#169: Barbara Gemmill-Herren shares her views on listening to farmers first and foremost as policies and support systems are developed, the need to pay attention to the social workings of agricultural communities, and the immense pressure applied to African farmers by global chemical companies to purchase amendments.

Barbara Gemmill-Herren serves as an associate faculty member at Arizona's Prescott College and as a Senior Associate at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. From 2004-2015 she worked as a Global Pollination Project Coordinator and Agroecology Programme Specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/barbara-gemmill-herren-big-chems-eyes-on-africa-episode-one-hundred-sixty-nine

The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000 Real Friends:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

#168: Author and law professor Zephyr Teachout walks us through the hardcore push for consolidation in the food, agriculture, and chemical industries that has devastated rural communities and our population's general access to truly good food. She also delivers a hopeful message about policy changes on the horizon that are worth our attention and support as citizens.

Zephyr Teachout is an attorney and law professor at Fordham University. She is the author of Break'em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money and a 2018 candidate for Attorney General in New York State. Once upon a time she was a farmhand at Real Organic Project certified KillDeer Farm in Norwich, Vermont.

To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/zephyr-teachout-todays-antimonopoly-movement-has-legs-episode-one-hundred-sixty-eight

The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000 Real Friends:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

#167: Dave Chapman visits Real Organic blueberry farmer Hugh Kent at his biodiverse King Grove Farm in central Florida, to discuss the takeover of the US berry market by global brands that are rapidly encouraging the growth of plastic farms. By leveling soil, spraying the ground with chemicals, laying down plastic and popping up high tunnels, pedestals, plastic pots and a maze of tubing for feed and water, a new generation of disposable (and non-recyclable) "farming" is being popularized in berry production. Hugh now sees this marked transformation as a threat to all soil-based berry growers, and not just his organic peers. Will eaters be able to easily find soil-grown berries in stores in the near future?

Hugh Kent and his wife Lisa are longtime blueberry growers in Eustis, FL. They're proud to operate a biodiverse farm surrounded by intentional habitat for wildlife and pollinators, where they mow grasses and cover crops directly into their perennial berry rows to act as a fertile mulch. Hugh has been a vocal farmer-member of Real Organic Project to shed light on the changes in the industry that increasingly threaten the livelihood of berry growers like himself. He is now a member of Real Organic Project's Executive Board.

To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/hugh-kent-how-usda-supports-bad-agriculture-episode-one-hundred-sixty-seven

The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000 Real Friends:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/