Rootstock Radio

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Kendra Klein: Reducing Exposure to Pesticides, a Scientifically Proven Way Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

On today's episode of Rootstock Radio, we're chatting with Kendra Klein, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth (FOE) and a seasoned writer, researcher and advocate (Kendra's been at this kind of work for a full 17 years!). Kendra shares what that FOE is doing to change our food and agriculture system for the better. This includes an exciting new study that found switching to organic food can dramatically reduce your exposure to pesticides—we're talking drops of 60% in just 6 days, and up to 95% depending on the compound! The study also found 14 specific pesticides in every single participant (a fact that should thoroughly alarm us all).

The hopeful news is that this study, and others like it, shows it IS POSSIBLE to seriously reduce the amount of pesticide residues in our bodies through our diet. And in a world where a lot of things feel completely out of our control, our food choices are something that's still in our own hands.

Eric Holt-Gimenez: Hope for a Democratic Food System Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

Eric Holt-Giménez firmly believes that our food system is not, in fact, broken. As he shared with us in early 2018, the agriculture system we're operating today never really worked in the first place. Today on Rootstock Radio, we're visiting with him again, this time about his latest book, Can We Feed The World Without Destroying It?, and to hear what other good things he's been taking action around as executive director of the Institute for Food Development and Policy (also known as Food First).

Naomi Starkman of Civil Eats on Fixing TWO Broken Systems: Food & Media Mar 25, 2019

Show notes

On this week's episode of Rootstock Radio, founder and editor-in-chief of Civil Eats Naomi Starkman reflects on 10 years spent building a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. She's not interested in being beholden to big advertisers and big business, or in chasing the current 24-hour news cycle for that matter. No, Naomi is interested in illuminating the triumphs and challenges of our current food system through fair, balanced and high-quality journalism. With the James Beard Foundation's 2014 Publication of the Year Award under its belt, Civil Eats is well on its way to doing exactly that.

Betty Izumi: How Teaching "Food Gratitude" Encourages Kids to Eat Their Veggies Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

Today Betty Izumi, who holds the title of project director and "principal investigator" at Harvest for Healthy Kids, discusses a neat way to get kids to eat their fruits and veggies -- "Food Gratitude," a practice she observed while conducting research on school food in Japan. Listen in to learn more…especially if your kids are picky eaters!

Bob Quinn: The Modern Benefits of Ancient Grains Mar 11, 2019

Show notes

Today on Rootstock Radio we're talking to an organic farmer and sustainable agriculture pioneer who's in the habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve—and in his hat. Often seen with a few stalks of the ancient grain Kamut® tucked into his wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Bob Quinn is pioneering sustainable agriculture and alternative energy in his state of Montana. He's incredibly knowledgeable about Khorasan wheat, commercially known as Kamut®, that he grows on his farm, but that's certainly not Bob's only area of expertise.

Plus: Kamut legends, why it's a registered trademark, how Italy is obsessed with it, and using recycled veggie oil to power his farm. Tune in to hear more!

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern: Racial (In)Justice, Immigration and Labor in the Food System Mar 04, 2019

Show notes

Can you understand something like food without considering politics, economics and social conditions? Professor Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern doesn't think so. Catch her insights on this week's episode of Rootstock Radio.

Tune in to hear about:

The lowdown on guest worker programs in agriculture: what they are, why they're gaining popularity again—and why they're problematic.
How social violence and economic exclusion in the marketplace turns farmers into migrant farm workers.
The history of farm workers being left out of progressive labor reforms like 40-hour work weeks and the right to unionize.
Hope! An opportunity emerging for immigrant farm workers as (predominantly) white farmers are retiring across the country.

Liz Carlisle: Lentils, Legumes & the Power of Pulses Feb 25, 2019

Show notes

Tune in to hear about:

- How farmers in Montana turned a cover crop into a cash crop and are fixing nutrients in their soil, all while taking a "slow money" approach.

- Liz' realizations about conversation and land stewardship in the prairies of Montana.

- How Liz was inspired by Montana politician Senator Jon Tester, who is himself an organic farmer!

- What changed in Montanan agriculture during the farm crisis of the 80s.

- How the transition to sustainable agriculture practices affected farm communities.

- Lentils, legumes and pulses!

Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Terry Oxford: Sustainable Urban Beekeeping Feb 18, 2019

Show notes

Terry Oxford is a beekeeper…on the rooftops of downtown San Francisco. It's true! Urban areas can often be better habitat for bees than the countryside because of the parks and residents' gardens that tend to grow flowers during a wider season than happens in nature. But they have one big thing looming against them: the chemicals used in those parks and gardens put urban bees at more risk.

Tune in to hear about:

- The sophisticated way honeybees think about, and plan for, the future. (Hint: they're light years ahead of us!)

- Gender roles in beehives, and how sustainable beekeeping supports BOTH the male and female bees. (Conventional beekeeping often cuts males out of the operation entirely).

- How chemicals used in cities have created a world full of poisonous flowers. (Let that sink in for a minute.)

- The most efficient way to create food for pollinators in a city.

- The story of pollination—magical AND sexy.

- Why Terry is reducing her beekeeping practice while expanding it in other ways.

Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Leah Penniman: Amplifying the Voices of Black and Brown Farmers Feb 11, 2019

Show notes

Tune in to hear about:

- What cover cropping and vermicomposting have in common.

- How Europeans essentially kidnapped skilled Black agriculturalists.

- How Leah's upbringing and experiences brought her to a connection with the earth and farming.

- Why changing diets in marginalized communities really is an access issue NOT an education, motivation, or anything-else issue.

- The incredible programs Soul Fire Farm is running, how they came about, and where they'd like to go from here.

Leah is a Black Kreyol farmer who has been tending the soil for twenty years and organizing for an anti-racist food system for fifteen years. She's an educator, food justice activist, executive director of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land.

Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

Fred Provenza: Where Wonder Meets Science (And Why They Aren't Mutually Exclusive) Feb 04, 2019

Show notes

Listen in to hear about:

- Imbuing his writing (and latest book) with a little more heart and soul than your average scientific text.

- Plant consciousness and what Fred thinks about it—Totally implausible? Absolute fact? Tune in to find out.

- How plants can sense nutrients and how this "nutritional wisdom" has been lost in humans.

- The possibility of regaining nutritional wisdom (there may still be hope!)

- One low-cost change you can make in your life that will help "link us back to the land," as Fred puts it.

Listen at the link below, on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.

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