My co-producer of Sacred Cow, James Connolly, chats with Benjamin Lorr, author of the #1 Best Seller, "The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket."

They discuss our current food system in the context of his latest book. What began as an interest in the unique success of Trader Joe's evolved into an immersion into the trucking industry and why they call their job "sharecropping on wheels," what it takes to bring a product to shelves, the abuse within fishing industries, how our status has tentacles in our consumption of material goods, the foods we eat, and the information we learn, and more.

It's a conversation that just might change your perspective towards your grocery shopping experience and question your consumption.

Be sure to check out Benjamin on his website and read his books "The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket" and "Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga."

This episode was generously sponsored by my favorite electrolyte drink mix, LMNT. I personally drink 2 per day and recommend to my clients, athletes, or anyone following a low-carb diet or undergoing a stressful period to pay attention to their electrolytes. LMNT is the perfect combination of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There’s a lot of choices for “better” beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who’ve perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you’re looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code “2BUYBLUENEST” for 15% off your first order!

This episode was also generously sponsored by my favorite electrolyte drink mix, LMNT. I personally drink 2 per day and recommend to my clients, athletes, or anyone following a low-carb diet or undergoing a stressful period to pay attention to their electrolytes. LMNT is the perfect combination of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

We often hear from farmers and ranchers after they've realized their dream operation, but rarely do we hear from them in those first steps, in the infancy of making their dream a reality.

In today's episode of the Sustainable Dish Podcast, I chat with Rachael and James Stewart about their journey from fitness trainers to farmers in Douglas, Arizona.

What began as a means to invest at the onset of the pandemic, blossomed into a plan to develop Southwest Black Ranchers, a food distributor that ships directly to families and restaurants, with two goals: feed 1,000 people every month and increase Black representation in agriculture.

We discuss how their dream began, their backgrounds in fitness, why real meat is healthier and more accessible than fake meat, their learning experiences thus far, and their plans for the future. We also talk about how many farmers that we see or hear about don't often share the hard work, money, and sacrifice that has helped many farmers get started and how we can create more realistic conversations about the grit and dedication to taking a farming dream to reality.

Rachael tells of her experience raising animals with 4-H as a teen and how she's applying the resourcefulness of the farmers she's learning from in Food for Mzansi.

James "Stu" shares his experience as a professional bodybuilder and his plans to host fitness retreats on their farm, his complete immersion into farm life, and how their kids and family is adapting to rural life.

They're currently raising funds on GoFundMe to support their mission to support nature and increase health and diversity in farming through Southwest Black Farmers. Check out their campaign here and follow them on their website, Instagram, or Facebook.

This conversation is inspiring for anyone on the fence about starting their own food operation and/or working to increase representation in agriculture. Be sure to give it a listen!

This episode was generously sponsored by my favorite electrolyte drink mix, LMNT. I personally drink 2 per day and recommend to my clients, athletes, or anyone following a low-carb diet or undergoing a stressful period to pay attention to their electrolytes. LMNT is the perfect combination of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

There is a lot of talk about restoring ecosystems through agriculture to address a long list of issues like climate change, the loss of wildlife habitat, water quality, and historically low farm incomes. But what does that effort really look like? Unless you earn a degree in ecosystem sciences, most of us are only equipped with basic high school biology, giving us a limited understanding of some of these concepts.

In this episode, Steve Apfelbaum, the senior ecologist at Applied Ecological Services (AES), an ecological sciences and restoration firm in the US tells us about his work that focuses on ecosystem restoration and land management, putting back into the land what was taken from the land like healthy soil as well as plant and animal communities.

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There’s a lot of choices for “better” beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who’ve perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you’re looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code “2BUYBLUENEST” for 15% off your first order!

Farming is hard, but for folks who have a burning desire to farm, Nicole Scott, livestock manager at the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, says, "Go for it!"

In today's episode of the Sustainable Dish Podcast, my co-host, Lauren Stine, chats with Nicole about her journey from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to her education at Cornell University to her many farming experiences that led her to become Glynwood's livestock manager.

They discuss the ever-changing tasks of being a farmer, why aspiring farmers should rethink starting their farm with goats, and how we (as allies and members of the BIPOC community) can diversify our food system and work to overcome racial injustice in life and in agriculture.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone thinking about starting to farm, farmers or food producers who can relate to the therapeutic experience of letting out an energized yell in the middle of an empty pasture, or anyone thinking of adding goats to their livestock operation.

This episode was generously sponsored by my favorite electrolyte drink mix, LMNT. I personally drink 2 per day and recommend to my clients, athletes, or anyone following a low-carb diet or undergoing a stressful period to pay attention to their electrolytes. LMNT is the perfect combination of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Have you thought about starting a farm?

If so, this episode with Annemarie Sullivan of @sullifarmandkitchen is for you.

Annemarie is a 23-year-old regenerative farmer in Northeast Texas.

What bloomed out of a deep love for nutrition and food, she started farming in 2016 with a few Nigerian Dwarf Goats, opened Sullifarm & Kitchen in 2018, and is now regenerating over 50 acres of land.

My co-host, Lauren Stine, @whitehoofacres and Annemarie discuss the ins and outs of bootstrapping a small farm, sustaining a profitable, yet regenerative operation, and the many challenges she and other beginner farmers experience in the early years.

From financing to species selection to farming as a young female, Lauren and Annemarie cover many important topics for any aspiring farmer.

Be sure to check out Annemarie and Sullifarm & Kitchen and give this episode a listen.

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There’s a lot of choices for “better” beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who’ve perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you’re looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code “2BUYBLUENEST” for 15% off your first order!

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

Ben is a farmer in the UK and came out as a young adult to his family, who were all incredibly supportive. I spoke with Ben about his life, his experience as a gay farmer, and what he's doing to tell the positive story of how LGTBQ+ people can live a happy, productive life in farming. He is a beam of light, and I highly encourage you to give his feed a follow. He also started AgRespect, an organization to help others feel comfortable with their sexual orientation in rural communities. This past year, I lost my brother Evan on Valentine's Day. He was a member of the LGTBQ+ community, so this was an especially emotional interview for me.

Follow Ben on Instagram and be sure to check out AgRespect to learn what they're doing and how to get involved.

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There's a lot of choices for "better" beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who've perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you're looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code "2BUYBLUENEST" for 15% off your first order!

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

The colonization and industrialization of our food system have wreaked havoc on our environment and health, but what's often untold about this system is the trauma Indigenous communities experienced throughout the history of this extractive expansion.

In this episode of the Sustainable Dish Podcast, I sit down with Sanjay Rawal, the director of the new film, Gather, "an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide."

We discuss his journey into filmmaking (his first film, Food Chains, about migrant agricultural labor in the U.S., is a must-see), how he, as a non-native, fostered a deep sense of collaboration with the First Nations Development Institute in efforts to genuinely portray the native characters in the film, why Indigenous land stewardship holds the solutions to the restoration and regeneration our soils need, and how the development of our connections to the land and the foods that make us who we are can not only restore food sovereignty, but also our health, culture, environment, and more.

Gather is a beautiful film and a collection of stories infused with history, reclamation, and hope. It's also a portrait showing us solutions that have always been here: Indigenous land stewardship, or what we non-natives are now calling regenerative agriculture.

To learn more about and watch Gather, visit the website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

To make an impact to support the First Nations Development Institute, visit their website here.

This was a joy to record! I hope you enjoy it, too!

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There's a lot of choices for "better" beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who've perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you're looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code "2BUYBLUENEST" for 15% off your first order!

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

In this episode of the podcast, we talk with David LeZaks, a senior fellow at the Croatan Institute, about his work in regenerative agriculture finance. Croatan Institute is an independent, nonprofit research institute whose mission is to harness the power of investment for social good and ecological resilience by working at the critical nexus where sustainability, finance, and economic development intersect.

Fortunately, some investors are taking a more altruistic approach to how they invest their cash. Sometimes referred to as impact investment, more and more investors are only investing money where the project matches a specific set of goals or values like environmental rehabilitation or local food.

A new regenerative ag-dedicated venture capital investment firm called Soilworks recently launched and acquired grazing management software service PastureMap as its first investment, for example. 

David talks about some of his recent work identifying barriers for small and medium-scale livestock producers due to Covid-19 in an effort to identify key pain points where investment is needed. He was also involved in producing the Soil Wealth report, which surveyed the landscape to identify existing investment vehicles for regenerative agriculture and opportunities to expand them.

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There's a lot of choices for "better" beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who've perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you're looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code "2BUYBLUENEST" for 15% off your first order!

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

In today's episode of the Sustainable Dish Podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, a Professor of Ruminant Nutrition at the University of Florida, to talk about his research and the many roles that livestock play in a nutritious, ethical, and sustainable food system.

Dr. Adesogan's work in developing communities focuses on improving livestock production and educating the public of the importance of animal products in a nutritious diet.

His work shows that improving the nutrition of one person helps mend the fabric of society and that is greatly influenced by the inclusion and productivity of livestock.

When we improve livestock, folks can afford more meat, milk, and eggs in their diet.

With more meat, milk, and eggs in their diet, they improve the nutrition of their children.

When the diets of children are improved, the children's growth, development, and disease-resistance improves.

When these children are healthy, they perform better in school, which can have huge implications on their future, their families, and extended families.

It's quite amazing and we dive into it all.

My guest on this episode is Dr. Sylvia Karpagam, who is an Indian Public Health doctor, writer, researcher, and advocate of the right to health and the right to food, particularly in the marginalized communities in India. In this episode, we talk about:

• Causes of malnutrition in India, including the political and cultural denial of nutritious animal foods to members of their communities.
• How 80% of India actually eats animal foods and it’s a dangerous myth that it is a vegetarian country.
• How the EAT-Lancet group and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are propagating (and profiting from) this myth at the expense of the country.
• Role of dominant social classes and how they influence cultural foods, traditional eating, and food policies.
• The protein restrictions in school children's diets and how it affects them as they grow.
• How most of India's beef is raised by small pastoralists on small parcels of land.
• How eating beef has resulted in lynching and murder and likely skewed nutrition survey results.
• And her current research and how we can support better science.

We reference her Right to Food Campaign, and discuss these articles:

Despite Nutrition Benefits, Most BJP States Keep Eggs out of Mid-Day Meals
Akshaya Patra imposing vegetarian food mono culture on children
Taboos around serving eggs in mid-day meals need to go
India is Not a 'Vegetarian Country' Like the EAT-Lancet Report Would Have Us Believe
The Meaning of India's 'Beef Lynchings'

Sylvia can be found at:

Blog – https://drsylviakarpagam.wordpress.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/sakie339

This episode is brought to you by Blue Nest Beef. There's a lot of choices for "better" beef out there and the folks at Blue Nest Beef are grassfed pioneers who've perfected all the steps it takes to make better beef even better. Not only is their beef delicious, but it comes exclusively from American ranchers who have been certified by the National Audubon Society as ranchers who are regenerating our land and bird habitats. If you're looking for better beef, visit their website here and use the discount code "2BUYBLUENEST" for 15% off your first order!

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

​"No cow, no grass, no birds," says Marshall Johnson, Vice President of the National Audubon Society and Executive Director of Audubon Dakota and Audubon Conservation Ranching.

In this episode, we discuss Marshall's calling to birds and the prairies, the great influence of our indigenous populations on our past, present, and future grasslands, how birds are a strong indicator of the health of an ecosystem, and how we, as conservationists, along with well-managed cattle can call on our nation's history to restore our soils.

With the ongoing pandemic, small and midsize farmers have been looking for new and creative ways to get their products into consumers' hands. For Bart and Wendy Morris of Missoula-based Oxbow Cattle Company, that question was already on their minds many years ago.

The duo constructed a store on their ranch property called the F2M, or farm to market store, that operates entirely based on the honor system. The Morris’ restock the freezers and let shoppers peruse, pick, and pay all on their own. The system may make some farmers weary for potential theft, but so far the F2M has been nothing but a benefit.

We discuss their backgrounds, advice to farmers getting started, what they wish more farmers knew, and more! Be sure to keep up with Bart & Wendy on Instagram where they share daily scenes from ranchlife, usually on horseback. And if you’re ever near Missoula make sure to put the F2M on your agenda.

It’s not uncommon these days to hear about someone ditching city life to try their hand at farming. For Edlin Choi, leaving the city behind was a no brainer. After working for a variety of startups in both San Francisco and New York, Edlin found himself presented with an ideal opportunity to see his farm dreams come to life. Telling your family and friends that you are leaving your tech job and life in the city to start your journey to becoming a farmer can be daunting however. Edlin shares with us how he went about breaking the news and how he dealt with a bit of skepticism from his family regarding his choice.

Pilar Egüez Guevara, PhD is director and founder of Comidas que Curan, an independent education initiative to promote the value of traditional foods through research and film. Her documentary Raspando coco (Scraping coconuts) received several awards and was presented at film festivals in the United States, Europe and Japan. You can find her on instagram.com/raspando_coco and facebook.com/comidasquecuran.com.ec. 

Jon Venus is a physique athlete based in Norway. Over the past 5 years, he's become a prominent vegan influencer on YouTube, Instagram, and his own coaching community, yet recently has made the decision to incorporate animal products into his diet in an ethical, sustainable way. In this episode, we discuss his experience transitioning away from veganism, the reactions from his family and his community, and his intentions to eat more locally and sustainably.

In this episode of Sustainable Dish, we chat with Brandon Howley of Happy Hollow Beef, a multi-generation ranch in East Texas outside of Dallas. The founder of Happy Hollow is Chuck Howley, an NFL star who is heralded by many as one of the greatest linebackers in Dallas Cowboys history. After serving in the military, Brandon returned to the family ranch.

One of Brandon’s first goals for the family ranch was to explore grass-finished beef and direct marketing to local consumers. Although transitioning to grass-finished beef may seem like a matter of simply changing what the cattle eat, it can be a far more complex process.

In the latest episode of the podcast, Lauren interviews shepherdess, Jacqueline Smith, of Central Grazing Company. They discuss raising sheep, creating a 100% traceable leather supply chain, and how we, as consumers, can learn that farmers not only regenerate ecosystems, but can also provide food, clothing, and community.

This pandemic has highlighted many weaknesses in our global food system, including food shortages and the need for more resilient, local food systems. For one artisanal cheese maker in the North East, however, these problems created a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how local food can solve pandemic-related food supply problems.

In today’s podcast, we speak with Pete Messmer, Head Cheesemaker at Lively Run Dairy in Interlaken, NY, about how Coronavirus has affected his business. The farm processes milk from roughly 600 goats from around the area into a variety of artisanal cheeses that it supplies to local restaurants as well as producing cow’s milk cheese.

The regenerative agriculture movement advocates for new ways to raise crops and livestock but what about the supply chain? In this episode of Sustainable Dish, we chat with Sam Garwin, a regenerative food business consultant whose role in the food system reaches far beyond consulting.

Take a listen to learn more about Garwin’s personal journey from vegetarianism and software sales to her life now as a meat-eater and butcher, working with big food companies, and a little daydreaming about what our ideal regenerative food system would look like.

Regenerative ranching is a balance between agriculture and nature, using mindful restoration methods and making space for the wild.

In the latest podcast, Lauren speaks with Doniga Markegard, a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher at Markegard Family Grassfed and author of Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild.

They discuss how to retain, protect, and restore the wild spaces around them while nurturing the "wildness" that's innate within each of us and the habitats we influence.

In this episode, we talk to Jamie Ager of Hickory Nut Gap Farms outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

Jamie and his team at Hickory Nut Gap have created many of their own supply chain systems to keep their farm running, growing, and accessible to their community. We dive into how regenerative agriculture goes beyond regenerating soil and our climate and regenerates consumers' connection to their food, educates them to the costs of food production, the challenges farmers face and how they can be a part of the process for supporting better meat.

If you're a farmer looking to diversify your profits and connect with your customers or if you're a customer interested in the inner-workings of a regenerative farm, this episode is for you!

Learn more about Hickory Nut Gap here, and be sure to listen to our other episodes here.

In honor of Women’s History Month, our next podcast features Kate Estrade of Local Cooling Farms. In this episode, we discuss modern farming, the improvements on her soil's and animal's health as she's adopted rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture, farming with her husband, and the fulfillment she feels as a 1st generation "Farm-Her."

If you are interested in farming or starting your own homestead, listen to this episode! It may be just the inspiration you need to take the leap and become involved in your own food production!

Be sure to download this episode and let us know your favorite takeaways on social!

Know of a good resource for female farmers? Let us know by sending a note to SacredCowBlog@gmail.com

In honor of Women’s History Month, our next podcast features Audra Mulkern, founder of The Female Farmer Project and forthcoming documentary film project Women’s Work: The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers. Mulkern also hosts a podcast dedicated to featuring female farmers and providing a way for them to share their stories, struggles, and successes.

Be sure to give it a listen and let us know your key takeaways!

Our next podcast guest shines a light on black farmers in celebration of black history month. Justin Butts may be young, but he’s already accomplished an impressive resume. He’s served in the armed forces, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and launched his own soap business, Butts Brothers, sourcing lard from the Kune Kune pigs that he raises. 

In his newest gig as livestock coordinator for Soul Fire Farm, Justin is working diligently to help the community learn more about livestock production, eating meat, and the joys of nose-to-tail dining. This work constitutes the culmination of so many skills and interests that he’s touched on throughout his career including juggling multiple projects, a passion for delicious food, and reconnecting people with the food that they eat. He also shares his experiences as a black farmer and offers advice for other people of color who are interested in getting involved in food system work through farming or other avenues.

This episode was a joy to record! Be sure to give it a listen and check out the work of Justin and Soul Fire Farm!