Meet Deborah Szekely, a 91-Year-Old Wellness Warrior

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http://www.theatlantic.com/events/archive/2013/10/meet-deborah-szekely-a-91-year-old-wellness-warrior/280303/



Organic food may be a fad of the 21st century, but Deborah Szekely, 91, has been organic farming since 1930. In her nine decades of life, she has run for Congress, managed a federal agency, and served as a delegate for UNESCO. Now, she’s back to where she was in 1940: Rancho La Puerta, a 300-acre property in northwestern Mexico that’s part commune, part spa, and part farm. I talked with her at The Atlantic Meets the Pacific about her thoughts on health after nine decades of life – the conversation below has been edited lightly for length and clarity.

What first got you into organic farming?

I come from a health nut background. My mother was vice president of the New York Vegetarian Society in 1926, when I was four years old. Because of the Depression, we couldn’t get any fresh food, and I was raised in Tahiti for five years, starting when I was going on eight years old.

What was different about Tahiti?

You had to carry the water, you had no electricity, and my mother started a garden right away in boats that had been destroyed by hurricanes.

How old were you when you started your first garden?

Reluctantly, when I was in high school, I had to help my mother with her garden.