Real Organic Podcast

#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 practices instead of focusing on actual emission reductions, which we desperately need.  Listen as he makes his case to Dave for a “3rd Way” in US agriculture, one that attempts to inch conventional agriculture a little closer to good organic practices....

#113: Our Director of Certification, Ariel Pressman, joins Linley to discuss the relatively easy steps USDA organic farmers must take be earn free certification from Real Organic Project, and how our standards differ from other food labels.  Ariel Pressman has been the Director of Certification at Real Organic Project since 2019. He's also an experienced organic vegetable farmer. Ariel ran a 13-ac...

#112: Author and professor Melissa Aronczyk shares what she's learned about the history of greenwashing, environmental public relations, and the multiple tactics corporations have utilized to elbow their way to table when solutions that effect their bottom lines are being discussed. Dave Chapman ties Melissa's insights to what the organic movement has witnessed, especially as regards environmental...

#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, and how industrial regenerative agriculture is doubling down on that claim today, through their anti-organic and anti-tillage campaigns. Eliot Coleman is an author, market gardener, and educator. His work on the USDA study in the late 1970's, "Report...

#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 through her main takeaways since she began researching the rise of the term "regenerative" in agriculture and how it relates to the organic movement. Charlotte Vallaeys is an organic expert and PhD candidate at the Tufts School of Agriculture, Food, and...

#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 about the disappearance of soil-grown berries, tomatoes, peppers, greens, and herbs from the organic produce section of US groceries and food co-ops. Learn why he sees the move to hydroponic production as a mandate for growers who want to compete in U...

#108: Organic expert and PhD candidate Charlotte Vallaeys discusses the rise of regenerative agriculture and its relationship to no-till practices, as well as the hard questions that arise when focusing on outcomes instead of farming systems. Charlotte Vallaeys is an organic expert and PhD candidate at the Tufts School of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. Her focus is on the rise of regenerative...

#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 carbon sequestration as a climate mitigation solution - one that's receiving recent and generous funding from our government. Could this be a ploy that distracts the public from the real need for big polluters to reduce their emissions? Dr. Will Brinton...

#106: Dr. Will Brinton of Woods End Laboratories clears up the confusion around the soil carbon sequestration models being presented to the public, and makes a strong argument for a turning our focus on increasing biomass and plant canopies. Dr. Will Brinton is a PhD soil scientist and the founder of Woods End Laboratories in Maine, where he tests agricultural soils for a variety of elements, incl...

#105: Real Organic Project co-director Linley Dixon addresses a crowd of farmers at the recent Eco-Farm conference, sharing her concerns about the money grab for "climate smart" agriculture projects that are focusing on increased chemical use. Meanwhile, organic, a systems-based  approach, got little attention and is deemed too complex to measure. Linley Dixon is the co-director of the Real Organi...

#104: Real Organic farmer and former NOSB memberEmily Oakley shares her thoughts on tillage, the regenerative  movement, and transforming her farming practices with hopes of replacing off-farm inputs with homegrown fertility. Emily Oakley owns and operate Three Springs Farm with her husband Mike Appel outside of  Tulsa, OK. She served on the National Organic Standards Board from 2016 - 2021 and is...

#103:  Larry Jacobs shares his story about co-founding the Del Cabo  organic growers association, a cooperative of family farmers in Mexico who created a market for organic vegetables to be shipped north in winter. Relying on organic pest control techniques, Larry and the farmers were able to stave off government attempts of importing chemical practices to their region. Larry Jacobs is a longtime...

#102:  The second half of our interview with author and agroecologist Liz Carlisle focuses on some key figures in the organic farming movement, including George Washington Carver and FH King, and circles around to inspiring reciprocal relationships between farmers and eaters within their own communities. Liz Carlisle is the author of Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regener...

#101:  Author and agroecologist Liz Carlisle walks us through the historic promotion of chemical agriculture as a path towards food security - a very intentional part of US foreign policy during the Cold War.  She shares how the oppression of indigenous knowledge, foods, and traditions led to the birth of Agroecology, one of the world's largest social movements. Liz Carlisle is the author of Heali...

#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 origins and corruption of the organic movement. Vandana Shiva is a celebrated scholar, prolific author, and longtime activist who's work focuses on seeds, agriculture, and ecofeminism. You can follow along with her work here:https://www.navdanya.org/To...

#099:  The second half of our recent conversation with Climate activist and author Paul Hawken  deepens around the importance of complex soil systems for human health, the difficulties we face in reaching a broad audience through our fractured modern media channels,  and whether regenerative agriculture is organic and vice verse. Paul Hawken is a climate activist, entrepreneur, and the author of n...

#098: Climate activist and author Paul Hawken joins us for his fifth interview, focused on food, agriculture, climate change, and greenwashing. In this episode, the first half of Dave Chapman's conversation with Paul, they discuss whether regenerative agriculture is organic and vice verse. Paul Hawken is a climate activist, entrepreneur, and the author of nine books including Drawdown: The Most Co...

#097: Organic California farmer Javier Zamora talks about his role connecting  farmworkers to the resources, land, and skills they need to launch their own farming ventures through ALBA, the Agriculture And Land-Based Training Association, a program which he himself graduated from before opening JSM Organics. Javier Zamora is the founder of JSM Organics, a 200 acre Real Organic Project-certified f...

#096: A conversation about food, climate, and the "regenerative" buzzword taking over agriculture with lifelong activist Ronnie Cummins, the founder and director of Organic Consumers Association and a member of Regeneration International's steering committee. Ronnie Cummins is the founder and director of the Organic Consumers Association, a member of the steering committee of Regeneration Internat...

#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 (California Certified Organic Farmers), when ideas, practices, and inspiration were exchanged freely between peers. Dru Rivers co-founded Full Belly Farm in the 1970s with her partner Paul Muller, and friends Judith Redmond and Andrew Brait. Full Belly has g...

#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 environment, human health, and the quality of life for future generations on Earth. Zach Wolf is the current VP of the Board at the (biodynamic) Demeter Alliance and the former farm manager at Caney Fork Farms in Carthage, TN. While there, Zach oversa...

#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 on the 800 acres owned by Vice President Al Gore. Caney Forks hosts the annual Climate Underground conference and has a special interest in revealing the most-impactful role that agriculture can play in restoring Earth's cycles. Zach Wolf is the cur...

#092: In the second half of our conversation with Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg, we delve deeper into the reasons behind Danone/ Horizon's 2021 contract cancellations with 89 organic dairy farmers in the northeast and what can be done going forward. Gary introduces his new organization, the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, and explains his hope for its role in convincing consumers and inst...

#091: Since the early 1980s, Gary Hirshberg has been involved with organic dairy farming, partnering in business with the original Stonyfield Yogurt co-founders, Samuel and Louisa Kaymen. In the first half of our two-part interview, Gary takes us back to those days and explains how Stonyfield worked with and met the needs of small organic farmers in the northeast to create a landscape that despera...

#090: If you're a fan of our podcast, then you've probably heard about "the blueberries, the blueberries, the blueberries!" Meet Hugh Kent, who along with his wife Lisa, grows the phenomenal blueberries in central Florida that Michael Pollan, chef Dan Barber and others can't say enough about - and learn why massive hydroponic berry operations are not only a threat to his business, but to our abili...