May 16-2014
Jim Riddle (photo) is an organic farmer in Winona County, Minnesota. Right now, he is in Tehran, where he has been invited to speak about organic farming to the International Conference on Trade and Market Development of Organic Products. Riddle had to work weeks in advance to get all the paperwork straight. “It’s a lot of trouble, just for a 45-minute talk,” he told the Winona Daily News. “But that’s how it works. I’ve spoken in a lot of countries and traveled long distances to give those short talks.” He said he was brushing up on Iranian culture and etiquette and hopes to learn more about a new country. “I want to help people understand that the people of Iran are warm, hospitable people,” Riddle said. “People just want to live their lives, eat good food and share the good times. It’s wonderful that organic agriculture could be part of improving relations between our two countries, no matter how small.”
