Real Organic Podcast
Episodes
Nora Taleb: Global Players Rule Our Food System
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#176: Food systems consultant and former team leader for the Naturland Fair & Social Responsibility program Nora Taleb visits Real Organic Proje...
Tim Wise: Today's Green Revolution In Africa and Iowa
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#175: Researcher and author Tim Wise shares his deep knowledge of the Green Revolution and its misleading claims to solve world hunger through chemi...
Will Rosenzweig: Crafting A Positive Impact Food System
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#174: Republic of Tea co-founder and UC Berkeley Haas Center for Responsible Business co-chair Will Rosenzweig joins Dave to discuss his early effor...
Glenn Elzinga Pt 1: Good Grazing On Public Lands
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#173: Real Organic Project certified rancher Glenn Elzinga talks about the grazing plan he and his wife Carolyn devised to mimic the movement of ani...
Kat Taylor: Funding The World We Want
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#172: California green banker and philanthropist Kat Taylor joins us again to shed light on how banking and finance influence the consolidation seen...
Hans Herren: Controlling Pests With Biology
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#171: Hans Herren shares the story of using biological controls to save Africa's cassava crop from a disastrous, continent-wide Mealy Bug infes...
Alice Waters: Organic Food In Our Schools Now
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#170: Alice Waters' focus on educating young minds about where real food comes from, how to identify and prepare it, and how food relates to al...
Barbara Gemmill-Herren: Big Chem's Eyes Are On Africa
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#169: Barbara Gemmill-Herren shares her views on listening to farmers first and foremost as policies and support systems are developed, the need to pa...
Zephyr Teachout: Today's Antimonopolist Movement Has Legs
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#168: Author and law professor Zephyr Teachout walks us through the hardcore push for consolidation in the food, agriculture, and chemical industries ...
Hugh Kent: How The USDA Supports Bad Agriculture
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#167: Dave Chapman visits Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent at his biodiverse King Grove Farm in central Florida, to discuss the takeover of the...
Seth Godin: No Society Thrives With Monopolies
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#166: Seth Godin returns and lends his thoughts on corporate consolidation's threat to democracy and to our right to find, grow, and sell organ...
Allan Savory: Desertification's Causes, Problems + Solutions
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#165: Allan Savory joins Dave for an eye-opening conversation about the best path forward for solving our most-crucial planetary problems and sympto...
Austin Frerick: Modern Day Robber Barons Rule Our Food
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#164: Author and journalist Austin Frerick joins Linley to discuss his brand new book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Fo...
JM Fortier: Envisioning A Hyper Local Small Farm Revolution
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#163: JM Fortier joins Dave to discuss the potential of promoting a replicable, decentralized food and farming system that relies on people building r...
Zephyr Teachout + Dave Chapman: Live Panel w/ Matt Sheffer At Churchtown Dairy
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#162: Live from the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy in October 2023, and moderated by Matt Sheffer of Hudson Carbon, Zephyr Teachou...
Dave Chapman + Anna Jones-Crabtree: Notes For The Climate Underground
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#161: Co-director Dave Chapman joins our newest executive board member and Real Organic Project certified grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree for an inte...
Eliot Coleman: Denying Our Understanding Of Real Organic Practices Robs The World
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#160: Organic farmer and Real Organic Project champion Eliot Coleman returns to discuss the role corporations, trade associations, and government poli...
Errol Schweizer: Consolidation, Greenwashing, And The Growing Myth Of Local Food
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#159: An insightful conversation about what's happening on grocery shelves, with Errol Schweizer, whose career in the retail natural foods space ...
Vandana Shiva: False Claims Of The Green Revolution, Then And Now
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#158: Vandana Shiva shares her knowledge around the Green Revolution, a transformative and chemical-dependent set of agricultural practices and polici...
Tim Bowles: Climate Smart Agriculture Includes Tillage
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#157: A continuation of Linley's conversation (one year later and in-person!) with Professor Tim Bowles of UC Berkeley's Agroecology Lab. Th...
Tim Bowles Part 1: Digging Into The Rhizosphere
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#156: Professor Tim Bowles of UC Berkeley's Agroecology Lab introduces us to some interesting players in the soil, including arbuscular mycorrhiz...
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin: The Need For A Real Regenerative Movement
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#155: Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin promotes his vision for creating systems aimed at serving entire regions and communities of farms as a successful pa...
Patrick Holden: Organic Needs Top Down, Bottom Up, And In-The-Middle Action
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#154: UK Soil Association trustee, Sustainable Food Trust co-founder, and organic dairy farmer Patrick Holden sits down with Dave to discuss the path ...
Francis Thicke: A Journey To Real Organic
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#153: Real Organic dairy farmer and former National Organic Standards Board member Francis Thicke gives the crowd at Churchtown Dairy a view through t...
Alan Lewis: Food System Betrayal
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#152: Alan Lewis delivers deep insights into the growing number of reasons small and mid-sized farms can't find shelf space within American gro...
Ben Dobson: The Politics Of Farming For Climate
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#151: Ben Dobson, co-founder of Hudson Carbon, has been monitoring the changes in language and funding for agricultural ventures that claim to sequest...
Dave Chapman and Eliot Coleman: We Did It Before, We Can Do It Again
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#150: Dave Chapman and Eliot Coleman take the stage at the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown Dairy to reflect on the importance of growing ...
Karl Hammer: Imagining A Photosynthetic Food System
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#149: Organic farmer and founder of the Vermont Compost Company Karl Hammer shares his vast knowledge of our agricultural and social history, in a hea...
Zephyr Teachout at Churchtown: Break'em Up
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#148: Law Professor and author of "Break'em Up" Zephyr Teachout addresses the crowd at the Saving Real Organic Conference at Churchtown...
Kristin Kimball: The Small Farm Revolution Needs Activist Eaters
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#147: Writer and farmer Kristin Kimball throws light upon the idea that organic family farmers desperately need eaters to help transform the food syst...
Linley Dixon: Saving Organic: The First Five Years of The Farmer-Led Real Organic Project
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#146: Linley Dixon, co-director of the Real Organic Project, speaks to the progress of our movement and the challenges we face, including new and misl...
Iriel Edwards: Why Is Race In This? USDA Discrimination, Land Access, And Collective Liberation
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#145: Iriel Edwards, an inspector with Real Organic Project, a former dryland SRI rice farmer with Louisiana-based Jubilee Justice, and a graduate of ...
Dan Barber: The Power Of Deliciousness
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#142: Dave interviews celebrated chef and author Dan Barber at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, where they discuss the potential of gett...
Hugh Kent | Breaking Their Own Laws: Hydroponics And The Farce Of USDA Organic integrity
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#144: Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent of King Grover Organics in FL, explains the complete transformation of organic blueberry farming within ...
Joan Gussow: Last 50 Years Brought More Foods And Less Choice
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#141: Nutrition icon, author, and professor Joan Gussow reflects on changes in food and farming over the past many decades and how a concentration o...
Glenn Elzinga: Why Cattle Are Ruining Our Public Lands In Spite Of A Better Way
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#143: Real Organic Idaho cattleman Glenn Elzinga shares his success story about reintroducing beaver and protecting important fauna and flora by movin...
Tom Willey Part 2: Working Towards A Permanent Agriculture
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#140: Longtime organic, California vegetable farmer Tom Willey continues his lively conversation with Dave. They land on their thoughts around lasti...
Tom Willey: Merging Chemical-Regenerative With Organic
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#139: Tom Willey is a longtime, organic vegetable farmer in Central California who has participated in recent trials seeking to minimize tillage in or...
Dennesse Willey: When Organic Was Easy To Sell
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#138: Decades ago, Dennesse Willey left her career as a nurse to join her husband Tom on their organic vegetable farm in California. As the farm'...
Bryan O'Hara: Organic No-Till Vegetable Farming
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#137: Bryan O'Hara has been learning about, tweaking trials, and sharing his observations on how to grow organic vegetables in a no-till system f...
Jeff Moyer: Organic Is, Was, And Should Be The Foundation of Regenerative
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#136: Jeff Moyer of the Rodale Institute recalls the intended meaning behind the origin of the term "regenerative" as envisioned by Bob Roda...
Steve Ela: Diversifying Crops, Sales Channels, And Research Dollars
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#135: Organic farmer and former NOSB member Steve Ela talks about managing his fruit-focused operation with diverse market strategies, crop rotations,...
Hannah Smith-Brubaker: Growing On-Farm Organic Research
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#134: Hannah Smith-Brubaker, aReal Organic Project farmer and the Executive Director of Pennsylvania-based sustainable agriculture organization PA...
Jim Riddle: Lobbyists Not Farmers Have Access To USDA
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#133: Retired Minnesota berry farmer and founder of the International Organic Inspectors Association Jim Riddle discusses his time on the National Org...
Dru Rivers: An Organic Activist's Manifesto
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
132: Longtime organic farmer Dru Rivers speaks to the crowd at the 2023 EcoFarm Conference about the future of food, and the important role activism p...
Mark and Kristin Kimball: Holistic Farming Goes Beyond Food Production
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#131: Farmer Mark Kimball and his wife, author Kristin Kimball, almost everything that's been in their heads recently, as their journey at their ...
Peter Donovan: RedirectingThe Carbon Conversation Towards The Water Cycle
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#130: Peter Donovan of the Soil Carbon Coalition shares his thoughts on the true value of carbon sequestration in agricultural settings, and how it di...
Zach Cannady: Farming To Strengthen Your Local Food Shed
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#129: Zach Cannady of Prema Farm joins Dave to discuss the inspiration he found working as a produce manager that led him to start his own farm, dedic...
Dave Mortensen Part 2: Big Ag's False Claims Of Environmental Consciousness
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#128: In the second half of our interview with Dr. Dave Mortensen, we hear about the events that led to his resignation from the National Organic St...
Dave Mortensen Part 1: Today's Drastic Rise Of Biocides
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#127: Longtime researcher and plant ecologist Dave Mortensen brings to light the increased use of herbicides and pesticides in modern agriculture. Thr...
Dick Schwartz: Internal Family Systems + Social Activism
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#126: Dave sits down with therapist Dick Schwartz, the founder of Internal Family Systems, to discuss how acknowledging and caring for the various &qu...
Hans + Barbara Herren: Our World Doesn't Need Pesticides
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#125: Hans Herren and Barbara Gemmill-Herren join Dave to share their takeaways on the state of the global food system today. Through their extensive ...
Steffen Reese: Spreading Organic Across The Globe
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#124: Steffen Reese, CEO of Naturland, the EU's most-prominent add-on food label and certifier, sat down with Dave last fall after announcing Nat...
Kellee James: Trends And Challenges In The Organic Marketplace
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#123: Kellee James of Mercaris Data Services sits down with Dave Chapman to discuss what her company sees today as they track pricing and performance ...
Scott Park: Can Organic No-Till Vegetables Be Grown At Scale
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#122: After 25 years of trials and experimentation, Scott Park shares his long view on the challenges and upsides of organic no till practices in vege...
Phil Foster: Organic No Till Experiments On California Veg Farm
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#121: Dave Chapman spends an afternoon touring Pinnacle Organics with California vegetable farmer Phil Foster who explains the successes, failures, ...
Miguel Altieri: Agroecology As Science And Social Movement
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#120: Miguel Altieri brings the concepts of Agroecology as a global movement that preserves traditional peasant knowledge and promotes a food system...
Helen Atthowe: No-Till, No-Spray, Ecological Farming
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#119: Longtime farmer, gardener, and researcher Helen Atthowe joins Dave to discuss the findings that led to her new book: "The Ecological Farm...
Jake Guest: The Antiwar Movement's Influence On Organic
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#118: A look back with celebrated Vermont farmer Jake Guest to the beginnings of the organic movement. Jake, an early mentor of our host Dave Chapma...
Alan Lewis: SocioEconomic Fallout Of Farmers Vs Chem Companies
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#117: Policy expert and organic advocate Alan Lewis (of Natural Grocers) shares his observations on the rise of the regenerative agriculture movemen...
Ben Dobson: Beware The Regeneration Of The Corn And Soy Model
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#116: Lifelong organic farmer Ben Dobson joins Dave Chapman for a deep look into the double-sided coin of tillage, the rise of the regenerative agricu...
Sarah Wiener: EU's Farm To Fork Aims To Increase Organic Acreage
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#115: European Parliament member Sarah Wiener, who sits on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, compares organic policies and markets i...
Michael Pollan: Does The US Need A Third Kind of Agriculture?
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#114: Michael Pollan notes that when it comes to climate spending at the USDA, the norm has been to incentivize bandaid fixes for bad agricultural pra...
Ariel Pressman: Free Certification + High Standards at Real Organic Project
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#113: Our Director of Certification, Ariel Pressman, joins Linley to discuss the relatively easy steps USDA organic farmers must take be earn free cer...
Melissa Aronczyk: How Corporate Public Relations Coopts Environmental Sustainability
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#112: Author and professor Melissa Aronczyk shares what she's learned about the history of greenwashing, environmental public relations, and the ...
Eliot Coleman: Why Chemical Companies Trash Talk Organic
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#111: Organic farmer Eliot Coleman joins Dave to discuss why the idea that chemicals are needed to grow food has only ever served chemical companies, ...
Charlotte Vallaeys Pt 2: Why Organic Is Worth Fighting For
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#110: In Part 2 of our interview with organic expert and PhD candidate Charlotte Vallaeys, she sits down with our co-director Dave Chapman to talk thr...
Hugh Kent: Blueberries Are The Canary In The Coal Mine
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#109: Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent of King Grove Farm in central Florida addresses a crowd at the 2023 EcoFarm Conference, with a warning a...
Charlotte Vallaeys Pt 1: The Pitfalls Of Outcome Based Agriculture
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#108: Organic expert and PhD candidate Charlotte Vallaeys discusses the rise of regenerative agriculture and its relationship to no-till practices, as...
Will Brinton Pt 2: Can Carbon Sequestration Ever Outpace Emissions?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#107: In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Will Brinton of Woods End Laboratories, we dive deeper into both the confusion and promotion of soil carb...
Will Brinton: Carbon Sequestration Is All About Plants, Not Soil
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#106: Dr. Will Brinton of Woods End Laboratories clears up the confusion around the soil carbon sequestration models being presented to the public, an...
Linley Dixon: Why Chemical Companies Attack Organic But Join Regenerative
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#105: Real Organic Project co-director Linley Dixon addresses a crowd of farmers at the recent Eco-Farm conference, sharing her concerns about the mon...
Emily Oakley: Growing Fertility On The Farm
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#104: Real Organic farmer and former NOSB memberEmily Oakley shares her thoughts on tillage, the regenerative movement, and transforming her farming...
Larry Jacobs: Choosing Biocontrols Over Pesticides In Mexico
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#103: Larry Jacobs shares his story about co-founding the Del Cabo organic growers association, a cooperative of family farmers in Mexico who crea...
Liz Carlisle Pt 2: Healing Grounds And Reciprocal Relationships
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#102: The second half of our interview with author and agroecologist Liz Carlisle focuses on some key figures in the organic farming movement, inclu...
Liz Carlisle Pt 1: Agroecology And The Green Revolution
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#101: Author and agroecologist Liz Carlisle walks us through the historic promotion of chemical agriculture as a path towards food security - a very...
Vandana Shiva: The Poison Cartel Should Get Their Own Label
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#100: World-renowned seed, climate, food and feminism activist Vandana Shiva joined Dave via Zoom from India in 2020 to share her thoughts on the or...
Paul Hawken Pt 2: In Favor Of Complex Systems
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#099: The second half of our recent conversation with Climate activist and author Paul Hawken deepens around the importance of complex soil system...
Paul Hawken Pt 1: Social Dynamics Of Food, Farming, and Climate Change
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#098: Climate activist and author Paul Hawken joins us for his fifth interview, focused on food, agriculture, climate change, and greenwashing. In thi...
Javier Zamora: Helping Farm Workers Succeed In California
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
#097: Organic California farmer Javier Zamora talks about his role connecting farmworkers to the resources, land, and skills they need to launch the...
Ronnie Cummins: Connecting Organic Food + Climate Activism
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#096: A conversation about food, climate, and the "regenerative" buzzword taking over agriculture with lifelong activist Ronnie Cummins, the...
Dru Rivers: Organic As A Farmer To Farmer Movement
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#095: Dru Rivers, one of the original founders of Full Belly Farm in California's Capay Valley, remembers the early days of organic with CCOF (Ca...
Zach Wolf Pt 2: The Basic Rights Of Eaters
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#094: In the second half of our conversation with Zach Wolf of Caney Fork Farms in Carthage, TN we talk about how food and agriculture relate to the e...
Zach Wolf Pt 1: Understanding On-Farm Carbon Cycles
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#093: Zach Wolf of Caney Fork Farms in Carthage, TN talks us through the multiple crops, rotations, and efforts to sequester and properly cycle carbon...
Gary Hirshberg Part 2: Saving Organic Family Farms
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#092: In the second half of our conversation with Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg, we delve deeper into the reasons behind Danone/ Horizon's 202...
Gary Hirshberg Part 1: Northeast Organic Dairy Farming Movement
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#091: Since the early 1980s, Gary Hirshberg has been involved with organic dairy farming, partnering in business with the original Stonyfield Yogurt c...
Hugh Kent: The Broken Business Of Blueberries
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#090: If you're a fan of our podcast, then you've probably heard about "the blueberries, the blueberries, the blueberries!" Meet H...
Dan Barber Interviews Dave Chapman At Stone Barns
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bonus! Last week Real Organic Project Co-Director Dave Chapman traveled to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in upstate NY, where Chef D...
Guy + Matt Choiniere: Embracing Generational Changes On The Farm
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#089: Formerly conventional, then becoming organic, the Choiniere Farm in Highgate Vermont is now 100% grass-fed and improving at every turn. Father a...
David Zuckerman: Vermont's Political Farmer
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#088: Vermont organic farmer and politician David Zuckerman talks to Real Organic Project co-director Linley Dixon about the parallels found between...
Davey Miskell: Keep The Soil In Organic
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#087: A week ahead of the 5 year anniversary of the infamous "Jacksonville Decision" where the NOSB decided to illegally allow hydroponics u...
Lisa Stokke: Food Democracy Now! And Forever
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#086: We caught up with Lisa Stokke, the co-founder of the heavy-hitting nonprofit Food Democracy Now! back in 2018, when she shared what went into or...
Hydroponic Debate: ROP's Dave Chapman Takes On The OTA
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#085: A 2019 debate between ROP's Dave Chapman and Jo Mirenda of the Organic Trade Association, moderated by Jack Kittredge, longtime editor of T...
Liz Henderson: Radical CSAs And Fair Wages For Farm Labor
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#084: Liz Henderson, a longtime organic farmer, activist, and writer joined Real Organic Project at the 2018 NOFA Summer Conference held at UMASS Amhe...
Eliot Coleman, Dave Chapman, And Jack Algiere At Stone Barns
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#083: Real Organic Project co-founder Dave Chapman is joined by renowned author and market gardener Eliot Colemanm, and Stone Barns Farm Manager Jack ...
Jack Algiere: Modeling A Food System That Inspires
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#082: Jack Algiere, Directory of Agroecology at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, talks about the importance of exposing the public to ...
Jesse Cool: The Customer Always Comes Last
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#081: Celebrated Bay Area restaurateur and cookbook authorJesse Cool talks about her passion for ingredient-driven dishes and the path to opening so...
Scott Park: Why Don't More People Farm Organically?
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#080: Real Organic Project-certified farmer Scott Park grows a variety of vegetables and grains in Meridian, California, amid a population of operatio...
Doug Crabtree: Thoughtful Tillage Is An Important Tool
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#079: Montana grain farmer Doug Crabtree grows grains, lentils, flax and a handful of other crops, and relies on various tillage practices and biodi...
Ed Maltby: Organic Dairy Contracts Create A Code Of Fear
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
#078: Ed Maltby of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance talks us through how exploitative contracts lead to a "code of fear" for s...