Real Organic Podcast

#042:  Anne Ross, the Cornucopia Institute's Director of  International Policy talks about being tasked with investigating organic grain fraud at the international level over recent years. Anne lays out how the system is designed to accommodate corruption, how fraudulent organic grain is used, and how real organic farmers suffer when it reaches the market. She also explains what consumers can do t...

#041: Ben Dobson of Stone House Farm in NY's Hudson Valley covers a lot of ground as he gives illustrative explanations of Earth's natural cycles and how they're complemented by organic farming. He makes a great case for expanding organic production in the US to meet our market demand instead of looking to imports.  Ben also takes on CAFOs, grain fraud, hydroponics, and the dire importance of the...

#040: Real Organic farmer Jennifer Taylor has successfully mentored many farmers in the Southeast through her technical assistance work at Florida AMU. With a focus on improving quality of life for farm families and modeling the organic soil-building practices that she herself uses, she inspires others to embrace real organic farming. Jennifer's work as an advocate and activist, both nationally an...

#039: In the second half of our conversation with soil and climate scientist Water Jehne we get deep into the real costs  of producing industrial food, including the rise of both diseases and healthcare costs, and the overall decline of  nutrients available to eaters. Walter also speaks beautifully to the role healthy soil plays in supplying essential nutrients to our food while also preventing th...

#038: Australian soil microbiologist and climate scientist Water Jehne makes a convincing case for shifting focus away from carbon emissions and towards restoring the water cycle in order to speed up planetary healing.  With the desertification of fertile lands on the rise over the past decade due to human activity, he argues that we are all in for cascading and escalating problems if we don't beg...

#037: Former medical practitioner turned regenerative soil advocate Didi Pershouse shares her observations about water's role at the epicenter of the Climate Crisis, the trouble she sees with forecasting models, and her three "asks "of land managers who can participate in  staving off big, ecological trouble. Didi Pershouse is the founder of the Land and Leadership Initiative and the author of two...

#036: Nora Taleb of Germany's Naturland, the longest-running food label put forth and managed by a farmer association in the EU, shares insights and challenges around keeping farmers fairly paid, consumers well educated, and Big Ag out of the decision making process. To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/nora-taleb-lessons-from-europes-add-on-food...

#035: Author, holistic orchardist, and fungal network devotee Michael Phillips shares his thoughts on promoting outrageous biodiversity to restore degraded lands and letting every part of nature play its intended role. To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/michael-phillips-restoring-degraded-lands-with-outrageous-biodiversity-episode-thirty-fiveTh...

Bonus Episode with Paul Hawken: To celebrate the release of Paul's new book Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation (with forward by Jane Goodall and already a NYT best seller!), we're sharing a deep and profound conversation from late 2020 with Paul and our co-director, Dave Chapman. Paul Hawken is a best-selling author, climate activist, and entrepreneur with deep roots in the...

#034: Real Organic dairy farmer, soil scientist, and former National Organic Standards Board member Francis Thicke sheds light on how the USDA program has been lost to corporate influence.  He also shares enlightening and easy-to-follow explanations about the upsides of cows on grass. Francis Thicke owns and operates Radiance Dairy in Fairfield, Iowa with his wife Susan, which produces milk, cream...

#033: Labor historian and Dartmouth professor Annelise Orleck walks us through how our economy became filled with goods produced by invisible workers and the toll that reality has taken on our food system. She also speaks to the tremendous organizing power of the farm workers she interviewed while writing her book "We're All Fast Food Workers Now: The Global Uprising Against Poverty Wages."Annelis...

#032: Organic and regenerative farmers often talk about the importance of beneficial soil microbes and the need for diversity of life below ground...but what about above ground? Karen Washington speaks to the need to diversify the farming community at our conferences and in our fields, making time to listen and learn from growers of all backgrounds. Karen Washington is a farmer, community activist...

#031: Grazing animals display innate nutritional wisdom; they seek out grasses and plants that offer trace minerals, phytonutrients, and other nourishing components.  Scientist and author Fred Provenza explains what these animals know that we humans don't and how can we learn from them. Fred Provenza is professor emeritus of Behavioral Ecology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah Univer...

#030: NASA astrobiologist and author David Grinspoon views humanity in deep time, with plenty of sympathy for our role as caretakers without a set of instructions. He wonders whether we can develop enough self-awareness to see ourselves as a geological force capable of stopping the 6th Mass Extinction we're heading towards? David Grinspoon is an astrobiologist and senior scientist at the Planetary...

#029: In our continued conversation with author, agricultural economist, and livestock expert Dr. John Ikerd, we delve more deeply into the challenges and opportunities facing our food system and how organic practices offer better solutions than industrial ones. John Ikerd is an agricultural economist, livestock expert, and Professor Emeritus and the University of Missouri. His books include: Cris...

#028: Agricultural economist John Ikerd walks us through the very intentional strategy of overproduction as a precursor to market takeover, as we've just seen with the organic milk glut and subsequent cancellation of contracts with close to 100 organic dairy farmers in the Northeast by Horizon/ Danone. He also explains why industrial farming, with its focus on profitability and efficiency, is in o...

#027:  How many civilizations have collapsed due to extractive agricultural practices and soil degradation and how close is ours to reaching the same fate? Author and geologist David Montgomery talks us through the ultimate costs of taking our soils for granted and the difficulty of reversing course with modern technology. Author and geologist David Montgomery is a professor of Earth and Space Sci...

#026:  In  the second part of our interview with author, biologist, and gardener Anne Biklé, the conversation focuses on the human microbiome and the indirect yet irreplaceable role that soil microbes and plant exudates play in keeping humans healthy. Anne Biklé is a biologist, environmental planner, and gardener who has worked in watershed restoration and public health. Along with her partner, Da...

#025:  Author, biologist and diehard organic gardener Anne Biklé takes us on a journey through the soil microbiome, introducing us to the fetching fungi and beneficial bacteria that deliver and exchange nutrients with the plants that make our food. Anne makes us  appreciate how this complex and mysterious system can't easily be replicated. Anne Biklé is a biologist, environmental planner, and gard...

#024: Bill McKibben offers his thoughts on how a big movement can succeed in fighting big power. Beyond the importance of pairing global policy with local, grassroots action, he also speaks to the role of industrial agriculture and the dismantling of the organic brand in the coming climate blows we all face.  Bill McKibben is an environmentalist,  journalist, author, and the co-founder and leader...

#023: Can grazing livestock heal the planet by sequestering carbon and reversing desertification through managed movements that mimic nature? Are livestock even more effective than using controlled burns to prevent wildfires? Allan Savory believes so, and his arguments and outcomes are convincing.  Allan Savory is the founder of Holistic Management International, a systems-based decision making pr...

#022: Arran Stephens is the chair and co-founder of Nature's Path, one of the few big brands who were present at the onset of the modern  organic movement and remain true to the spirit and letter of the organic law. Having served on many industry boards, including the Organic Trade Association and the Non-GMO Project, Arran's long-held view is that we need  to stay wary of profit-motivated players...

#021: A deep discussion about farming, science, sustainability, and where knowledge comes from with the always-fascinating Stuart Hill, author and former chair of Social Ecology at the University of  Western Sydney, Australia. Stuart Hill is a prolific author, publishing over 350 papers and many books on agriculture and social ecology. He is the former chair of Social Ecology at the University of ...

#020: Biodynamic farmer Jean-Paul Courtens discusses the complexities of tillage through the eyes of a vegetable farmer, as well as necessary changes in his practices due to the increasing effects of Climate Change. Jean-Paul Courtens is a well-known Biodynamic farmer living in New York's Hudson Valley and a valuable resource to the farming community. After spending decades growing organic food fo...

#019:  A brief interview with Enid Wonnacott about the drafting of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.  Enid shares how farmers learning from one another and always striving to improve the program were meant to be at the forefront of the standards. Enid Wonnacott, (the late) longtime Executive Director of NOFA Vermont was a champion of the organic, local food movement, helping to form the Na...