Ep. 65:  Dr. Molly Jahn – Prof. Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison – Dept. of Agronomy; the Nelson Institute; the Global Health Institute; and chairs the Scientific Advisory Council of Energy & Environment @ DOE Oak Ridge Labs  ||

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Dr. Molly Jahn is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Department of Agronomy, the Nelson Institute, and the Global Health Institute, and chairs the Scientific Advisory Council of the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate at the US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory.   Professor Jahn leads a global alliance of research organizations focused on building and testing modern knowledge systems for sustainability. An award-winning teacher and researcher, Jahn also consults globally for business, governments, philanthropic organizations and others.

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During our 45 minute conversation we gain Dr. Jahn’s perspective on what it’ll take to address climate change on a planet of 7.6 billion people. We also discuss how our current approach in producing food and using water are in fact one of the most pressing National security concerns. Dr. Jahn shares how the Government shutdown at the end of ’18 / early ’19 is impacting real science which so vital in dealing with climate issues in a timely fashion. And, how that science is now losing traction under current governance.

Dr. Molly Jahn has previously served as dean of the University of Wisconsin’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.  From 2009-10, she served as Deputy and Acting Under Secretary of Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jahn has >100 peer-reviewed publications and >60 active commercial licenses.   She has numerous awards, fellowships and lectureships for her research, teaching and outreach.  In 2014, she was named the first Lilian Martin Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Martin School.  Her innovative approaches to inter-sector partnership, engagement with emerging institutions and integrated large projects focused on impact and technology transfer have been highlighted in a number of studies and books.  She has served on numerous boards and scientific advisory panels around the world including the US National Academies of Science Board on Agriculture & Resources, NASA’s Applied Sciences Advisory Council.

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It was an honor getting to speak with Dr. Molly Jahn about food, science, the climate and about the power of hope and potential.  TuneIn to hear more.

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UWMadisonCals

 

 

 



Ep. 61: A.G. Kawamura, Founding Member Orange County Produce -ft. cohost: Scott Soares, former Mass Ag Commish & shellfish farming leader  ||

A.G. Kawamura is third generation fruit and vegetable grower and shipper from Orange County. He is the former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (2003-2010). As a progressive urban farmer, A.G. has a lifetime of experience working within the shrinking rural and urban boundaries of Southern California. Through his company, Orange County Produce, LLC, he is engaged in building an exciting, interactive 21st century 100 acre agricultural showcase at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA.

In our 45 minute conversation we discuss California’s massive impact on our food system. We also discuss climate, water, citrus, berries & produce, the Government, and the system as a whole.

Joining-in as cohost is the talented and knowledgable Scott Soares. Soares is former commissioner of Massachusetts Agriculture, and served as the Director of USDA Rural Development for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the Obama administration.  Scott has 15 years of fishery and aquaculture experience prior to that – including early in his career serving as the 1st Massachusetts coordinator of aquaculture for nearly a decade.  TuneIn.

 

 

@twitter



co-host:

Scott Soares

  • Former Commissioner MA Agriculture 
  • Dir. USDA Rural Dev Northeast for Obama administration
  • 15 years of fishery & Aquaculture experience
  • Served as 1st MA coordinator of aquaculture for a decade

@SjSoares65

 

Ep. 59: Bernie Rollin – author & Distinguished Professor of philosophy, animal sciences & biomedical sciences at Colorado State ||

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Bernard Rollin is a distinguished professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University. Rollin is a leading scholar in animal rights and animal consciousness. Dr. Rollin has authored numerous influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006). Bernie joins us for episode 59: Our Animal Consciousness..

Bernie Rollin helped co-author the 1985 amendments to Animal welfare Act – which was originally signed into law in 1966 by Lyndon Johnson.  In our 45 minute discussion Rollin shares what has and hasn’t changed in the thirty year since penning the key amendments. The inclusion and awareness of Rollin’s work has change laws and practice relating to animal suffering in food production, laboratory work, and within societal norms. In the five decades he’s been at this – his work has literally aided hundreds of billions of animals.

 

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Tune in to hear what this matter-of-fact agent of change has done to better this place.

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Ep. 58: David Montgomery – author ‘Growing a Revolution’  &  ‘Hidden Half of Nature’ & ‘Dirt’ ||

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For episode 58 we’re lucky to be joined by David R. Montgomery. A MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington, Montgomery is an internationally recognized geologist who studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies.  He is the author of numerous scientific papers and has been featured in documentary films, network and cable news, and on a wide variety of TV and radio programs.

 

 

In his book ‘Growing a Revolution’, Montgomery introduces us to farmers around the world at the heart of a brewing soil health revolution that could bring humanity’s ailing fertile grounds back to life remarkably fast. Montgomery assessed different approaches being used to instigate health into the living systems making up our food. It’s called Regenerative, and with it agriculture can help cure what ails us, and the planet.  Cutting through standard debates about conventional and organic farming, Montgomery explores why practices based on the principles of conservation agriculture help restore soil health and fertility. Drawing on visits to farms in the industrialized and developing worlds he finds that the combination of no-till planting, cover crops, and diverse crop rotations provides a profitable recipe to rebuild soil organic matter. Farmers using these unconventional practices cultivate beneficial soil life, smother weeds, and suppress pests while spending far less on diesel, fertilizer and pesticides. It’s revolutionary stuff.

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With his wife Anne Biklé, David is currently framing out his fourth book. We learned that with “What your food eats” – working title of this latest deep dive – this husband & wife writing duo seek to connect soil fertility to human health. Anne and David have also worked together to pen the book ‘Dirt’ —about the plight of soil and what we’ve done to it since the dawn of agriculture. And, ‘The Hidden Half of Nature’, a revealing exploration of how microbial life underpins the health of soil and, even our own bodies.

.It’s great to speak with David. He’s always a wealth of information. His concise and logical explanations of complex subject matter and interconnected systems is pretty special. That comes across in his books, and it came across in 45 minute conversation.  I listening in pre-production I realized that this may be the guy who may finally stitch soil health -to- human health.  That would be a game changer in establishing broader awareness and appreciation to the fact the Sourcing Matters first.  An investment in food and its production is our silver bullet of change.

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@Dig2Grow

 

 



Ep. 57: Gabe Brown – Innovator, farmer, businessman, author and soil health pioneer  -ft. co-host: Jay Vilar of Nourish ||

On episode 57 we welcome Gabe Brown – farmer, businessman, author and soil health pioneer.   Gabe, along with his wife, Shelly, and son, Paul, own and operate a diversified 5,000-acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, N.D. Their operation focuses on farming and ranching in nature’s image. The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping system, which includes a wide variety of cash crops along with multi-species cover crops and all-natural, grass-fed beef, poultry and sheep. This diversity and integration has regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. Over 2,000 people visit the Brown’s ranch annually with visitors from all 50 states and 16 foreign countries.

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Brown recently released the book “Dirt to Soil” describes their personal voyage into regenerative agriculture.  This insight gained over a these decades of hard work has established a nimble knowledge-base.  In this his first book – Gabe Brown has distilled all that complexity into five (5) principles of a healthy soil-ecosystem.

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  • No disturbance (no-till, no-synthetics)
  • Bolstering Soil’s Natural Defense (the outer-layer protecting all that life)
  • Bio-diversity (marrying nature’s way keeps the system healthy)
  • A living root in the ground as long as possible (covercrops & seasonal diversity)
  • Animal & Insect integration (nature relies on the entire system working together)

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Nutritionist Jay Vilar joins again as co-host.  Vilar is the founder, and a practitioner at ‘Nourish’ – a bespoke consulting company with a mission to educate, teach, and train people on the benefits of using food to heal your body and optimize your health.  Jay has always been on the forefront of using optimal health techniques, and bio-hacking his nutrition to achieve remarkable results in his career. Jay now spends his time teaching people how to use food to heal their body and speaks to businesses on how to optimize focus & productivity using nutritional and behavioral science.  Jay recently completed a Fellowship at the Rodale Institute, and just relocated from DC to join our crew in Boston.
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It’s a fascinating 45 minute conversation with a guy who has a unique ability to tell it like it is.  To clarify and simplify some pretty sophisticated subject matter so that we can all better appreciate the broad-reaching values that soil health and regenerative agriculture can bring to our world.

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@twitter



co-host:

Jay Vilar

  • Founder of Nourish
  • A focus on Nutritional Therapy
  • Rodale Institute Fellow
  • Host of  ‘listen to your mother’ show

@twitter

Ep. 55: Gray Harris – Senior Vice President of Food Systems @ Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI)  ||

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On episode 55 we welcome Gray Harris, Senior Vice President of food systems at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in Brunswick Maine.  Harris is responsible for the strategy, development and implementation of action-oriented business initiatives in the agriculture, food systems, and aquaculture and fisheries sectors. In her role, Gray assesses sector needs and identifies sources of specialized technical assistance and financing for start-up and expanding food businesses; this includes spearheading the development of funds for sector-specific lending and investing at CEI.
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In our 45 minute conversation we discuss the ins and outs of investing in regional and sustainable food systems of the Northeast and beyond.  CEI is a mission-driven lender and investor specializing in rural business development and financing. In Maine, and throughout the U.S., CEI helps to create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential.  CEI is unique with its dossier of offerings which include business loans, micro-loans, new market tax credits, sub-debt loans, SBA 504 loans, business plans, marketing plans, business advising, financial advising, and public policy leadership.
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Gray Harris  is a former director of the Maine Farms for the Future program, a statewide business planning and grants program for Maine farmers. She participates in numerous action-oriented initiatives statewide, including the boards of Wolfe’s Neck Farm and the Maine Harvest Credit Union,  the Tech Board of the Maine Technology Institute, and she’s a marathon runner!  This all comes in handy with her role of conducting Maine’s Value chain.

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Dutch-American agricultural economist Renée Vassilos joins again as our co-host.  Stemming from fifteen years of agriculture industry know-how with John Deere and the USDA, Vassilos leverages her global cross-functional experience to support the growth of sustainability-focused agriculture business.  We’re lucky to have her wealth of knowledge in the co-pilot seat for these types of conversations.
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Tune-In to hear more from our conversation which ranged from place-based investment, circular economies, Maine fisheries and we profile the vertical integration of some of the best beer you’ll ever get to experience with Lunch!

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@CEIMaine

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co-host:

Renee Vassilos

  • Agricultural Economist
  • Regenerative & Big Ag intermediary
  • past portfolio manager: Deere China
  • Bilingual Dutch / American citizen 

Full bio: Renée Vassilos is a Dutch-American Agricultural Economist with over fifteen years of agriculture industry experience. Her expertise ranges from strategic market analysis and product development to sales, marketing and distribution strategy. She has lived and worked abroad- three years in Amsterdam and six years in Beijing- contributing to her robust global experience, cultural competence, and network. 

Today, Vassilos is sharing her expertise through her consulting business. She utilizes her global cross-functional experience from working for the USDA and John Deere to support the growth of sustainability-focused agriculture businesses. She has a BS and MS in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and University of California, Davis, respectively.

Ep. 53: Dorothy Suput – Executive Director & Founder of The Carrot Project, with Judith Shanks of Judith Shanks Food Consulting -ft. Jennifer Hashley of New Entry Sustainable farming & The Carrot Project Advisor ||

 

On episode 53 of Sourcing Matters we welcome leadership from the The Carrot Project.  Based out of Massachusetts, The Carrot Project creates a sustainable local farm and food economy by providing financing and business assistance so farm and food enterprises thrive. With a goal to foster a sustainable, diverse food system by supporting small and midsized farms and farm-related businesses – The Carrot Project is expanding accessible financing and increasing farm operations’ ability to use it to build successful, ecologically and financially sustainable, businesses.
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Joining us for the 45 minute discussion is The Carrot Project founder and Executive Director Dorothy Suput. Suput’s commitment to a sustainable food system grew out of the incredible contrasts between Midwestern agriculture, with which she grew up, and the locally focused food and farming system in Switzerland, where she lived after graduating with a BS from Purdue University. Following graduate school at Tufts, Dorothy worked as the first regional organizer on the 1995 Farm Bill for the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group under the auspices of the Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, and subsequently, as a consultant for business and agency.
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Also profiled in this episode is Julia Shanks, who serves as the Senior Business Advisor to The Carrot Project, and is owner & principal of Julia Shanks food Consulting. Shanks brings a broad range of professional experiences to her clients, from pilot to chef to serial entrepreneur. Julia received her professional training as a chef at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, her BA from Hampshire College and an MBA from Babson College. After more than 10 years of professional cooking, Julia became a college professor of accounting and now works with food businesses and farms, helping them maximize profits and streamline operations through business planning, feasibility studies and operational audits. Julia’s second book, The Farmer’s Office provides tips, tools and templates for farmers to successfully manage a growing farm business.
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Co-host Jennifer Hashley of The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project happens to also be a strategic advisor to The Carrot Project, and as always, Jen brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding to round out our interesting conversation. Tune-In to these agents of change focused on a more stable and regional food system based on pragmatic economic modeling and a better understanding of the interests of a modern consumer.

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@Carrot_Project

@Julia Shanks

 



co-host:

Jennifer Hashley

  • Founder of Tufts New Entry Sustainable farming project 
  • Owner of Pete & Jen’s backyard birds
  • Evangelist | Activist| Innovator
  • Eisenhower Fellow 2016

@JHashley

Ep. 52: Kevin Esvelt – Head of MIT Media Lab Sculpting Evolution group ||

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On episode 52 we welcome Kevin Esvelt, Director of the MIT Media Lab Sculpting Evolution group.  At the Media Lab Esvelt and his world class team of geneticists & biologists invent new ways to study and influence the evolution of ecosystems. By carefully developing and testing these methods with openness and humility, the group seeks to address difficult ecological problems to benefit humanity & the natural world.

Prior to joining the MIT Media Lab, Esvelt wove many different areas of science into novel approaches to ecological engineering. He invented phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE), a synthetic microbial ecosystem for rapidly evolving biomolecules, in the laboratory of David R. Liu at Harvard University. At the Wyss Institute, he worked with George Church to develop the CRISPR system for genome engineering & regulation, and he began the use of bacteriophages and conjugation to engineer microbial ecosystems.

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Esvelt is credited as the first to describe how CRISPR gene drives could be used to alter the traits of wild populations in an evolutionarily stable manner. And recently, he and his Sculpting Evolution group devised a new form of technology, called ‘daisy drives’, which lets communities aiming to prevent disease alter wild organisms in local ecosystems.

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Esvelt offers some of the clearest descriptions of GMOs, CRISPR gene editing, a scientist’s role as God while wielding the power of modern tech, and what we should do about the whole ball of wax as a society during our hour discussion. Whether you’re interested in Genetic Engineering or Fitness Landscapes defining evolutionary biology – this your episode.   I was just happy just to be along for the ride.

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Ep. 50: Elaine Ingham – Soil Food Web ||

 

Elaine Ingham maintains an active schedule of classes and webinars focused on the most up-to-date knowledge about growing plants without pesticides or inorganic fertilizer.  Ingham consults and educates large scale commercial cotton and soybean growers, large scale berry growers, as well as large commercial fruit producers as well as shrimp production. Tune-In to learn about the great things Elaine is doing for the savior underfoot.
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Ingham is well known for her work on the USDA soil-primer based on a concept she coined called the “Soil Food Web.”  Now, based on her decades of pioneering work as a soil microbiologist – Ingham has made it the objective of her company SoilFoodWeb.com to restore soil to its optimum state, anywhere at any scale.
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What most may not know is about her efforts that saved humanity and all living planets on this planet.  You see…

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“In 1992 the Environmental Protection Agency was only a few weeks away from ending life on the planet as we know it,” so writes George Lawton in the April, 2001 issue of Acres USA (“A Voice For Eco-Agriculture”).  Lawton reports that the EPA, although only having done limited tests at that time on a variety of genetically engineered microbes, all of which had been approved for release into the atmosphere, were prepared to approve the release of a GE variant of Klepsiella planticola (KP), one of the most common bacteria on the planet.
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“This particular variety of GE KP,” he writes, “had the unique ability to convert dead plant matter into alcohol. It was hoped that this would provide a way for farmers to transform their unused stalks, leaves and other types of compost material into alcohol, which could be used for washing, running vehicles. “
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So, it’s worth giving a listen to our discussion to learn more about Elaine’s focus, her interests, and her scope on a stable and prosperous future from the ground up.

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Ep. 43: Alicia Harvie, Advocacy & Farmer Services Director at Farm Aid  -ft. co-host: Jennifer Hashley of the New Entry Farming project ||

On episode 43 we welcome Alicia Harvie,  Advocacy & Farmer Services Director at Farm Aid.  Her role is to guide the organization’s advocacy, research, farmer services and policy-related activities.  Supporting her work, Harvie has a masters degree in Agricultural & Environmental Science and Policy from the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Jennifer Hashley of the New Entry Farming Project joins the conversation as co-host, sharing unique understanding of the farmer and of Farm Aid. Throughout this episode Harvie describes the many positive initiatives Farm Aid is involved or has spawned in current day.  More than just an annual concert event, Farm Aid has become advocate, an influencer on national and local policies, a coalition builder, and a broad venue for communications for farmers, the community and eaters.

Bringing 24,000 concert goers to Hartford in September- the 2018 Farm Aid event was a smashing success.  Featuring Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, Sturgill Simpson and many more – this gathering amplifies the needs, and helps define current state of farming in this county.  Alicia Harvie and Jennifer Harvie describe their moving experiences during both the main concert event and the field visits and pavilion days leading up to the top billing.

As you’ll hear, Harvie provides some unique insight into what needs to be done to save the American farm and to promote healthy economies for our farmers.  Nearing a decade at Farm Aid has provided her a clear vision to what can be done, and what should be done first.  Tune-in to get a better understanding of what this wonderful organization really does, and how influential their great people really are!
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@FarmAid

@AliciaHarvie

 



co-host:

Jennifer Hashley

  • Founder of Tufts New Entry Sustainable farming project 
  • Owner of Pete & Jen’s backyard birds
  • Evangelist | Activist| Innovator
  • Eisenhower Fellow 2016

@JHashley