Down to Earth
Down to Earth is a podcast about regenerative agriculture. It’s about the place where food production and conservation come together, where the food we eat actually improves the health of land, water, people—and climate.
Above all, it’s a podcast about hope. We focus not on doom but instead on people who are developing practical, innovative solutions. We invite you to meet farmers, ranchers, scientists, land managers, writers, and many others on a mission to create a world in which the food we eat is healthy—for us, for wildlife, for the lives and livelihoods of the producers, and for the planet.
Recent Programs
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?
Our Roots
Down to Earth is produced by Mary-Charlotte Domandi, long-time public radio and podcast producer/host, in collaboration with the Quivira Coalition, a non-profit organization that promotes healthy agricultural lands and food systems across the West—and across the world.
We’re dedicated to the idea of the Radical Center, in which people from divergent political, cultural, and professional worlds leave their differences aside and come together to work on the things they believe in—healthy soil, landscapes, and food…clean water and air…wise use of science and technology…and flourishing rural communities.
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