Healthy Eating 101 EatingWell in Real Life American Food Heroes 2021 American Food Heroes Our fifth annual list of people who are changing the food world in innovative and meaningful ways. Each of these visionaries exemplifies what’s possible when passion meets action. By Jonathan Kauffman Jonathan Kauffman Instagram Twitter Website Jonathan Kauffman is a James Beard Award-winning writer who has focused on West Coast food, agriculture, and restaurants for more than two decades. He has worked as a restaurant critic in San Francisco and Seattle and as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Kauffman is also the author of Hippie Food, a history of the 1970s natural-foods movement. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 8, 2021 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Instagram Jessica Ball is EatingWell's Associate Nutrition Editor. She studied at Michigan State University to get her bachelor's of science in dietetics with a minor is food systems and sustainability. She went on to complete her master's of science in dietetics and dietetic internship at the University of Vermont. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Share Tweet Pin Email If there was ever a time for visionary leadership, it was 2020, one of the most tumultuous years in living memory. So this year EatingWell is particularly thrilled to present our fifth class of American Food Heroes: 10 brilliant farmers, corporate executives, doctors, advocates and chefs—some of whom wear many of these hats at the same time. Each year since 2017, our editors have consulted with experts around the country as well as you, our readers, to nominate people who are changing the way we eat. We've chosen many of this year's honorees for the ways they have illuminated new paths out of the morass of problems our country has been dealing with. Be it distributing masks and meals, championing plant-based eating to help both people and planet, or supporting young farmers, they're building an America that is more environmentally responsible, more racially and economically equitable, and healthier. Most of all, they show that change is possible—and how all of us, working together, can accomplish it. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit