Deep Seed Podcast Raphael Esterhazy

This week, I traveled to Lochem, east of the Netherlands to meet with regenerative farmer Anne van Leeuwen. She recently moved to a new farm, which gave us a great perspective for the conversation. How to get access to land and how to plan a farm to create a beautiful complex farming system whose purpose is to grow abundant high quality foods while also increasing the amount of life on the farm. 

We sat outside, under a beautiful old beech tree, on a sunny late afternoon and you can clearly hear the sound of birds in the background. Anne is honestly one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. I loved every bit of this conversation and I really hope you will too :) 

 🎧Listen to the full conversation: 
Search for ‘Deep Seed’ on your streaming platform 
(or) click the link in the comments below 

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Key topics:

🌍 Access to land
Farmland prices have soared, making it prohibitively expensive for young and beginning farmers to purchase land. Anne explains how she managed to acquire her new farm working in partnership with Lenteland. She also mentions other interesting initiatives in the Netherlands such as Herenboeren and Land Van Ons. 

🌳 Perennial crops
Focusing on perennial crops like fruit and nut trees is a strong farm strategy because they enhance soil health, reduce input costs, and offer long-term, reliable income. Their deep root systems prevent erosion, improve soil structure, and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, perennials support biodiversity and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable farming system.

🦋 Radical Diversity 
Anne aims to maximize diversity on her farm by planting as many different fruit and nut tree varieties as possible throughout her agroforestry systems. She aims to market that diversity, for example selling boxes of plums of all kinds, each with different size, shape, color and taste. 
🙍‍♀️ More women in Farming
Women often bring unique perspectives and solutions to agricultural challenges, including a strong focus on family, community welfare, and environmental stewardship. 

🤝 European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA)
An alliance of farmers from across Europe has united behind a shared vision for the future of agriculture. Impressively, they have collaboratively drafted a proposal to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), advocating for the inclusion of total biomass production and soil life as key metrics in the subsidy system.
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This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.

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Useful links: 
Anne’s farm: ‘T Gagel - https://www.lente.land/lochem/
Lenteland: https://www.lente.land/
EARA: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earafarm/
Soil Capital: https://www.soilcapital.com/

References: 
[Documentary:] John D. Liu - Hope in a changing climate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLdNhZ6kAzo
[Book] Robin Wall Kimmerer - Braiding Sweetgrass 
https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

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Cette semaine, j’ai le plaisir d’accueillir l’agroclimatologue Serge Zaka dans le Deep Seed podcast. 
On discute des conséquences du changement climatique sur l’agriculture, de la géopolitique alimentaire, de la création de nouvelles filières agricoles, d’agriculture de conservation des sols et bien plus encore.
Agroclimatologie : Serge Zaka explique comment l'évolution du climat influencera l'agriculture en Europe. Alors que certaines régions du sud (Espagne, Italie, Grèce) deviendront trop arides, d'autres plus au nord deviendront propices à des cultures comme le blé. La coopération entre pays de l'UE sera cruciale pour soutenir les zones en difficulté. Il est impératif d'anticiper ces changements dès maintenant, car il faut 20 à 40 ans pour développer de nouvelles filières agricoles.

Agriculture de conservation des sols : Aussi appelée agroécologie ou agriculture régénérative, cette pratique vise à protéger et améliorer la santé des sols, la biodiversité, et la résilience des systèmes agricoles. Ces techniques sont essentielles pour faire face aux stress thermiques et hydriques de plus en plus fréquents dus au changement climatique.
Géopolitique de l'alimentaire : Serge souligne l'importance pour l'UE de ne pas devenir dépendante de pays comme la Russie, qui pourrait devenir le plus grand producteur mondial de blé avec le réchauffement climatique. Pour éviter cela, il est nécessaire de développer des filières adaptées aux nouvelles conditions climatiques, une tâche qui demande une vision à très long terme, au-delà du cycle politique.

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Cet épisode a été réalisé en collaboration avec Soil Capital, une entreprise qui favorise la transition vers l’agriculture régénérative en récompensant financièrement les agriculteurs qui améliorent la santé de leurs sols. 

SOIL CAPITAL - https://www.soilcapital.com/

Merci aussi à Cultivaé et au GAL culturalité, qui ont invité Serge à donner une conférence en Belgique et qui m’ont donné l’opportunité de le rencontrer pour enregistrer cet épisode. 

CULTIVAE - https://www.cultivae.be/
GAL Culturalité - https://culturalite.be/

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Liens utiles:
Serge Zaka - https://serge-zaka.com/
Agriculture de conservation des sols - https://agriculture-de-conservation.com/


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My guest this week is Koen van Seijen, host of the Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast. Over the last 7 years, he has recorded and published over 300 conversations with inspiring people looking to transform our food system from the most destructive activity on the planet into a powerful climate solution.

In this conversation, Koen explains why he believes that investing in regenerative agriculture makes a lot of sense. We also discuss some of his favorite episodes and guests: 
🐮Matt Chatfield - How a nature-friendly approach can produce high-quality meat while supporting biodiversity.
🙏Satish Kumar - Nature is incredibly complex and intelligent. We need to be more humble and work with nature, but stop thinking we can outsmart it.  
🧑‍🌾New Foundation Farm - Their vision of showing that a large-scale complex multi species farm can be financially profitable while selling foods for an affordable price is ambitious and inspiring. If they show that it’s possible, it could create a big shift. 
🧑‍⚕️Zack Bush - a doctor who has been studying the impact of glyphosate on health, showing how detrimental to health chemical inputs actually are. 
🫶Benedikt Bösel who also has an impressive transition story and who has become a great friend since they recorded a whole podcast series together. 

I asked him a whole range of questions and we got into some really interesting conversations about nutrient density, farmers’ mental health, agricultural subsidies, technology and much much more. 

I wholeheartedly recommend listening to the full conversation on the Deep Seed podcast (link in the comments below) 🎧
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💚 This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.
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Please help me grow the Deep Seed podcast by
1. clicking the ‘follow’ button (Spotify / Apple Podcast)
2. leaving a 5⭐️ review
Thank you 🙏

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I met with Zuzanna Zielińska in Rotterdam 🇳🇱to discuss her amazing Food Pharmacy project: HarvestCare. Connecting the dots between soil health, nutrient density, and human health could be a total game changer in my opinion and I am a big supporter of Zuzanna’s vision 😍

This is the first QuickSeed, a shorter and more casual episode format than the usual long format conversations. 

Zuzanna's Inspiring Journey:

Her journey began at a care farm in Denmark, where she worked with individuals with mental disabilities, helping them reconnect with society by growing their own food. This experience ignited her passion for soil health and sustainable agriculture. 

She later collaborated with a start-up focused on upcycling coffee waste into food products, aiming to improve the livelihoods of farmers, especially in the Global South. These experiences opened her eyes to the importance of soil health, leading her to join Fresh Ventures Studio, a venture building program dedicated to accelerating the transition to regenerative agriculture.

The Importance of Soil Health and Nutrient Density:

Zuzanna's mission is to address critical questions: How can we make nutrient-dense foods accessible to those who cannot afford them? The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) currently favors large-scale farmers, overlooking small farmers dedicated to growing healthy vegetables locally and in healthy soil.

Research from the Bionutrient Food Association and institutions like Leiden University's Soil2Gut program, a partner of Harvest Care, demonstrates that soil health and farming practices significantly impact the nutrient density of foods. For example, carrots grown regeneratively can contain several times more vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals than those from intensive farming systems. The book "What Your Food Ate" by Montgomery & Bikle is a comprehensive reference that compiles scientific evidence showing the correlation between farming practices, soil health, and nutrient density.

Health and Socio-Economic Impacts:

Harvest Care aims to explore the health benefits of nutrient-dense foods. By selecting 10 farmers who follow agroecological principles and providing fresh food boxes to participants from socio-economically challenged backgrounds for three months, the project will study the health outcomes in collaboration with Erasmus MC. The goal is to prove that healthy farming practices produce healthier foods, making them more accessible to all, and ultimately reducing healthcare costs.

RHEA: Regenerative Health European Association:

Zuzanna was one of the five female professionals in nutrition and regenerative agriculture who co-created RHEA (Regenerative Healthcare European Association), educating and raising awareness about the connection between soil health and human health. Their mission is to foster the regenerative healthcare transition in the EU.

Join us in this episode as we explore the incredible work being done to bridge the gap between soil health, food quality, and human health, and learn how initiatives like Harvest Care and RHEA are paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable future.
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This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.
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Please help me grow the Deep Seed podcast by clicking the ‘follow’ button on Spotify or Apple Podcast and leaving a 5⭐️ review 🙏

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Join us in an enlightening conversation with Emilie de Morteuil, co-founder of the House of Agroecology, as we explore the transformative power of #agroecology in creating a food system that nurtures both our planet and our health.
In This Episode, We Discuss:

🔍 The significant issues plaguing our food systems and how agroecology offers viable solutions.
🌾 How agroecological practices not only yield more nutrition per hectare than conventional methods but also enhance farmer profitability.
🍎 The health benefits of consuming diverse, agroecologically produced foods.

🤝 How the House of Agroecology fosters collaboration across the food system to develop agroecological supply chains.

⚖️ The need to more fairly distribute risks and rewards across the supply chain, highlighting the current imbalance where farmers bear most risks with few rewards.

🌍 The essential roles consumers and policymakers play in promoting sustainable diets and resilient ecosystems.
👶 The crucial importance of connecting children with the outdoors and integrating lessons on food, nutrition, and farming into school curriculums.
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This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.
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Support our journey towards a sustainable future by
1️⃣following the Deep Seed page
2️⃣leaving a 5-star review

Together, we can make a difference!

Thank you for tuning in,
Raphaël


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Alain Peeters has been involved in sustainable agriculture and nature conservation since the 70s and he is one of the pioneers of agroecology in the world. In this conversation, he describes how agroecology offers a powerful solution to transform our food system from a destructive to regenerative, while improving the wellbeing of farmers. 
Unlike conventional agriculture, which often entails a struggle against nature, agroecology advocates for cooperation with natural systems, recognizing their resilience and efficacy. Rooted in the fusion of agricultural science and ecology, agroecology represents a holistic approach that integrates traditional wisdom with contemporary scientific insights. Central to this paradigm is the promotion of biodiversity across all facets of agricultural production, from soil health to landscape management. As societies confront the imperative of transitioning away from fossil fuel dependency, agroecology emerges as a viable pathway towards sustainability, leveraging practices such as minimal soil disturbance and the integration of livestock and crops.

The conventional farming model, epitomized by the green revolution, faces mounting challenges, including diminishing returns and escalating debt burdens for farmers. While agroecology promises increased profitability and sustainability, its adoption hinges on overcoming entrenched practices and embracing change. Alain's NGO, Terres Vivantes, offers invaluable support to farmers transitioning towards agroecological practices, providing experiential guidance and fostering collective learning through peer exchanges.
Terres Vivantes employs the OASIS system to assess farms' agroecological evolution across multiple dimensions, including farming methods, economics, social dynamics, and environmental resilience. Emphasizing the holistic well-being of farmers, Alain underscores the need to alleviate financial pressures and streamline administrative burdens, thereby fostering a conducive environment for sustainable agriculture.
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This podcast was produced in collaboration with Soil Capital, a company that supports regenerative agriculture for food system resilience and climate action, by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.