Ep.73: Adam Kesselman & Vince Caguin – New School Meal

Ep. 73: Adam Kesselman, Executive Director & Board Member of the Center for Ecoliteracy; and Vince Caguin, Director of Nutrition Services & Warehousing @ Natomas Unified School District – Sacramento, CA ||

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On Sourcing Matters episode 73 we welcome Adam Kesselman, Executive Director & board member of the The Center for Ecoliteracy  -&- Vince Caguin, Director of Nutrition Services & Warehousing Natomas Unified School District in Sacramento CA.

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Kesselman’s programs encourage schools to teach and model education for sustainable living – beginning with a good diet.  The students that Adam and Vince work with have an opportunity to experience and understand how nature sustains life and how to live accordingly.  One such program – California Thursdays – now servers over 334 million school meals a year, which accounts for 33% of the school meals in California.  Every meal serves California-grown, for California kids – and of which has focus on food quality and integrity from the source.  Economists estimate that every dollar spent on local food can generate up to an additional $1.40 in spending, supporting local economies. So, built upon that – what’s it worth to any of us to provide our kids and our neighbor’s kids preventative healthcare and good consumption habits – things that tend to carry-on for a lifetime.
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In our 40 minute discussion we chat about the importance of regional production models, and how to own – our own – provenance.  We discuss that we’re not all California!  We learn of current initiatives that have seen success; with some home runs in there that could see continued Statewide growth, and capacity for a replicable model for other parts of the US.  We learn what keeps their current programs afloat, and what steps they’re taking to motivate diverse stakeholders to partake in these rewarding programs.
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Could the buying power of hundreds or thousands of neighborhood schools be pooled to encourage regional production capacity?   What’s the worth of purchase commitments from districtwide buyers?   California has demonstrated that you can guarantee supply of fresh, quality and clean food on a school’s budget – through supporting the growth of modern regional farming infrastructure.

 

TuneIn to hear how about the New School Food plan coming out of California.  The approach may very well help you and your region, where ever you live.

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Ep.72: Jon Cianfrani – Capturing Fermentation

Ep. 72: Jon Cianfrani – Producer, Director, Editor at ZPZ Production ||

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On Sourcing Matters episode 72 we welcome Jonathan Cianfrani – documentary & television producer/ editor/ director at Zero Point Zero Production. Over the past ten years Jon Cianfrani has travelled the world in pursuit of unique stories and creative ways to tell them.  He’s been involved in all aspects of capturing and curating these stories through documentary film and television.
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From episodes of Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” and the PBS & Netflix program – “Mind of a Chef” – Cianfrani has been worked as a producer, director and editor for New York City – based – Zero-Point-Zero (ZPZ) production.  Most recently, Jon directed the feature documentary titled “Fermented” which is scheduled to air online in April 2019.   Hosted by Chef Edward Lee, the film poses the question: “What is Fermentation?” to chefs and artisans on the west coast, Chicago, and rural Japan.
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Joining as co-host for this conversation is Jay Vilar – the founder and 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.
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In our 40 minute discussion we learn more about what it was like to work with Tony Bourdain.   We discuss numerous food categories where cold-firing – or living microbes – are used to value-ad food stuff.  From beer, miso, bread, pickles, salami, kombucha, cheese and more – we hear from Jon about the combination of art and science used in fermentation, and how his recent film explores how these offerings impact our lives, our health and that of the makers.  TuneIn to learn more about this culture of food.

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co-host:

Jay Vilar

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

@twitter

Ep.71: Marc Oshima – Precision Growth

Ep. 71: Marc Oshima – CMO & co-founder of AeroFarms ||

On Sourcing Matters episode 71 we welcome Marc Oshima, co-founder & CMO of AeroFarms. An award-winning marketer and passionate about food, Oshima has led the marketing for major supermarket chains and specialty food retailers. With his B.A. from Columbia College and M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, Marc is also Board Co-Chair of Chefs Collaborative, a 25 year old non-profit improving our sustainable food systems, and a member of the United Fresh Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council.
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AeroFarms is a leading clean-technology champion, building and operating state-of-the art indoor vertical farms in major cities around the world. Helping set new culinary standards for freshness and flavor, AeroFarms has been recognized as a Global Cleantech 100, Inc.com’s Top 25 Disruptive Companies, Winner of the World Technology Award for Most Impactful Environmental Company, and Finalist for The Circular Awards of The World Economic Forum.
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It’s argued in Dickson Despommier’s book – ‘Vertical Farming – feeding the world in the 21st century’ that by 2050 – 80% of the world’s population with live in Urban environments.  So, why should we continue to ship our food from remote Rural environments that often use antiqued and wasteful techniques – which are increasingly susceptible to disruption and risk?  TuneIn to hear what one of the market leaders has to say about this future of food production – local, abroad and beyond.

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Ep.70: Elizabeth Whitlow – Regenerative Organic Certified

Ep. 70: Elizabeth Whitlow – Executive Director of Regenerative Organic Alliance ||

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On Sourcing Matters episode 70 we welcome Elizabeth Whitlow – Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA).   In early 2018, the ROA was formed as a non-profit cohort of organizations and businesses led by Rodale Institute, Patagonia, and Dr. Bronner’s.  These vested founders began the process of developing a Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) – a unique, high-bar agricultural standard that leverages the foundation of USDA certified organic – and elevates it steps further.
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The goal of regenerative organic agriculture is to offer practical solutions to the world’s biggest social and ecological challenges. We’ve learned that we’re beyond the point of sustainability and we need to regenerate the soil and land that supports us, the animals that nourish us, and the farmers and workers that feed us.  This has developed into a call to action of the ROA and defined a path forward where we’re all part of the solution.
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In our 45 minute conversation we discuss the iterative approach that Elizabeth and her supporters are taking in rolling-out the ROC standards.  We learn how the industry can begin to better incentivize on-ramping of more producers and suppliers that will implement elevated production standards to source differentiated food for the benefit of human, animal and planetary health. We assess the roles of the different stakeholders, and how that all comes to fruition through the actions of consumers.  We discuss how these new high-bar standards relate to Soil Health, Animal Welfare & Social Fairness, and what that means for broader audiences of both farmers and eaters.
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Elizabeth Whitlow has dedicated her career in regenerative agriculture to further the impact of high-bar certifications. Prior to taking the helm at the ROA, in her most recent role as EarthClaims’ director of certification she oversaw a team working to provide private, third-party verification services for animal welfare, grass-fed claims, antibiotic-free and customized audits to support specific marketing claims. Prior to EarthClaims, Elizabeth was a fellow at the Leadership for a Sustainable Future. Elizabeth also spent 16 years with California Certified Organic Farmers in roles ranging from reviewer, senior inspector, and livestock specialist to inspection operations manager.

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TuneIn to hear what the future food system can actually turn into;
and who’ll be leading the charge.

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Ep.68: Gov. Christine Whitman – EPA & Fluid Politics

Ep. 68: Christine Todd Whitman – President of Whitman Strategy Group, the 50th Governor of New Jersey, and former Administrator of the EPA for President George W. Bush ||

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On episode 68 of Sourcing Matters we welcome Governor Christine Todd Whitman, the Vice Chair of the Eisenhower Fellowships board of Trustees. Joining as co-host is Eisenhower Fellow, Jennifer Hashley – the founder of the The New Entry Sustainable Farming project, and Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds.
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Governor Whitman is American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey, from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003.  Whitman was New Jersey’s first and, to date, only female governor, and also the first Republican woman to be reelected governor. Governor Christine Whitman is currently President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues.
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From Jan. 1994 – Jan. 2001 – Whitman served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey. During our dialogue we learn that the Governor of the State of New Jersey constitutionally has the most power of any Governor in all of the 50 states.  We must understand that during her tenure – Christie Whitman earned praise from both Republicans and Democrats for her commitment to preserve a record amount of New Jersey land as permanent green space. She was also recognized by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having instituted the most comprehensive beach monitoring system in the nation.
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As part of our 45 minute conversation we discuss her transformative work with the EPA to introduce legislation which held perpetrators for Brownfield contamination (a former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination) accountable.   We learn that it was Ronald Reagan who introduced climate change as cornerstone in the national security discussion. Now, using that as a call to action for all leaders no matter which side of the aisle, Whitman clearly differentiates between climate concerns vs. weather.  And, how polarization and finger pointing has been impetus for a political divide tied appreciation for climate change which has arisen together over the past 20 years ago.
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As the Vice Chair of the Eisenhower Fellowship Board of trustees we learn how Gov. Whitman’s current role as an ambassador and mentor to a global community of future leaders continues to inspire her work.  Core to the mission of the fellowship program, Whitman states that “We have more alike than different.”  When asked what advice she has for folks seeking hiring office or for those seeking to become a Head of State – she explains “do the job you’re in, and the next one will come with hard work and commitment.”   Great advice for us all.
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TuneIn to hear more from this Agent of Change..

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@GovCTW

 

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.57: Gabe Brown – Principles of Regen

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.54: Dr. Alan Goldberg – Food Ethics

Ep. 54: Dr. Alan Goldberg – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health -ft. Jennifer Hashley of New Entry Sustainable farming ||

 

Dr. Alan Goldberg of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University joins us for episode 54 of Sourcing Matters. Goldberg is a professor of Toxicology, the Founding Director of the Johns Hopkins ‘Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing’, and a Principal of the Berman Institute Global Food Ethics Policy Program. In 2007 he was appointed to the Pew Commission on the Impact of Industrial Farm Animal Production.

 

 

Goldberg has served in several Administrative positions at Johns Hopkins. He was The Associate Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Director of the Division of Toxicology, and for 15 years was the Associate Dean at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. As a Dean, he was responsible for Research with specific responsibility for technology transfer, conflicts of interest, & work with the private Sector.
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Ethics are: A set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values.  Basically – “A guiding philosophy”.   Dr. Goldberg’s work over the last 50 years has reframed our perspective on ethics in food and animal management, and what the resulting impact means to each stakeholder.  In 2007, Dr. Goldberg served as a PEW Commissioner on the study of the Impact of Industrial (US) Farm Animal Production, on issues of public health, environment, animal welfare and social justice.  Listen-in and learn what Dr. Goldberg has to say about this monumental report which has reframed our approach to production and consumption of proteins, yet unexpectedly it’s had almost no impact on our public policy.  It’s been the consumer acting as the agent of change in adopting ethics on the plate.
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In early November 2018 Goldberg hosted The “ChooseFood” symposium in Baltimore.   It was a gathering to evaluate some of the core ethical questions of food and its production. Top brass speakers shared insight on ethics of in food labor, environmental impact, externalities, animal welfare, health risk factors & new tech – all were on the docket.  Coming it at from the food animal side It was a fascinating exercise for me to see how far we’ve come since the 2007 PEW commission report, what more needs to be done with food animal production, and how broad the aperture has grown to encapsulate ethics into our food and global production.
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Joining again as co-host is Jennifer Hashley – founder of the The New Entry Sustainable Farming project, and Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds on the renowned Codman Community Farm in the heart of Lincoln MA.
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Tune-in for our fascinating 45 minute conversation about all things related to food ethics.

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ChooseFood offered an opportunity to learn from leaders with a vested interest in food and how we produce it.  Hearing from these diverse stakeholders fighting a similar battle reminded me how much our food is so deeply intwined into family, beliefs, culture and society – no matter where you come from on the planet.  I left the symposium wondering if food ethics could be that common development language which would transcend many of the current differences we find in each other?   We’re so much more alike than different– could food ethics be a reminder if not the primary ingredient for this panacea? Not sure, but a goal to find some insight and codify better practices that harmonize us and our surroundings on a shrinking planet just seems like a good idea!

 

@JohnsHopkinsSPH

 

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 – The MIT Media Lab Gene driver

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.51: Sonia Faruqi – Environmental Sci-Fi

Ep. 51: Sonia Faruqi – author of ‘The Oyster Thief’  &  ‘Project Animal Farm’ ||

For episode 51 we welcome critically acclaimed author Sonia Faruqi to the show.  In our 40 minute discussion Faruqi goes deep into her recent work ‘The Oyster Thief’ which blends fantasy and environmental activism.  It’s a Sci-Fi novel which depicts an underwater civilization of mer-people themed amongst true ocean science, and acts of conservation living out in a deep-sea community.   Tune-In and hear her out…
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Think of if this way:  Many folks have found their calling in STEM through an interest in Science Fiction – which was introduced to them at a young age.   Our interests in space travel & Super Heroes have changed our society (and some’s belief structure) within a generation.  Sonia believes that the genre of Sci-Fi sparks interest and passion in young folks – and, this has incubated broader interest in more sciences & maths.  Getting them interested in this stuff at a you age makes them inquisitive, and more adoptive of science through-out their life.  That’s a theory which has a great deal of merit.
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Faruqi’s previous work ‘Project Animal Farm’ was released in 2015.  This non-fiction work looked at the world’s food system through chronicling a journey to 60 animal farms in 8 countries.  Faruqi combines her hands-on immersive learning with analysis on modern global agricultural models.  The well researched book comes in tow with recommendations, and food sustainability solutions for many of these international issues.  She has some heavy hitters in food, agriculture and ocean health singing her praises.
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So, If we’re going to address the many issues facing our shrinking planet – our oceans – we’ll need more great minds interested in planetary sciences. That’s a fact.  Environmental Sci-Fi seems to be an interesting strike-point to trigger more interest within the right groups, at the right time, for all the right reasons.  Sonia Faruqi has me convinced!

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Ep.50: Elaine Ingham – The Savior Underfoot

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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