Episodes

Will eating less meat save the planet? Some say so but science says no. of course if you\’re looking for a reason to eat less meat and tell others to do the same, climate change seems to add to your case. However, if you\’re looking to make real impact on the climate, transportation and construction are still much more important than agriculture. Dr. Frank Moetloehner, Director of the Clear Center at UC Davis is the most quoted expert on these issues in the world. He shares with us the true stor...

Except for the air we breathe, nothing is more important to life on earth than water. Humans can live up to 60 days without food but only a few days without water. So water is life and the worsening climate is severely impacting life as we know it. In California alone it is estimated that nearly a million acres of previously productive farmland will be fallowed in 2021. Inevitably the food supply and food costs will be impacted. Randy Record farms and invests his time in seeking water solutions....

Not all farmers are old.. Millennials are coming back to family farms and ranches in impressive numbers. After college and trying other adventures many are deciding that their passion and what seems best for their families is to be back in rural areas where they bring enthusiasm and a renewed commitment to grow livestock and crops in a way that is good for their family, community and the climate. Brian Moes, his wife and five young boys, dry land farm and feed cattle in North East South Dakota. ...

Connecting small farmers to new markets is a universal goal. In Fiji and Australia that is being accomplished due to the efforts of twin sisters, Lisa and Zoe Paisley who have co-founded Aggie Global. They moved to Fiji to start a business and address poverty in rural communities. Farmers struggled with selling their produce while the tourism sector imported 70% of their food so Aggie Global was built to connect either end of the food supply chain in a more transparent and equitable way. Zoe and...

Billions of pounds of produce are going to waste while millions of Americans are going hungry. Seeing food lines develop all over, some University students decided to do something to change that. They created the Farmlink Project to connect farmers to food banks, delivering millions of pounds of farm fresh produce that would otherwise be wasted to feed families in need. The founder and CEO of Farmlink, James Kanoff explains how this idea has led to up to a million pounds of food per week that mi...

Consumers have never known more about nutrition and yet, have never been more overweight. For most Americans, maintaining a balanced diet is more difficult than doing their taxes. What are we doing wrong? Jack Bobo has been engaged with the food system from farm to table and is the author of a new book \”Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices\”. He is a food psychology expert with over 20 years advising four U. S. Secretaries of State on food and agriculture. In his book and here on Farm to Tabl...

Nutrient density, biodynamic and regenerative are terms of relevance to the health of our planet, our soil, our food and ourselves. It\’s tricky learning the connections but Dr. Christopher Daugherty ties it all together. \”Biodynamic is the art and aspect\” of the essential principles of food. Nutrient density is the \”level of nutrients per unit\” of calorie. Dr. Chris is a regenerative entrepreneur in \’Ortho-molecular\’ Nutrition & Biological Medicine. Focusing on biological nutrients, produ...

Now is not the new normal. Consumers were forced to change their shopping and dining food practices by the pandemic. As they return to stores and restaurants, they need to be the Hero of their lives. From farmers to restaurants and food markets, helping consumers realize their need to be the Hero from these troubled times, is job One. Suzy Badaracco is the President of Culinary Tides Inc., a Trends consultancy with a focus on what\’s going to happen next. It\’s not just studying the data to see ...

Many people wish they could farm and new farmers are needed. Sounds like a match. It is a well established fact that the average age of farmers is around the age that people are thinking of retirement. So who will be farming in the future, beyond just those who are fortunate enough to be born in to a sustainable family farm? The Center for Land Based Learning is trying to answer that question with programs reaching out to an audience from High School, to early career and to mid-life career chang...

Families are spending more time cooking at home and local meat provides a better and more affordable alternative. According to Johnathan Hladk the Policy Director for the Center for Rural Affairs, local meat lockers simply do not have the space or equipment to keep up, leaving family farms in the growing direct sales industry without a crucial partner.State and Federal government should support small meat processors looking to improve and expand their infrastructure, which is vital in addressing...

New technologies will play an important role in the future of farming for every size, shape, climate and geographic location. The ideas are popping up fast and increasingly affordable for the full spectrum of global farming systems. Francesco Arlia is the founder and CEO of one of these emerging pioneers, Harvest Harmonics. With dime-sized micro-transmitters the natural vibrations and optimum frequency of photosynthesis is changed for the better. Frank talks of the birth of new, non-chemical tec...

Climate smart agriculture will make a difference to farmers, citizens and life on earth. Karen Ross, the Secretary of Food And Agriculture for the California Department of Agriculture is on the front line of meeting the climate challenge as chief administrator of food and agriculture programs for the 5th largest economy in the World. Secretary Ross has a perspective beyond California boundaries having hailed from a western Nebraska farm, managed farm organizations and served as the Chief of Staf...

Clubhouse is a drop-in audio chat network that now includes conversations about the food system, on Farm To Table Talk. The Center for Good Food Purchasing uses the power of procurement to create a transparent and equitable food system that prioritizes the health and well-being of people, animals, and the environment. Paula Daniels is the Co-founder and chair of the Center, developing nationally-networked adoption and implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Program by major institutions. The ...

It\’s become popular to bash livestock production and meat consumption for extreme green house gas emissions. What if the data is wrong? In the UK where carbon neutral agriculture is to be accomplished by 2050, new research has found that the \’carbon\’ case against pig farming is not right. The study conducted by the Institute for Global Food Security found that the carbon footprint has been overstated by 40% over the last 20 years. Professor Illias Kyriazakis of Queen\’s University in Belfast,...

The Nobel Prize Committee has just recognized the scientists who discovered CRISPR—genetic scissors that are a tool for rewriting the code of life and potentially a tool in limiting global warming. New science, technology and a range of farming systems from conventional to agroecology, regenerative and organic have roles to play. Science writer Andrew Porterfield is investigating and writing about the avenues that are being considered by farmers to slow global warming. In a feature article that ...

Do omnivores face a dilemma as Michael Pollan famously proposed in his popular book over a decade ago or is the dilemma a delusion? Farmer Blake Hurst who just completed 10 years as President of the Missouri Farm Bureau has practiced what he’s preached about farmer\’s need to communicate. A dozen years ago when the Omnivore’s Dilemma brought global attention to modern farming methods, Blake responded with an article titled the Omnivore’s Delusion. https://www.aei.org/articles/the-omnivores-delus...

COVID-19 has exacerbated food insecurity and laid bare systemic inequalities that contribute to hunger. One in six Americans—54 million—are food insecure, with the largest increases seen in communities of color. For a country that wastes 30-40 percent of its food supply, how can we understand this rate of food insecurity? Katie Martin is Executive Director of the Foodshare Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions and author of Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger. On Far...

It might be appealing to imagine all food going straight from \’Old McDonald\’s Farm\” to our tables, but it\’s not realistic. Because of seasons, climates, soils, water (quality and availabilty) research and grower education, most harvested crops need to be cleaned, cooked, canned, frozen or dried to move on up the food chain to tables around the world. In California alone, the companies that do these essential tasks employ over 750,000 workers with several million family members and thousands ...

A lot of people want to farm and some farmers want to change the way they farm. Emily Newman is helping those folks in her role as Program Manager for Rodale Institute\’s Organic Crop Consulting Service. They provide one-on-one mentorship and assistance to farmers looking to transition to organic. Consultants meet farmers where they are—each plan is individualized for best outcome for that particular farmer, no agenda or pressure.In under two years of operation, they already have over 150 farmer...

Sisters JoBeth Evans and Maggie Davidson have been farming since they were old enough to feed the cows but just recently (officially) went in business with their parents to form Williams Angus Beef. The girls grew up, graduated from college, got jobs, married farmers, had two kids each and are now reconnecting with their parents. They are practicing a basic premise of sustainability: keeping farming a live for generations to come. JoBeth and Maggie explain why this is important, how they are doi...

Food fraud and political tensions have heavily impacted Australian farmers exporting products to international markets. Traceability and provenance are essential to fighting food fraud and opening new export markets for farmers, producers, processors and consumers who deserve to know they’re getting exactly what they purchased. Fourth generation Black Angus beef farmer, Rob Mackenzie, has been getting his hands dirty, working to strengthen Australia’s supply-chain visibility by implementing Agli...

Consumers, Restaurants, Supermarkets and Farmers are finding common ground on animal production and marketing animal products. Here it can be argued that \”the egg came first.\” Josh Balk leads the Humane Society of the United States’ work in shifting the egg industry from predominantly cage production to cage-free housing instead. He’s successfully worked with virtually every major food company—including McDonald’s, IHOP, Denny’s, Kroger, Nestle, etc.—to enact a policy to switch to exclusively ...

Scientific advances are credited (or blamed) for food system progress (or problems) depending on food philosophies and perspectives. Yet new knowledge that comes from new scientific findings can lead to more sustainable systems that reduce waste, limit production of green house gases and feed more hungry people world wide. Some of the necessary research for these advances will come from government agencies and most of it will come from companies who seek to profit, and to do the right thing. The...

From farms to citizens of the world of the world inflammation causes disease and makes health impossible. Global transformation will need recognition that farming is medicine for the health of all life and of earth itself. That\’s a theme for a KeyNote presentation at EcoFarm by Dr. Rupa Marya: physician, writer, musician, mother, farmer\’s wife and Associate Professor of Medicine at UC San Francisco. Her forthcoming book, authored with Raj Patel, is \”Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the anatomy of ...