Rootstock Radio

On this final episode of Rootstock Radio, we're talking to Dr. John Fagan of Earth Open Source Institute about an all-encompassing model of health, climate change, pesticides and science. It's been a great 4 years of doing this podcast, and we want to thank the thousands of listeners who have celebrated so many Good Food Movement changemakers with us every week. We hope you'll stay connected with us on our blog, Rootstock, at www.organicvalley.coop/blog. 

Today on Rootstock Radio, Chef Luke Zahm of the Driftless Cafe gets real about what it takes to be conscientious in the restaurant industry, and why serving local food is so important to the greater local food system. Tune in to hear about: The unique food and agriculture scene in the Driftless region of Wisconsin (which is, of course, how the Driftless Cafe got its name.) Why Luke and his team spend 85% of their food budget sourcing from producers within 100 miles of their restaurant. How Luke has made telling the stories of farmers central to his business model. Important conversations taking place among chefs about how to celebrate local food and farmers without grandstanding or exploiting the “trendiness” of farm-to-table. The difference between a fad and a revolution, according to Luke (and why organic is clearly the latter.)

Mari Margil and her team at the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund are committed to defending the rights of our environment under the law. Already they have assisted the first places in the world to secure Rights of Nature in law, including in Ecuador, where these rights are now written into the country’s constitution. Recently, the organization was instrumental in advocating for the rights of Lake Erie to be protected against agricultural pollution, which has also been polluting the water of Toledo, Ohio, residents. In February, Ohio voters passed the “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” law, a first-of-its-kind measure that could set a positive precedent for other Rights of Nature laws. Listen in to hear more about how our environment can - and should - have a lawyer. 

Today on Rootstock Radio, we’re talking with Anthony Reyes, Farm Manager at Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California. Anthony’s interest in food and agriculture was piqued in college, where he studied food, agriculture and social justice. But after he got a job not just thinking about agriculture, but actually working with his hands in the soil, his focus shifted from theoretical policy, to being on the ground making change in big and small ways. Which is—of course—part of how Anthony found himself farm manager of an urban farm and garden that employs, educates and nourishes people experiencing homelessness.

Today we’re talking to community organizer Ashleigh Eubanks of RiseBoro Community Partnership, where her work includes food systems education, supporting local co-op development, building cross-movement solidarity and fostering local leadership. Not only that, Ashleigh was named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s “30 Under 30” for her work as a food justice organizer in 2018. Tune in to hear her story of growing up in a food desert, and how the inequality she saw inspired her to make change.

WWOOF’s model for cultural exchange on organic farms connects people from all over the world through shared values of good food, sustainability and community. WWOOF was doing ecotourism before that term had even been invented! Tune in to hear about how WWOOFing works, how it's changed since the 1970s, and how it has led many people to organic farming (and showed a few that the farming life wasn't for them - and that's a good thing to know).   

Have you ever stopped to think about how the plants that produce our seeds are treated? Today on Rootstock Radio Cara Loriz, Executive Director at Organic Seed Alliance, is talking about an often-overlooked and truly fundamental piece of our food and agriculture system: seeds.

Farm infrastructures in the U.S. are designed to support either very big or very small farms, which sometimes leaves mid-sized producers—the “Ag of the Middle”—without resources or a market. Amanda Oborne of Ecotrust is supporting these often-overlooked farms in order to create a flourishing regional food system.

We’re ringing in the 49th anniversary of Earth Day with a special Rootstock Radio conversation with Chef Mary Cleaver, one of the country’s foremost authorities on sustainable food and local sourcing. She's also an alumnus of Earth Dinner, a special themed dinner that brings friends and family together for an intentional, meaningful meal on Earth Day (or really, any day!).  Tune in to hear about: Mary’s ideal Earth Dinner menu (we’re salivating…) How Mary has literally watched the “eat local” movement come into being in NYC, from one market selling local products in 1976 to over 55 today. Helping other NYC chefs to bring local ingredients to restaurants across the city. Why Mary believes there is a big difference between what hits your tongue and the energy that flows through your body as a result. The one thing Mary would encourage everyone to do in celebration of Earth Day, or any day of the year!

Today on Rootstock Radio, Cheyenna Layne Weber, Brooklyn-based writer and community organizer with the Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City, talks about her pursuit of art and activism that elevates the needs of people and the planet over profit. Hear about the "solidarity economy" (aka "new economics" or "regenerative economics") and how everyone can be involved. 

On today’s episode of Rootstock Radio, we’re chatting with Kendra Klein, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth (FOE) and a seasoned writer, researcher and advocate (Kendra’s been at this kind of work for a full 17 years!). Kendra shares what that FOE is doing to change our food and agriculture system for the better. This includes an exciting new study that found switching to organic food can dramatically reduce your exposure to pesticides—we’re talking drops of 60% in just 6 days, and up to 95% depending on the compound! The study also found 14 specific pesticides in every single participant (a fact that should thoroughly alarm us all).  The hopeful news is that this study, and others like it, shows it IS POSSIBLE to seriously reduce the amount of pesticide residues in our bodies through our diet. And in a world where a lot of things feel completely out of our control, our food choices are something that’s still in our own hands. 

Eric Holt-Giménez firmly believes that our food system is not, in fact, broken. As he shared with us in early 2018, the agriculture system we’re operating today never really worked in the first place. Today on Rootstock Radio, we’re visiting with him again, this time about his latest book, Can We Feed The World Without Destroying It?, and to hear what other good things he’s been taking action around as executive director of the Institute for Food Development and Policy (also known as Food First).

On this week’s episode of Rootstock Radio, founder and editor-in-chief of Civil Eats Naomi Starkman reflects on 10 years spent building a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. She’s not interested in being beholden to big advertisers and big business, or in chasing the current 24-hour news cycle for that matter. No, Naomi is interested in illuminating the triumphs and challenges of our current food system through fair, balanced and high-quality journalism. With the James Beard Foundation’s 2014 Publication of the Year Award under its belt, Civil Eats is well on its way to doing exactly that.

Today Betty Izumi, who holds the title of project director and "principal investigator" at Harvest for Healthy Kids, discusses a neat way to get kids to eat their fruits and veggies -- "Food Gratitude," a practice she observed while conducting research on school food in Japan. Listen in to learn more…especially if your kids are picky eaters!

Today on Rootstock Radio we’re talking to an organic farmer and sustainable agriculture pioneer who’s in the habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve—and in his hat. Often seen with a few stalks of the ancient grain Kamut® tucked into his wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Bob Quinn is pioneering sustainable agriculture and alternative energy in his state of Montana. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about Khorasan wheat, commercially known as Kamut®, that he grows on his farm, but that’s certainly not Bob’s only area of expertise. Plus: Kamut legends, why it's a registered trademark, how Italy is obsessed with it, and using recycled veggie oil to power his farm. Tune in to hear more!

Can you understand something like food without considering politics, economics and social conditions? Professor Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern doesn’t think so. Catch her insights on this week’s episode of Rootstock Radio. Tune in to hear about: The lowdown on guest worker programs in agriculture: what they are, why they’re gaining popularity again—and why they’re problematic. How social violence and economic exclusion in the marketplace turns farmers into migrant farm workers. The history of farm workers being left out of progressive labor reforms like 40-hour work weeks and the right to unionize. Hope! An opportunity emerging for immigrant farm workers as (predominantly) white farmers are retiring across the country.

Tune in to hear about: - How farmers in Montana turned a cover crop into a cash crop and are fixing nutrients in their soil, all while taking a “slow money” approach. - Liz’ realizations about conversation and land stewardship in the prairies of Montana. - How Liz was inspired by Montana politician Senator Jon Tester, who is himself an organic farmer! - What changed in Montanan agriculture during the farm crisis of the 80s. - How the transition to sustainable agriculture practices affected farm communities. - Lentils, legumes and pulses!   Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Terry Oxford is a beekeeper…on the rooftops of downtown San Francisco. It’s true! Urban areas can often be better habitat for bees than the countryside because of the parks and residents’ gardens that tend to grow flowers during a wider season than happens in nature. But they have one big thing looming against them: the chemicals used in those parks and gardens put urban bees at more risk. Tune in to hear about: - The sophisticated way honeybees think about, and plan for, the future. (Hint: they’re light years ahead of us!) - Gender roles in beehives, and how sustainable beekeeping supports BOTH the male and female bees. (Conventional beekeeping often cuts males out of the operation entirely). - How chemicals used in cities have created a world full of poisonous flowers. (Let that sink in for a minute.) - The most efficient way to create food for pollinators in a city. - The story of pollination—magical AND sexy. - Why Terry is reducing her beekeeping practice while expanding it in other ways.   Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tune in to hear about: - What cover cropping and vermicomposting have in common. - How Europeans essentially kidnapped skilled Black agriculturalists. - How Leah’s upbringing and experiences brought her to a connection with the earth and farming. - Why changing diets in marginalized communities really is an access issue NOT an education, motivation, or anything-else issue. - The incredible programs Soul Fire Farm is running, how they came about, and where they’d like to go from here.   Leah is a Black Kreyol farmer who has been tending the soil for twenty years and organizing for an anti-racist food system for fifteen years. She’s an educator, food justice activist, executive director of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land.   Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen in to hear about: - Imbuing his writing (and latest book) with a little more heart and soul than your average scientific text. - Plant consciousness and what Fred thinks about it—Totally implausible? Absolute fact? Tune in to find out. - How plants can sense nutrients and how this “nutritional wisdom” has been lost in humans. - The possibility of regaining nutritional wisdom (there may still be hope!) - One low-cost change you can make in your life that will help “link us back to the land,” as Fred puts it.   Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tune in to hear about: - How Mai learned that cooperation is essential at a young age - Why a connection to the land is often especially important to refugees - How Mai and other committed citizens changed legislation in San Diego for the better - What sparked Mai’s interest in farming - Culturally relevant crops in organic agriculture (a topic that’s been a long time coming within the good food movement!) - The super-cool stuff going on at the California Grain Campaign

Alex Eaton, CEO and cofounder of Sistema Biobolsa (or Sistema.bio), talks about the innovative solution Sistema.bio presents to small (and even larger-scale!) farmers. This incredible biodigester system turns animal manure into both rich fertilizer and methane gas that can be used for fuel and heat. In this way, Alex and his team are addressing climate change, food insecurity, and poverty around the world by providing the full package: technology, training and financing of a sustainable waste-to-resources infrastructure that truly works for small farmers. Tune in to hear about: How this magical biodigester works. (Of course it’s not magic, but it’s really, really cool science.) The way Sistema.bio gives small farmers a game-changing new tool—plus the financing and education that must come with it for this change to be attainable. Exactly how reliant our world is on small farmers—especially in places like Mexico where Sistema.bio is based. Why Alex applauds vegetarian and vegan diets but doesn’t think eating that way is the ONLY way to be a good steward of our earth. The similarities between soil and bank accounts (think long-term investments).

Florencia Ramirez is a researcher at the University of Chicago’s School of Public Policy and author of the book Eat Less Water (not to mention an activist, educator and mother!). Today, she talks with us about how conserving water—perhaps the most precious resource on our planet—involves a lot more than simply taking shorter showers. In doing so, Florencia breaks down the idea of a “virtual water footprint,” the relationship between our water and our soil, and why the solution to water scarcity is truly in our kitchens.

Tune in to hear about: Jon’s personal interest in food, the food system and eating well. The way consumer-owned grocery stores (aka food cooperatives) are being used to alleviate food deserts with fresh, local and natural items, not just to serve already-affluent communities. Why co-ops are a huge benefit to communities. A newer model of co-op ownership that allows for both consumer and employee investment and ownership rather than just one or the other. Jon Steinman is producer and host of the internationally syndicated radio show and podcast “Deconstructing Dinner: Reconstructing Our Food System,” and the author of Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants, which will be available in spring 2019.

Arty Mangan, director of Bioneers’ Restorative Food Systems Program, has spent a lot of time working with farmers and producers, in the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica, and has some great things to share about the organic industry, soil health and climate change. Today, we hear about his journey from owning and running a small, local, organic apple juice company, to being in charge of fruit sourcing for a large juice company, to his current work at the nonprofit Bioneers. Tune in to hear about: - What kept Arty going in the early days when he was keeping an almost impossible schedule and wondering if it was all worth it. - Bioneers’ success in bringing organic ag training to the deep South in the early 2000s. - How Arty feels about trendy terms like “restorative,” “regenerative,” “organic,” and “sustainable.” - The traditional greeting Peruvian farmers use, and why it inspires Arty. - The most effective technology Arty knows of to draw carbon down out of the atmosphere and begin to mitigate climate change.

From bringing awareness to the strengths that indigenous populations can draw on -- a long history of working with the land, strong agricultural traditions and ample land on reservations -- to engaging native youth in the food systems of their communities, A-dae covers it all.  Tune in to hear about: - How she and her colleagues at First Nations define agriculture a little differently - A-dae’s own journey from indigenous community, to law school, and back again - What A-dae hopes the future holds in terms of seaweed, abalone shells, acorns and the environment at large - How we can help support the existing systems within indigenous communities rather than imposing our own - What we can all learn from Native culture about food, agriculture and the environment

Author, activist and permaculture designer Starhawk shares how agricultural permaculture can inform social permaculture (and what the heck that even means). Plus, she digs into how to engage with someone you don’t agree with in a productive way—a worthy endeavor that’s especially important today.  Tune in to hear about: - Permaculture: what it is, why it’s so cool, and how it fits in with other ideas about regenerative agriculture. - Thinking about social conflicts through a permaculture lens. - How climate change is a degradation of multiple ecosystems—something we need to be aware of in order to properly fight it - How evolution is based as much on cooperation as it is on competition If you enjoyed this one, check out our other conversations with Starhawk from 2017 and 2016!

Kristy Drutman, a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley who is now the California Digital Campaigner for 350.org, talks about her work as an environmental activist over the past 5 years, her passion for environmental storytelling and organizing, how activists can work together across differences of age, gender and race, and where she sees herself in 5 years.  Tune in to hear about: Kristy’s own podcast, called Brown Girl Green, what she hopes to accomplish with it and how she’d like to grow it in the future The role social media can play in activism How Kristy takes care of herself while she’s fighting so hard to influence positive change out in the world The devastating effects of hydraulic fracturing (FRAC-ing) and why Kristy is especially concerned about this issue (an issue we’ve talked about before on Rootstock Radio!)

Mark Schapiro, award-winning international and environmental journalist, talks about his most recent book Seeds of Resistance: The Fight to Save our Food Supply, how he got interested in seeds to begin with and how seeds are—in many ways—the most primal thing living organisms on this planet share. (Which is why the current state of seed breeding, seed patenting and total control of the seed industry by huge corporations is so troubling!)  Tune in to hear about: Who, exactly, controls the world’s seed varieties Why Mark calls seeds bred by large corporations for wide application “crack baby seeds” and how these seeds differ from locally bred varieties How the seeds produced by huge seed companies are not helping our world’s climate change predicament one iota Why, in spite of the discouraging current state of affairs, Mark feels hopeful about the future of our seeds, agriculture and planet

On this episode… Co-founder and CEO of Lotus Foods, Ken Lee, talks about the winding journey (literally, time spent traveling through China) that brought him and his partner, Carol, to the creation of Lotus Foods and why he says that “rice is the best thing we could have stumbled on.” Tune in to hear about… His best advice for people hoping to change the world in small—and big—ways. The System of Rice Intensification and why it could be a global game-changer—if only farmers are willing to try it. (Think 50% less water required, 90% fewer seeds used, no agrichemicals necessary… are you curious yet? And no, it’s not too good to be true.) What percentage of the world receives more than half of their calories from rice. The feminization of agriculture—why it’s oppressive in the rice industry and how we can flip it to be empowering. How Lotus Foods’ Do the Rice Thing and More Crop Per Drop initiatives feed into what they call their “audacious goal” to change how rice is grown on the planet

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, is not only responsible for the incredible regenerative agriculture system happening at Main Street Project and the recent recipient of a lifetime Ashoka Fellowship as a result of this work, he’s also the author of In the Shadow of Green Man: My Journey from Poverty and Hunger to Food Security and Hope. The book weaves his own firsthand experience of growing up hearing traditional fables in revolution-torn Guatemala, and his story will delight and inform readers in equal measure. Tune in to hear about… How the character of Green Man manifested in Regi’s own life The role of poultry in regenerative agriculture and how Regi credits the chickens his family raised with the fact that he is not simply another child hunger statistic The relationship between economic poverty, intellectual poverty and poor nutrition How we could re-haul our entire food system with poultry!

Seasoned farmer, community volunteer, and founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, Denise O’Brien, talks about how she and her husband have experienced positive and negative shifts around the idea of organic food—and agriculture in general—over the last forty years. She also talks about what led her to be among the many women running for public office in her home state of Iowa, and across the country, in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. Tune in to hear about… How Denise and her husband have created a “bio-diverse oasis in a sea of industrial agribusiness” What prompted Denise to run for public office, and what the campaign trail has been like for her How she thinks things might be different if women had more decision-making power over the land they farm (and what Denise is doing to make that happen) How Denise turned her own frustration and despair into action—and you can too!

Dr. John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agriculture and Applied Economics at the University of Missouri, talks about :  How the calorie count in our food is skyrocketing as the nutrient density plummets How the loss of independent agriculture producers is NOT cyclical but rather a fundamental transformation of the system (and why you shouldn’t believe anyone who tries to convince you otherwise) How large operations are gaining market power and then overproducing—and the problems this creates How we have sacrificed so many things in our food system by chasing a very narrow definition of efficiency The Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture How we can put personal connection back in our food system

Vice President of Communication & Engagement at Project Drawdown, Dr. Katherine Wilkinson was lead writer for the New York Times bestseller Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Katherine didn’t have time to go into each of the 100 strategies for addressing, adapting to and mitigating climate change that are in this book,but she does touch on some big ones: reducing food waste, plant-rich diets, educating girls and family planning, to name just a few!  Tune in to hear about… Why Katherine chooses to steer clear of the terms ‘hope’ and ‘optimism’ in regard to climate change (this doesn’t mean she’s resigned to the end of our planet though, not by a long shot!) How many of the solutions identified by Project Drawdown can be undertaken by anyone anywhere in the world How gender equality is, in itself, a solution to climate change

Creative food event planner and award-winning writer and multimedia producer, Lola Milholland, talks about starting her Portland-based organic ramen noodle company Umi Organic and the importance of being playful with food. From ‘experimental ice cream socials’ to ‘noodle luges’ Lola is turning the American bad habit of rushing through meals on its head with creativity, ingenuity and—of course—the spoils from her CSA box. Tune in to hear about… Exactly how Lola and Rootstock Radio host Theresa Marquez know each other. Let’s just say they go waaaaaaay back… Food adventures like ‘melon milk ice cream’ and ‘blind tasting bingo’ How to get millennials to cook! What the heck a ‘noodle luge’ is and what inspired this crazy-awesome idea Deepening local cuisine even as more extraordinary ingredients show up on grocery store shelves

On this episode… Nick Hernandez, director of the Food Sovereignty Initiative and member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, shares his personal definition of food sovereignty and how it can be as simple as returning to the way that Native people lived, pre-colonialism. In many cases, this fancy term “food sovereignty” is just, as Nick puts it “what we did.” Tune in to hear about… The incredible changes the Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. has made in its 10 years of development work How they are empowering Lakota youth to be involved in the food that comes to their plates. How the Food Sovereignty Initiative is using chickens to regenerate both a food system and its soil (and why Nick and his colleagues fondly call them “Buffalo Chickens”!) The way health disparities can be traced back to the astounding percentage of food that is shipped to, rather than grown on, the Reservation

On this episode… LaRayia Gaston talks about how her life has been shaped by her passion for feeding the homeless community, and how Lunch On Me is about much more than simply food. She shares how practices recently embraced by wealthy and privileged demographics, like meditation and yoga, are incredibly beneficial for everyone—especially disadvantaged populations. Tune in to hear about… How Lunch On Me grew to be the powerful change-agent it is today Why LaRayia feels so strongly about cooking and sharing organic meals with the homeless The three women who inspire LaRayia every day The thing that she believes is “vital to human beings to exist, to coexist, and to heal collectively.” You might be surprised!

On this episode... Kristin talks about what got her interested in soil in the first place, and she details her journey from knowing very little about the relationship between carbon, plants, microorganisms and soil, to writing an entire book about it. Even armed with all of this knowledge, Kristin says she continues to be amazed by the way nature is so flawlessly designed to keep its ecosystems thriving--if only we would let it. Tune in to hear about How farmers are really “citizen scientists” "Carbon farming" How plants leak what Kristin calls “carbon fuel” to one another and what that does for the soil around them How many billion tons of carbon scientists estimate is released from the soil due to human activity (brace yourselves…)

Rosalinda Guillen is a widely recognized rural justice leader and a champion of farmworker rights. Born in Texas, Rosalinda spent her first decade in Coahuila, Mexico before emigrating with her family to LaConner, Washington in 1960. At the age of ten she went to work as a farmworker in the fields in Skagit County. Today, Rosalinda is the executive director of Community to Community, an organization that works to, broadly, redefine power in order to end settler colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Within the labor movement Rosalinda has worked with Caesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers of America and has represented farmworkers in ongoing dialogues of immigration issues, labor rights, trade agreements, and strengthening the food sovereignty movement.  “We have no choice but to take action,” says Rosalinda on this episode as she discusses organizing, participatory democracy, and embracing what she and her colleagues call “ecofeminism” which she explains is about empowering the feminine in our society—both people and mother nature herself. Rosalinda also talks about some of her proudest victories as an activist and organizer, and what she’d like to accomplish next.

Jonathan Kauffman is a San Francisco-based writer who’s made food the subject of his career. For eleven years he reviewed restaurants in the Bay Area and Seattle as the staff critic for the East Bay Express and the Seattle Weekly. In 2015, he joined the food section at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he broadly covers the intersection of food and culture. Add to those accolades his 2018 book, titled Hippie Food, How back-to-the-landers, longhairs and revolutionaries changed the way we eat, has been described as “an entertaining fusion of Tom Wolfe and Michael Pollan” and examines the way the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s has profoundly affected the way we eat today. In this episode Jonathan talks about how his upbringing contributed to his interest in the food of the counterculture movement. Raised in a liberal Mennonite family he was no stranger to tofu and brown rice. However, it wasn’t until he began to do research for his book, that he realized the depth and breadth of the history of these foods, and how the people who popularized them laid foundations for today’s trendy grain bowls and tofu stir fries.  

Julia Turshen is the bestselling author of Feed the Resistance, named the Best Cookbook of 2017 by Eater, and Small Victories, named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2016 by the New York Times and NPR. She is currently working on her newest cookbook, Now & Again, which will be released September 2018 (mark your calendars!) and focuses on making delicious meals and using the leftovers creatively. Julia also founded EATT (an acronym for Equity at the Table) which is a digital directory of food industry professionals who are women/gender non-conforming individuals and focusing primarily on POC and the LGBTQ community. On this episode, Julia talks about how she has always been happiest and most excited in the kitchen, how the latest presidential election helped her connect the dots between her love of cooking and her investment in her community—a silver lining if there ever was one!—and a whole lot of other things that fall under the universality of food. We’ve said it many times here on Rootstock Radio, but the truth is that everyone has to eat, and Julia Turshen reminds us of all the ways that food can be used to connect, resist, and reform.

In this episode, Atina talks about what led her to organic farming, shares her own painful stories of being forced to sell the farm that had been in her husband’s family for years and of fighting the proposed route of a crude oil pipeline through their second farm. (A long legal battle with a happy ending for organic farmers' rights, in this case!) Atina also points out that it’s impossible to buy a “new” farm today: farms are by definition used, and they come in whatever condition their previous owner left them. To that end, Atina speaks passionately about the importance of proper stewardship of farmland—something we’re pretty passionate about here at Rootstock Radio too!

Dr. Paul Winchester is the Medical Director of the NICU at Franciscan St. Francis Health and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also conducts research on the epidemiology of birth defects, including the effects of prenatal exposure to pesticides.  On this episode, Dr. Winchester talks about how his background in farming informs his work today and shares a number of sobering findings from research in his field, such as the fact that women who conceive during peak pesticide months are more likely to have a child with birth defects, a preterm pregnancy, or both; not to mention that the effects of pesticide exposure are not limited to those directly exposed, but can be seen and felt generations later.

In this 3rd and final episode in our 3-part series on tea, coffee and chocolate, we talk with author Simran Sethi about: The number of species that provide 95% of the world’s calories—take a wild guess before you listen, you’ll never get it The complicated story of chocolate How cocoa from Ghana tastes different than cocoa from Vietnam The risks of cultivating monocrops (and what the heck that even means) Understanding the origins of our food

The second installment in a three-part series on tea, coffee and chocolate, TJ Semachin and Caleb Nicholes, co-founders of Kickapoo Coffee, talk about the coffee industry: where it's been, where it's headed, and what their small roastery (and others like it!) is doing to support coffee farmers and rural communities.

Did you know that tea leaves are never washed after they’re picked? This means that if your tea is not organic, you’re basically brewing a mug of chemicals to sip on. Yikes. This week Ahmed Rahim, co-founder of Numi Organic Tea, talks about the tea industry and how your tea choices make a big difference. Listen in!

This week on Rootstock Radio, we're discussing organic plant breeding with Dr. Bill Tracy of University of Wisconsin - Madison. What is cross breeding compared to GMO? How does it work? And who owns all our seeds these days anyway? (Hint: It's complicated.) Listen in!

Dr. Erin Silva is a whiz with all things soil. On this episode of Rootstock Radio she talks about soil stewardship - both the good and the bad - how organic agriculture practices and healthy soil go hand in hand, and how organic CAN feed the world. Listen in!

"I want to help others who are in my predicament," thought Leah Segedie at the beginning of her journey toward personal health. Since then, she has founded both the Mamavation blog and the ShiftCon Social Media Conference, and she has come to be known as the "mother hen" of the green bloggers movement. Hear what she has to say about food activism, children's health and more on Rootstock Radio.

M.J. Altman, editorial director at World Food Program USA and host of their Hacking Hunger podcast, talks about fighting global hunger, empowering women, supporting small-holder farmers, and more about the organization 60 Minutes dubbed "one of the best ideas America ever had."

"Could you more effectively get people to care about protecting place and conservation and biodiversity if you tried to talk about it through food?" wondered Jill and her colleagues. The answer they came up with was simple: Yes. Everyone has to eat, after all. Jill Isenbarger, CEO of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, is committed to bringing about a system of agriculture and eating that reflects and values ecological health, strong communities and the integrity of place, region and season. This starts with investing in the land.