Farm To Table Talk

Regenerative? Organic? Real Organic? Non GMO?  Sustainable? Biodynamic? Consumers understandably get confused by the terms when they just want to buy the best food for themselves and their families.  \”Best\” can mean everything from climate to nutrition but always includes taste.  On his \”Save Our Soil\” (SOS) farm in Australia, Mark Rathbone  is a firm believer in Biodyn...

President Biden has launched a well-funded action plan for a \”Fairer, More Competitive and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain.  Jenny Lester Moffitt, the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs says that the new program will effect the entire meat supply chain from farm to table by: expansion of independent processing capacity; jump starting independent processing pr...

There have been major, well-documented problems with child labor overseas in production of various food imports. These foods make their way into the US market–another reason consumers want to know who produced their food. Anne Ross with Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services emphasizes that it isn\’t fair for ethical farmers to have to compete with those who are using forced labor for prof...

Bacon crisis? Or not? Since Californians voted to require more space for pigs, chickens and veal calves, consumers have started to worry about  what it will mean for the price and availability of bacon.  The effects will not only be felt in California but nationwide for pig farmers, meat packers, food distributors, restaurants, supermarkets and consumers. UC Davis AG Economists, Daniel Sumner and...

“To make a living is not to make a killing. It’s to have enough.” says Wendell Berry  in many ways, in scores of books over the years. As we consider the future of the world we need to reflect on the counsel of Wendell Berry who reminds us that the world will take care of us if we take care of it; knowing and loving it.  If there was a poet laureate for agriculture, it should be Wendell Berry. A f...

With climate change what is the future of agriculture?  The author of The Dreamt Land, Mark Arax draws from his chronicles of California over the past three decades to consider where we\’ve been and where we\’re headed to address the future of agriculture in a time of climate change.  No writer has devoted more pages to the story of California agriculture—small farmers and big farmers,...

  Because ‘we are what we eat,’ the Native American food sovereignty movement is working to revitalize and perpetuate traditional food systems in order to promote good physical, cultural and spiritual health for Indigenous peoples. This is being done through the promotion of seed sovereignty and the reclamation and rematriation of Native heirloom seeds; through the work of Native chefs seekin...

Small holder farmer provide over 80 to 90 % of food production in Africa. However much more food is needed and farmers need to earn more money to lift them and their families  beyond subsistence, just getting by. Larta Institute has introduced Farm to Table Talk to OCP  a Moroccan based global plant nutrition company serving farmers on five continents. The potential for African farmers to improve...

Successful agriculture requires a continuous supply of new ideas and technology for farmers of all types to meet the demands of global and local markets, profitably. Over 100,000 from the farm to table global supply chain are once again making their way to the Central Valley of California to experience the World\’s largest outdoor farm show, the World Ag Expo.  Marketing Manager, Jennifer Fa...

  \”Green Washing\” is a better recognized term than \”Humane Washing\” but it\’s the same idea of claiming to be as good as your customers want to hear. Exaggerations or plain mistruths take liberty with the true facts of the matter.  Farm Forward is one organization that is watching and calling out retailers and others in the food chains that they believe are m...

  Food is changing. How will we eat? That’s the question posed in the Farm To Table Talk Clubhouse room to Troy Hooper a multi- business entrepreneur in the hospitality space with a consulting practice to build and scale emerging brands. Troy and Rodger Wasson are joined live in the Clubhouse room by a large group of members. Joining the conversation “on stage” are Chef Dr. Mike, a cardiologi...

Nothing less than the future of the world is the focus of the gathering in Glasgow Scotland, known as COP 26.  The California Secretary of Agriculture, Karen Ross was there to share the progress and goals of agriculture in California and from there talks with Farm To Table Talk host, Rodger Wasson.  

Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a successful career as a journalist and professor, a comfortable home in San Francisco, and plenty of close friends and family. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family ranch in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put into practice everything she had learned over decades of reporting on...

The Chefs’ Manifesto is a chef-led project that brings together 1000+ chefs from around the world to help deliver a sustainable food system. As chefs bridge the gap between farm and fork, the Chefs’ Manifesto empowers chefs with a framework tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This framework consists of simple, practical actions chefs can take and are grouped in key areas. Pau...

COVID disruptions again showed that instead of dependence on a few global meat conglomerates, States and Provinces need more small-scale slaughter and cut-and-wrap facilities — creating  skilled jobs throughout rural communities.  The Biden Administration\’s commitment to increase fairness in livestock and poultry markets, and USDA’s new short-term funding for local meat processing, ar...

In our ideal world the best farming  finds its way to the best restaurants. One of those journeys leads to Allora in Sacramento where the best things in life belong together,  food and wine. Allora is the dream of a sommelier and a chef; husband and wife. Two partners who love Sacramento and are infatuated with Italy. Featuring over 250 wines, fresh pasta made daily, and a commitment to sustainabl...

\”Experience is everything,\” says  Gigi Berardi, Ph. D., author of Food Wise: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices , “We all eat, but we make different choices about what to eat and how.” Improving how we make these choices can mean the difference between continued frustration with what we put in our bodies and a more healthful, meaningful relationship with...

Rewilding can regenerate our relationship with nature/soil, sequester carbon, increase biodiversity, nourish foods and heal our communities. Rewilding is happening in Nelson County, Virginia with 100% grass-fed and finished cattle, heritage & holistically foraged pigs, and 100% grass-fed sheep on the Timshel Wildland –a 400-acre regenerative, process-led, and emergent conservation wildla...

  World leaders have committed to tackling global hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss at an historic UN Food Systems Summit.  More than 150 countries made commitments to transform their food systems, while championing greater participation and equity, especially amongst farmers, women, youth and indigenous groups. What is this global food system and why does it matter? After a full d...

Everything is changing down on the farm, except for the laws.  How do farmers and ranchers keep up while they diversify in to direct to consumer sales, wedding sites, field dinners, local meat processing, pesticide drift, agri-tourism, cottage food, food safety liability, NIMBY neighbors, run off, carbon credits, etc?  The trusty local lawyer may not have all the answers.  That\’s why Rachel...

Call it what you will, the climate is weird and getting more dangerous. Still reactive blanket prescriptions for changing the world\’s diets must take in to account that over 800,000 people are subsisting on incomes of $2 per day. In these areas the most serious threat is physical and cognitive stunting of up to 30% of the children due to poor diets; however,   global regenerative agricultur...

The world can draw down all of our Carbon emissions if agriculture fully embraced regenerative agriculture. Soils must be regularly monitored by probing  carbon levels because the more that is in the soil the less is in the atmosphere.  These themes are promoted by the Chico Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems to reduce greenhouse gasses, restore soil resiliency, increase the...

Global regenerative abundance is the goal and holistic management is the way to get there. It\’s an abstract perspective at first, but when coached to this vision by the Savory Institute\’s Global Network Coordinator, Abbey Smith we get the picture. The Savory Institute sets out to regenerate the world\’s grasslands and in that journey regenerates farms, ranches, regions, communi...

To cook, farm or eat in a different way requires taking that first step.  On Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Ben Glassen has taken first steps in regeneratively raising animals and providing them to consumers who are taking their own first steps, reaping the benefits of regenerative livestock production.  Ben\’s approach includes leasing (or borrowing) land, mobile infrastructure and d...

COVID-19 forced thousands of farmers, fishermen, butchers, and food suppliers to make incredible changes that they had  never imagined. Fortunately, in the emerging food chain, suppliers of all sizes can compete in the digital world at the intersection of technology and food. Joseph Lee, Co-Founder  and CPO of Freshline shares the story of how new ventures like theirs have stepped up to create the...