138 episodes

Farmers interview scientists, activists, politicians, and authors engaged in protecting USDA organic food against an active corporate takeover. As the Real Organic Project releases its add-on food label in stores and markets in 2021, we want to introduce eaters across the United States to our movement and its allies. In this podcast series, you'll meet the best organic and regenerative farmers around, as well as journalists, climate experts, policy makers and chefs (former VP Al Gore, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Leah Penniman, Bill Mckibben, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, Karen Washington, Eliot Coleman - to name a few!) who support our mission and have lent their voices and insights to explaining the importance of keeping corporate cheaters out of the real food movement. As bad players aim to redefine what food is for the sake of their own profits, we believe there is too much at stake for both human and planetary health today and into the future. Feed the soil, not the plant!!

Real Organic Podcast Real Organic Project

    • Science
    • 5.0 • 56 Ratings

Farmers interview scientists, activists, politicians, and authors engaged in protecting USDA organic food against an active corporate takeover. As the Real Organic Project releases its add-on food label in stores and markets in 2021, we want to introduce eaters across the United States to our movement and its allies. In this podcast series, you'll meet the best organic and regenerative farmers around, as well as journalists, climate experts, policy makers and chefs (former VP Al Gore, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Leah Penniman, Bill Mckibben, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, Karen Washington, Eliot Coleman - to name a few!) who support our mission and have lent their voices and insights to explaining the importance of keeping corporate cheaters out of the real food movement. As bad players aim to redefine what food is for the sake of their own profits, we believe there is too much at stake for both human and planetary health today and into the future. Feed the soil, not the plant!!

    Hannah Smith-Brubaker: Growing On-Farm Organic Research

    Hannah Smith-Brubaker: Growing On-Farm Organic Research

    #134: Hannah Smith-Brubaker,  aReal Organic Project farmer and the Executive Director of Pennsylvania-based  sustainable agriculture organization PASA, shares what her peers are learning as they ramp up efforts to collect data from on-farm organic trials and experiments.

    Hannah Smith-Brubaker married into the farm family at Village Acres  farm, a highly-diversified, organic operation founded in the 1980s in Juniata County Pennsylvania by her wife Deb's parents Roy and Hope Brubaker. She is the Executive Director of PASA, a sustainable agriculture organization that focuses on farmer-driven research and education.

    https://villageacres.com/

    https://pasafarming.org/
    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/hannah-smith-brubaker-on-farm-organic-research-episode-one-hundred-thirty-four

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:


    https://www.realorganicproject.org/email

    • 58 min
    Jim Riddle: Lobbyists Not Farmers Have Access To USDA

    Jim Riddle: Lobbyists Not Farmers Have Access To USDA

    #133: Retired Minnesota berry farmer and founder of the International Organic Inspectors Association Jim Riddle discusses his time on the National Organic Standards Board, including observing the culture of a revolving door of corporate lobbyists.

    Jim Riddle is the founder of Blue Fruit Farm, an organic blueberry farm in Minnesota, as well as the Winona Farmers Market and the International Organic Inspectors Association. He has served on the National Organic Standards Board in a farmer seat, and on the Real Organic Project Advisory Board.

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-riddle-a3bb3912/
    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/jim-riddle-lobbyist-access-usda-episode-one-hundred-thirty-three

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

    • 41 min
    Dru Rivers: An Organic Activist's Manifesto

    Dru Rivers: An Organic Activist's Manifesto

    132: Longtime organic farmer Dru Rivers speaks to the crowd at the 2023 EcoFarm Conference about the future of food, and the important role activism plays in farming.

    Dru Rivers is an original founding farmer at Full Belly Farm in California and has played an important role in both the EcoFarm Conference and CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) since their beginnings. 

    https://fullbellyfarm.com/
    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/dru-rivers-organic-activist-manifesto-episode-one-hundred-thirty-two

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

    • 25 min
    Mark and Kristin Kimball: Holistic Farming Goes Beyond Food Production

    Mark and Kristin Kimball: Holistic Farming Goes Beyond Food Production

    #131: Farmer Mark Kimball and his wife, author Kristin Kimball, almost everything that's been in their heads recently, as their journey at their year-round, CSA-model farm in Essex, New York continues to evolve. Dave caught up with the Kimballs at the NOFA New Hampshire Conference last February, where they all discussed the future of food production, late-stage capitalism, and the organic movement.

    Mark Kimball founded Essex Farm in 2003, along with his wife Kristin. With deeply diversified crops and offerings, Essex Farm utilizes a radical model of community-supported agriculture to share a full diet of year-round food  (vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, and maple) at affordable prices to its membership. 

    Kristin Kimball founded Essex Farm in 2003 along with her husband Mark, and wrote a breakout book about their experience - The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love, followed by Good Husbandry: Growing Food, Love, and Family, on Essex Farm. She continues to farm, write and speak.

    https://www.instagram.com/essexfarmcsa/


    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/mark-kristin-kimball-holistic-farming-beyond-food-episode-one-hundred-thirty-one

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

    • 50 min
    Peter Donovan: RedirectingThe Carbon Conversation Towards The Water Cycle

    Peter Donovan: RedirectingThe Carbon Conversation Towards The Water Cycle

    #130: Peter Donovan of the Soil Carbon Coalition shares his thoughts on the true value of carbon sequestration in agricultural settings, and how it differs from the ideas being pushed by industrial players who stand to benefit from carbon credits and offsets.

    Peter Donovan has a long history working in agriculture, specifically managing livestock, pastures,  and soil. He has authored numerous articles and given lectures on improving the soil carbon sponge and finessing ideal grazing practices. Peter is the founder of the Soil Carbon Coalition.


    https://soilcarboncoalition.org/why/
    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/peter-donovan-redirect-carbon-conversation-towards-water-cycle-episode-one-hundred-thirty

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

    • 1 hr 5 min
    Zach Cannady: Farming To Strengthen Your Local Food Shed

    Zach Cannady: Farming To Strengthen Your Local Food Shed

    #129: Zach Cannady of Prema Farm joins Dave to discuss the inspiration he found working as a produce manager that led him to start his own farm, dedicated to growing crops that his community was asking for and could not find locally. Dave and Zach dive deep into conversation about Prema's composting and cover cropping practices, as well as the use of simple, human-powered farm tools that allow them to minimize soil disturbance.

    Zach Cannady grows food at Prema Farm in northern California, on the Nevada state line,  with his partner Kasey Crispin. He is the former Produce Manager at Great Basin Community Food Co-Op, where he learned about unmet demands within the food system that inspired him to found a farming operation.

    https://www.premafarm.com/
    To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/zach-cannady-farming-to-strengthen-your-local-food-shed-episode-one-hundred-twenty-nine

    The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

    The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

    To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

    We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

    If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/

    To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:

    https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

    • 47 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
56 Ratings

56 Ratings

Dave Really 1234 ,

Loved it

Linley did a great interview with Charlotte. I was riveted.

ROP fan ,

Favorite podcast

I’ve been religiously following every podcast and really appreciate the efforts of Dave and Linley. Each interview is thoughtful and packed with important information for anyone who cares about eating, farming and the future of land use!!!

TJ68238383773 ,

The best podcast on agriculture today

The Real Organic Project podcast has great guests and provide insightful information on the organic movement in agriculture today. They support one another and have a great message. It has helped shape how I shop for food and made me meet a farmer (and visit a farm) for the first time. This podcast also makes me hungry!

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