Flipping the Table

Flipping the Table is a production of Roots of Change, a program of the Public Health Institute. Roots of Change has been a major catalyst in the growth and power-building of the good food movement. It was launched in 2002 and this episode features a conversation with 4 individuals who have been deeply involved in its founding and evolution and offer perspectives on what has worked and what has no...

After talking about the day's farm tour on the Oxnard plain of Ventura County to educate CalPolySLO engineering students working to keep drinking water cool for farmer workers in hot fields, Maureen and Michael explore how to solve the many complex challenges faced by farmers in a time of intense political polarization, climate change and escalating prices.

You have probably heard how challenging it is to keep a farm or ranch alive in today's industrial food system. Low prices, high barriers to market entry and climate impacts are killing off the family ranches that are the primary sources of meat. Big corporations are capturing the vast majority of the wealth and impoverishing rural communities. Hear about one attempt to turn the tide in one of the...

Perhaps no one has spoken so clearly about the problem of capitalism and its impact on our food system as Woody Tasch. He is the founder of the Slow Money Institute and the movement it supports. Hear about his latest written statement, A Call to Farms and the Beet Coin initiative launching on September 11, 2022.

Resilience requires access to local food. One model of how to sustain and promote local farms is Sonoma County Farm Trails. Launched in 1973, it is the nation's first community-based organization with such a mission. Carmen Snyder, executive director, shares its story and about its upcoming event: the Gravenstein Apple Fair.

Craig shares his dramatic life journey from the JFK White House to a farm near UC Davis, the challenge of loving a complex father and how his farm brought healing inside and with the Vietnamese people.

The healing power of food has long been recognized by indigenous cultures and through much of human history. Yet only recently has modern western medicine begun to return to food as healing agent. Diet related disease and other factors ignited this change. Dr. Steven Chen from Alameda County's health system describes how produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals are moving front and cente...

Guido Frosini and Sarah Silva, members of the Bay Area Ranchers Cooperative, tell us what production and processing challenges they face and how they are solving these challenges even amidst global warming. 

Community food projects and much more would be funded if we can place the Health Equity and Social Justice Fund in the California Budget. Mar Velez, Rod Lew and Ron Coleman, three veteran policy campaigners leading the charge, describe the fund, its uses and how we plan to win the Governor's support.

Pandemic, heat waves, fires and storms demand robust public health infrastructure that includes networks of well resourced community based organizations (CBOs). The Let's Feed LA County program that included 19 local organizations, Roots of Change, Center for Wellness and Nutrition and Wholesome Wave makes clear the need to permanently invest in CBOs on the frontline so they are ready when things...

Michael talks with John Krist, retired CEO of Ventura County Farm Bureau, about the need and challenge of protecting farmworkers.

A conversation with Maricela about the Achieving Resilient Communities project and her work with Central Coast Alliance for Sustainable Economy. Maricela is a social justice warrior and the project is a core initiative of Roots of Change and its partners at the Public Health Institute.

CA movement leaders describe the $3.3 billion Resilient Food and Farm bond and budget request.

One of Dan's most challenging and interesting interviews with the renown animal welfare advocate and gifted autistic. Dr. Grandin has transformed livestock handling.

Michael and Tom discuss California's immense water problems and potential solutions. S3 E1 sets the stage for a great season of how CA is solving 21st century food system challenges.

Naima shares her path, her poetry and vision for a food system and society that is healed, just and regenerative. An inspiring end to Season II!

Dan Imhoff dialogues with Eliot Coleman, Maine's Four Season Farm founder, author and organic farming pioneer. Eliot shares what plants want, what growers around the world can teach, and how small farms can make money.

Author, educator, recovering Buddhist and model for a life well lived, Deborah shares her stores of a culinary and farm-centered cook's life, all from her memoir An Onion In My Pocket.

Writer and activist Dan Imhoff speaks with farmer, poet and seminal writer Wendell Berry about the "oversimplification" of agriculture and all the resulting challenges.

Celebrity chef & farmer Duskie Estes, rancher Kathy Webster and farmer Sarah Silva launched the Bay Area Ranchers Cooperative (BAR C) to support local livestock producers providing safe, healthy meat to a growing market.

Writer, farmer, activist Dan Imhoff wets our appetite for six conversations he recorded with the pioneers of regenerative and organic agriculture in the early 2000s. The Imhoff Archives will run once per month over the next 6 months.

The new leader of the nation's largest and most impactful food policy council shares her lived experience and vision for LA's food future.

The future of a healthy and regenerative meat source is visible by looking at Morris Grassfed. A 30-journey to build a network of mutually beneficial relationships that are good for people, animals and the planet!

Native peoples are rebirthing their food traditions to heal the impacts of the modern American diet and political and economic oppression.  Sanjay's new film captures three inspiring stories of reclaimed food sovereignty.

The soil is a powerful tool for combatting climate change. Through her nonprofit, Soil Centric, Donlon builds support and pathways for everyone to join the campaign to build soil and capture carbon to create a healthier future.