmers as they receive organic certification.
- Agricultural Institute of Marin operates nine Bay Area farmers markets, with a focus on creating local food systems connections between communities and food producers.
- Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association manages over 30 farmers markets on the West Coast.
- Foodwise operates farmers markets and food systems education programs in the Bay Area.
- Zero Food Waste Coalition leads a national effort to influence U.S. food waste policy by bringing together stakeholders across the food system.
- Refed collaborates with business, policymakers, researchers, and more to implement food waste solutions on a wide scale.
Read more from BFI’s Publications:
- Veritable Vegetable Offers a Glimpse at the Values-Based Supply Chain
- Cultivating Values Based Relationships
- Improving Our Food Systems Through Values-Based Supply Chains
Business Ownership & Entrepreneurship
Organic agriculture can influence the entrepreneurship space and inspire the creation and development of businesses that prioritize sustainable sourcing and more equitable supply chains. In addition to starting one’s own food or agriculture business, career opportunities also exist in operations, marketing, finance, consulting and leadership in many values-based food and farming organizations.
BFI Spotlight
Elaine Hsu, a graduate of BFI’s Graduate Certificate in Food Systems, currently serves as Executive Director, UC Berkeley Haas Center for Food Systems Innovation, which serves as a hub for entrepreneurial food systems changemakers, and as Curriculum Director for FARMpreneurs, which provides executive-level entrepreneurial education for farmer entrepreneurs. Prior to this, she helped launch Moonshot Snacks climate-friendly crackers, and Planet FWD, which provides helps companies assess their greenhouse gas emissions and develop decarbonization strategies.
The following companies provide examples of what sustainable, equitable, and successful food entrepreneurship can look like:
- Cream Co. Meat is a whole animal butchery and distributor of sustainable and regeneratively raised meats.
- Cult Crackers is an organic cracker company based in Berkeley.
- Greener Pastures Chicken raises regenerative chicken with higher welfare and sustainability standards.
- Patagonia Provisions sells tinned fish, crackers, and more sourced with responsible fishing practices and regenerative agriculture.
- Straus Family Creamery is an organic dairy company working with small-scale organic farmers and committed to sustainability through carbon neutrality.
- Numi Tea is an organic and fair trade tea company.
Read more from BFI’s publications:
- Dianna Dar, Founder and CEO, Cult Crackers
- Ian-Hero Serrano, R&D/Product Innovation Director & Joseph Button, Vice President of Sustainability and Strategic Impact, Straus Family Creamery
- Q&A with Clifford Pollard, Founder of Cream Co. Meats
Education
Jobs in community engagement involve working directly with community members to create change. This can look like education about food, sustainability, and nutrition or getting vital food resources out to the people who need it the most or organizing advocacy efforts. However you choose to interact with their community, there is so much opportunity to support and uplift others through food and connection.
BFI Spotlight
Molly Nakahara graduated with a degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley, and is now the education manager at California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
From reinventing the classroom to connecting food systems professionals, if you are interested in public education, check out these leading efforts:
- Food Literacy Center teaches low-income elementary level children about nutrition, food production, and cooking to improve health.
- EcoFarm brings together food stakeholders to promote sustainability and equity in agriculture, hosting California’s largest sustainable agriculture conference every January.
- The Edible Schoolyard Project provides hands-on education and experience in organic farming, food, and cooking for public schools.
- Berkeley Unified School District Gardening & Cooking Program brings students into the garden to teach personal and environmental health in collaboration with garden instructors and classroom teachers.
- FoodCorps works to improve food literacy in schools across the country and improve access to fresh, local meals for students.
Healthy Food Access
Careers in this sector work to connect communities and farmers to expand access to healthy, whole foods. Burgeoning sectors of healthy food access include farm to school, food as medicine, and sustainable institutional procurement, which all work to improve the sourcing of food on a large scale. At its core, food access careers create new pathways for underrepresented communities to eat healthy, sustainably grown, culturally relevant foods.
BFI Spotlight
Natalia Semeraro, Resource Coordinator, Basic Needs Center, is a graduate of BFI’s Food Systems Minor who is now a Food Resource Coordinator at UC Berkeley’s Basic Needs Center, supporting the food pantry and food recovery items to support food security for students at UC Berkeley.
If you are passionate about community-led efforts to improve food access, take a look at these organizations, which provide assistance for those in need:
- Food as Medicine Collaborative is a coalition of community clinics, food nonprofits, businesses, and more working to integrate healthy foods into healthcare.
- Berkeley Food Network operates direct food assistance programs to connect people in need with nutritious food.
- Ecology Center is a nonprofit that advocates for the ecological health and wellbeing of urban communities through sustainable lifestyles.
- SF-Marin Food Bank provides communities with access to fresh, nutritious foods, and advocates for policies to end food insecurity.
- CalFresh provides Californians in need with money for groceries every month.
- Ceres Community Project provides medically tailored meals for people with serious illnesses and mentors teens in farming, cooking, and healthy eating.
Academic Education & Research
Academic research and education play a large role in influencing the understanding and influence of sustainable farming techniques, food supply chain innovations, societal solutions to leading problems in the food system, and more. Students can explore academic education and research opportunities through the undergraduate Food Systems Minor, the Graduate Certificate in Food Systems, and BFI’s student research grants. A career in academics can allow you to explore underutilized solutions to some of food’s biggest problems and shape the next generation of food and agricultural leaders.
BFI Spotlight
Jim LaChance, Associate Teaching Professor, Northeastern University, was a Community Engagement and Leadership Fellow at BFI while he was completing his PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. He now teaches in the Marine and Environmental Science Department at Northeastern University and is also the Director of the Master’s in Environmental Science and Policy. His teaching and research broadly focus on food system sustainability, spanning topics of coastal livelihoods, agroecology, conservation, and climate resilience.
Liz Carlisle, Author and Agroecologist was once a student employee at BFI, and now teaches as an Associate Professor of food and farming at UCSB and is an author telling stories of agroecology.
If you are interested in working at the nexus of academic research and practical tools for farmers and other food supply chain actors, check out these University of California and NGO research centers:
- UC Organic Agriculture Institute supports the success of statewide organic farming through research, extension, education, and policy advice to optimize organic production systems for economic viability and ecological resilience.
- UC Small Farms Network serves farmers with on-farm consultations and conducts research and educational outreach geared towards supporting the needs of small farms.
- UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (SAREP) (home to OAI and the Small Farms Network): SAREP is the oldest, sustainable ag research center within UCANR.
- Center for Agroecology, UC Santa Cruz manages multiple organic farms across the UC Santa Cruz campus and provides agroecology education, participatory research, agricultural extension, and more.
- Agricultural Sustainability Institute, UC Davis connects faculty, students, and farmers to ensure access to healthy food for communities and improve the sustainability of agriculture.
- Organic Farming Research Foundation leads the advancement of organic agriculture through scientific research focused on improving sustainable farming practices, local farm ecology, and the economic prosperity of organic farming.
- National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) provides resources, support, and hands-on technical experience for food producers.
Read more from BFI’s Publications:
Job Boards
- BFI’s Jobs and Resources
- BFI’s Food Systems Opportunities Newsletter
- Good Food Jobs
- North American Food Systems Network
- Comfoodjobs Listserv
- Food Impact Careers
- The Job Feed
- National Center for Appropriate Technology (Internships)
Conferences
- Ecofarm Conference
- Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society Conference
- California Farm to School Summit
- Food as Medicine Policy & Research Summit
- Marbleseed
- Organic Grower Summit
- National Anti-hunger Policy Conference
- National Food Policy Conference
- California Climate and Agriculture Conference
- Calfresh Forum
- Organicology
Sponsored by the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program