The Appropriate Omnivore with Aaron Zober

For the latest episode of The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, host Aaron interviews Michele Thorne of Good Meat Project. Michele describes her journey into food systems transformation, beginning with concerns about food company transparency, ingredient adulteration, and corporate control, and shares her wide-ranging background from nonprofit management to raising animals herself. She explains Good M...

The 2025 Wise Traditions Conference in Salt Lake City is just one week away. For his final guest in the conference speaker series, Aaron welcomes Bob Quinn, founder of the newly established Quinn Institute. Quinn’s presentation, “Healing the Earth as Medicine – A New Profit Center for Farmers and Ranchers,” delves into the Institute’s core mission to advance regenerative organic research, educatio...

As host Aaron Zober continues to count down to the Wise Traditions Conference on The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, his speaker for this week is microbiome coach Vanessa Hargrove. Vanessa is author of the book Homestead to Homestead and teaches a course called Targeted Microbial Therapy. Vanessa will be speaking at the Wise Traditions Conference in Salt Lake City, giving two talks: one on targeted...

It's the next installment of the Wise Traditions Conference speaker series, with host Aaron Zober interviewing Judith McGeary, founder of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA). Her presentation, "Changing Laws that Govern Our Food," focuses on promoting common-sense agricultural policies and reforming food system laws. Judith, an attorney, activist, and regenerative farmer, discusses key top...

The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober continues with his Wise Traditions Conference speaker series, interviewing Mike Keen of Eat Your Environment in this episode. Mike’s presentation, “Eating Greenland - An Evolutionary Diet Revelation,” shares his background as a chef with global experience that led him to a transformative journey focused on ancestral and evolutionary diets. Mike emphasizes...

In just over a month, the Weston A. Price Foundation will host its annual Wise Traditions Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Continuing his tradition on The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, Aaron Zober begins his series of interviews with featured speakers by welcoming back James Barry, founder of Pluck. James's presentation, "The Original Superfood: Why Organ Meats Belong Back on the Plate," delves...

In this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, Aaron Zober welcomes back registered dietitian Laura Mathes, founder of Rest, Digest, and Heal. Laura shares insights from her new 7‑module, self‑paced program, which blends practical education with weekly group coaching calls. She and Aaron then dive into common misconceptions about gut health, the importance of food quality and preparation, and the po...

In this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, host Aaron Zober welcomes back Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) founder and president Sally Fallon Morell to discuss recent insights into olive oil quality, focusing particularly on the discovery that some olive oils contain higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids than previously recognized. They explore how this discovery was made and the subsequent acti...

On this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, host Aaron Zober welcomes back Alexia Kulwiec, executive director of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Alexia discusses issues surrounding access to safe and healthy raw milk, with a particular focus on the role of herdshares —- a system in which a group of consumers collectively own a portion of a dairy herd, granting them legal access t...

For this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, host Aaron Zober interviews Chantale Houle, founder of Biora and Kefiplant, about utilizing kombucha and other fermented botanicals beyond beverages, with a focus on their application in vinegars and salad dressings. Chantale shares how Biora was created as an offshoot of Kefiplant, her company that produces over 50 different fermented botanicals for t...

In the latest episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, Aaron Zober welcomes back Tim Richards, founder of Philosopher Foods, to discuss the accidental discovery and development of Gut Nuts — a unique line of fermented nuts. Aaron shares his passion for sour and fermented foods, while Tim explains how a kitchen mishap led to a new product, now made with lactic acid bacteria for enhanced flavor and nutr...

As we enter the month of July and celebrate National Hot Dog Month, The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober interviews Kevin Pallaoro, president of Teton Waters Ranch, to discuss grass-fed beef, regenerative agriculture, and the real food movement. Kevin shares how farming has always been a part of his life. Aaron and Kevin delve into animal welfare and ranching, dispelling misconceptions about...

In this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, host Aaron Zober interviews Emily Moose, Executive Director of A Greener World (AGW), to discuss the importance of food transparency and credible labeling. Emily shares her background in agriculture and explains how AGW was founded to address the need for trustworthy, third-party certifications. Together, Aaron and Emily explore which food labels are me...

Aaron Zober hosts Holly Howe on The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, where they discuss their shared interest in sauerkraut and its health benefits. Holly shares how she first became interested in fermentation and why she focuses specifically on sauerkraut. She then explains how creating her website Make Sauerkraut eventually led to writing her book "Mouthwatering Sauerkraut". Holly highlights the be...

The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober interviews Maxi Heidenblut, founder of Happy Candy, a company that makes “better-for-you” gummy candies. Maxi, originally from Germany — a country famous for its gummy candy — explains her inspiration for starting Happy Candy after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that required her to reduce sugar intake. Disappointed by existing low-sugar cand...

For this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, Aaron Zober interviews Phoenix Be of Simply Grassfed. Phoenix discusses the prevalence of greenwashing in the natural products industry and explains why labels can often be misleading. He addresses a wide range of related issues, including loopholes in organic certification, challenges in meat and produce processing, and concerns about seafood and wild...

Aaron Zober welcomes David Dottorini to the Appropriate Omnivore podcast. David is an export manager for Ficacci Olive Co., which is based out of Italy. David and Aaron share a love for olives, especially when unpasteurized. The two cover everything about olives, including some information you may not know. David starts with the different between olives sold in Italy and the U.S. and what the colo...

On the latest episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, host Aaron Zober interviews Nehru Karim, founder of Agi's Caribbean, a family-run startup specializing in Caribbean and Guyanese cuisine. Inspired by the popularity of his mother Nehru’s home-cooked meals, Nehru launched the business at farmers markets, initially offering traditional and vegetarian samosas with homemade tamarind sauce. The menu ha...

This week on The Appropriate Omnivore, host Aaron Zober interviews Elizabeth Bruckner of The Create Wellness Project and author of The Homesteader Mindset. Elizabeth explains that in order to homestead, you not only need to learn the necessary skills for practices such as gardening, composting, or fermenting, but you first have work on your mental health. Elizabeth discusses her background with th...

Last week in Anaheim, New Hope Network held its annual Natural Products Expo West. The Appropriate Omnivore host gives his fourth annual show recapping his discoveries. There's no guest this week as Aaron himself lists the five major takeaways from Expo West as far as trends and new products he found on the exhibit floor. Every year there's a different take, although some similar elements may repe...

The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober views the sustainability of packaging for products as important as the sustainability for how the food in the packages are grown and processed. So Aaron proudly welcomes rePurpose Global co-founder & chief impact officer Aditya Siroya to the program. Aditya grew up in Bangalore, India, which went from garden city to garbage city of India in the 2010s. He t...

This episode of The Appropriate Omnivore is about ghee, one of host Aaron Zober’s favorite fats to cook with. His guest Avi Nalwaya shares this passion. Avi tells his story of originally using ghee to help with his son’s gut issues to eventually founding Nalwaya Foods. Aaron and Avi discuss how saturated fats have demonized and why they're needed in your diet. Avi mentions what he looks for in ter...

A major aspect of the nutrition Aaron Zober recommends on The Appropriate Omnivore is related to fermentation. So Aaron is pleased to welcome on Austin Durant. Austin founded Fermenters Club and more recently authored the book Fearless Fermenting. Austin shares his journey with Aaron and what he means by being the Forrest Gump of fermentation. He explains how his organization then led to the book...

For the first podcast of The Appropriate Omnivore in 2025, host Aaron Zober welcomes somebody who has helped so many of us be appropriate omnivores. Guest Brad Johnson is CEO of Verde Farms, the leading provider of 100% grass fed beef. Brad gives his background in CPG from being in brand marketing & sales to wanting to work on brands that advocated for improvement to his current position at Verde....

With the 2024 Wise Traditions Conference coming, The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober welcomes another speaker for the conference. Today's guest is Will Harris, a fourth generation cattleman running the farm White Oak Pastures in Blufton, GA. Will talks about his great grandfather starting the farm and how Will's dad changed things when he took over. Will discusses the transitioning away from...