Ecogal the curious consumer

Jeff Poppen, a Midwestern farm boy, helped develop an organic farm and Tennessee homestead in the mid-1970s, and ten years later began applying biodynamic principals and making the preparations to do so. His livelihood comes primarily from vegetable and cattle grown on the 250-acre Long Hungry Creek Farm, where cows, compost, and community keep the land vibrant and productive. Jeff advocates for a...

The theme for this year's summit (2023) ~ Cultivating Cooperation a few panels to participate in: Starting a cooperative business in Tennessee Lunchtime keynote panel, Dec 2nd, moderated by the co-director of Southeast Center for Cooperative Development. Building a Seed Commons Keynote panel Friday, Dec. 1st - Building a Seed Commons from an Indigenous Peoples Lens.

As we enter into the holiday's here are some ideas on ways to reduce your footprint while still being festive and merry!

Jeremy Lekich was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee by two hippy parents who fostered a sense of reverence in him for the more-than-human world. In 2010, Jeremy founded Nashville Foodscapes and in 2021, transitioned the company to a worker-owned cooperative. In 2014, Jeremy co-founded Compost Nashville. Jeremy's journey as an entrepreneur and forest lover has inspired his work to leverage ou...

Natalie Ashker Seevers from Tennessee Local Food joins me in the ecogal studio to talk about food, grown locally. Why it's important to support local farmers, how one can access food directly by joining a community supported Agriculture (CSA) and how to go about finding the right fit for you.

Rachel Werbal, conservationist and sustainability consultant joins me in discussing what Earth Day means to her, learning about its origin, and sharing some ideas to celebrate this beautiful planet that provides everything for us to thrive and what we can give back to contribute to the well-being of Mother Earth.

Seema is the owner of Miel Restaurant where for the past 14 years she has championed the use of sustainably grown food and wine. Miel also uses the practices of sustainability on every level at the restaurant. For the past 11 years, her focus has added the topic of food waste and how Nashville as a city can divert this valuable resource from landfills and utilize it for its renewable qualities. //...

Cam Terry is a vegetable farmer in Roanoke, VA.  His urban farm Garden Variety Harvests (GVH) for short has cultivated produce on a network of backyard lots for 5 years, selling at a farmers market and to area restaurants.  In 2022, GVH secured a deal with the Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons to establish a farm headquarters at Lick Run Farm in NW Roanoke on a long-term equitable leas...

Ian McSweeney, from the Agrarian Trust, shares with us the work this organization is doing across the United States. It's centered on the human connection to the land and each other.  Ian shares his commitment to bringing about innovations to holistically evolve farmland ownership, conservation, equity, secure and affordable access, tenure, and relationship through The Agrarian Commons.

As we say goodbye to 2022, I was thinking about this next year and what each of us could do to be a little more sustainable. I share five ideas anyone can do to start having a positive impact. I think setting an intention is the first action and then choosing a handful of activities you'll implement this year. If we all consciously take mitigating measures to live more sustainably, it does have an...

Belgian-born Pascal Baudar describes himself as a culinary alchemist and wild food artist who has a very unique way of looking at environmentalism. Through educating himself about non native and invasive plants he has come to see the world differently. Perhaps we aren't looking at the environmental situation through the correct lens. This conversation will certainly give you a new perspective and...

John Patrick and Diane Scher are founding members of the Burns Village Farm which is a new housing development in Burns, TN.   A core group of individuals are trying to preserve farmland, create a neighborhood, and provide access to farmland for a new farmer.  It is following models of cohousing and agrihoods.  They plan to practice sustainable principles for the construction and ma...

Zena Harris is a corporate consultant in the entertainment business. She builds sustainability programs that influence stakeholders and shift industries.  She founded Green Spark Group, a sustainability consulting firm that serves the dynamic and fast-paced motion picture industry in the United States and Canada, and has created the annual Sustainable Production Forum event to accelerate know...

Kristina Villa is a farmer, communicator, and community coordinator who believes that our connection to the soil is directly related to the health of our bodies, economy, and society. With over a decade of experience in vegetable farming and cattle management, Kristina enjoys using her skill sets to share photos, stories, and information which help to inspire change in human habits and mindsets, c...

Megan Gill is the owner of The Good Fill in East and West Nashville. Her passion to see consumers become more thoughtful about the impact of their purchasing decisions led her to open Nashville's first packaging-free shop. The Good Fill has diverted over 100,000 plastic bottles or containers from landfills and thousands more pounds of personal and home care waste. By offering sustainably made and...

Raven Hernandez is the founder and CEO of Earth Rides, the only all-electric ride-hailing app. Raven is a first-generation Latina American and is a graduate of the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. Raven was inspired to start EARTH after a personal quest to improve her own health drove her to affect change on a large scale. She envisioned EARTH as a way to help people make a difference while enjoyi...

Francisco Torres, Founder and General Manager of Compost For Life in Miami Florida, joined me in the ecogal studio to learn about the mission of his company as well as delve into what compost is and the value composting provides from growing more food to drawing down carbon to helping mitigate climate change.

Sarah Scarborough, the Tea Huntress joined me in the ecogal studio to share her journey of becoming the Tea Huntress, as well as sustainability in trade, her connection to nature, and what makes one tea stand out from another. This was a conversation that could have continued for hours, and therefore, will have more episodes to follow. This was a beautiful, soothing, and informed conversation. Gra...

Natalie Novak of KPS Essentials joined me in the ecogal studio to talk about the shocking discovery that changed the trajectory of her life, her reason for creating an all organic food-grade skincare line. We talked about why it's important to know the ingredients in the products you are putting on your largest organ, your skin, and how long it takes to enter into your system. It was an informativ...

Debra Dickey of Sweet Seven Organic Salon in Nashville, Tennessee joined me in the ecogal studio to talk about hair color, what we don't usually think to ask about when it comes to our hair, and how that lack of knowledge could pose a danger to our health and well being. We had a lively and informative conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ellery Richardson, environmental attorney and co-founder of the Nashville Food Co-op joined me in the ecogal studio to talk about the importance of community, local economy, autonomy, values, supporting local growers and makers, and building a community around these things through a food cooperative and what that is.

Jennifer Masley is an entrepreneur who has launched, owned and operated multiple wellness brands throughout the US in the sustainable food and movement space.  We talked about commitment to organics in her juice bars and restaurant, sustainable practices like composting, the difference between a smoothie and a juice, the importance of education with her customers around why organic is importa...

Learn more about Ecogal the curious consumer here: a very short introduction to what the show is going to be about