Cultivating oysters for ocean health, human health, and economic development
Shellfish biologist Rick Karney and oyster farmer Alex Friedman talk about the realities of oyster farming and habitat restoration on the East coast.
From urban journalist to country farmer
Beth Hoffman was a college professor and agriculture journalist for years before she and her husband moved his family’s farm in Iowa. Her new book, Bet the Farm, is all about the joys, challenges, and economic realities of farming in the US today.
Establishing an earth-friendly meat business
Corporate meat producers tout their “efficiency” but actually wreak havoc on the environment, local communities, and the animals themselves. Cole Mannix is all about building resilient ecological and economic systems with the goal of long-term stability and prosperity.
Taking it to the street––healthy food entrepreneurship
Tina Garcia-Shams is teaching every aspect of food truck entrepreneurship at the Street Food Institute, and their graduates are thriving––and serving healthy, local fare.
Herding animals for land––and human––health
Traditional pastoral cultures have been living in harmony with animals and land for millennia––and they persist to this day, though with serious challenges. Ilse Köhler-Rollefson‘s new book shines a light on what they can teach us.
Hydroponics, aquaponics, and sovereignty
Charlie Shultz is teaching students how to grow fish and plants in in mutually beneficial systems, as well as healthy, nutrient-dense greenhouse crops––all year round. It’s all about sustainable, local, healthy, and economically thriving food systems.
Systems thinking: Coordinating after, during, and before disasters
Many entities, public and private, are working to help agrarians whose livelihoods are disrupted. But what do they do, how do they coordinate…and what are the sticky points?
Technology-assisted regeneration—a new vision for ecological agriculture
Industrial agriculture imposes a simplified model onto complex ecosystems––with dire consequences. A new book shows how technology is now able to capture nature’s intricacies––and help to grow food more ecologically and more profitably.
Wolves in the West: Finding common ground
After being driven almost to extinction, wolves are back in some of their natural habitat. A new podcast explores how ranchers, conservationists, and others are coming together to find paths toward peaceful co-habitation.
De-commodifying land: Challenging your inner capitalist
As land prices and development pressures rise, agrarians and land stewards have a hard time buying and staying on land. Neil Thapar and Mariela Cedeño talk about strategies to convert land from a commodity to what it really is––habitat, ecosystems, and where we grow our food.