With the climate crisis biting at our heels, disappearing ecosystems and the great extinction of species at hand, I wonder what in the world can bring us together?   When will we view this planet as our shared and sacred resource? To have and to hold one people under a shared biodiversityfor as long as… Continue reading Keep Your Personal Data Safe and Pray for Aliens

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The Earth's supply of natural resources is finite, and many resources are in very short supply. We must create a circular economy and move beyond a philosophy of single use. All products, and especially plastics, metals and textiles, should be designed with the intention that their raw materials will be recovered and recycled.

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Almost everything we consume has been produced, manufactured and shipped to us using fossil fuels. How do we transition our entire lives to a regenerative renewable way of living? How do we behave as a species on this endangered planet to get us to the goal?

Let’s look at it as an opportunity we can all participate in and create new jobs and innovative technologies along the way!

It's our chance to understand what products we consume contribute most to Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

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At no other time in our history have we been inundated with so many unprecedented climate threats. The perils of megafires, extreme weather events, large swarms of locusts, and biological threats like the COVID-19 pandemic dominate. These hazards take lives and devastate agricultural livelihoods inflicting negative economic and nutritional consequences in our communities throughout the entire world. There are a few things you and I can do right now to help heal the planet and our food systems.

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It’s been a long cold winter, and if you’re like me, you’ve been sheltering in place warm and safe yet going a little stir crazy. Use this stirring to clean up your act and develop gratitude along the way.

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what can be gained from growing our own food? Family, community, nutrition and sense of place/

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What’s the difference between Sustainable and Regenerative?

Sustainable practices seek to maintain current systems without degrading them for future generations.

Regenerative aims to restore the whole systems we live in, to become resilient and dynamic, beneficial for humans and the entire planet.

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Our wanton exploitation of the planet is showing up in our backyards. So, we must begin restoring balance at home. Here are few things you can do right now to help heal the planet.

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If you’re like many others who are becoming more mindful of the fact that organic food products are much better for you and the environment, then you might go as far as having your own livestock. Whether you have a lilliputian back yard or a large fertile field, it can be done with a bit… Continue reading Is Raising Organic Animals for Food for You?

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Consumers are switching to organic milk for a variety of reasons. Certified organic milk must comply with animal welfare standards, and the use of pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones is strictly prohibited.

It might cost a few extra cents per carton, but there are plenty of reasons to make the switch to organic milk.

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I’ve recently discovered that what comes into my “brain,” my consciousness – is mundanely filtered. I choose to believe what resonates with my past training and environmental upbringing. It is as different for you and me as it is for us all. Those pesky filters keep me from expanding into a new reality.

It’s been drilled in and solidified by years of education and social conditioning, punishment and reward. Pavlovian repercussions of Newtonian paradigms must cease.

Albert Lusk taught us to dream big and allow for shifts. To open up to new possibilities to not focus on the negative. To believe that THE most imperative paradigm shifts of our life are happening at this very moment.

Disruption is the name of the game now. We need this to heal our divided people and to heal our planet. Don’t forget to love and enliven along the way.

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Today we have over 7.8 billion hungry people to feed which requires that we must shift our food system. As we move forward into the new year, let’s make an effort to choose organic – food that has a purpose, serves society, and protects the environment and our health.

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The Winter solstice has come and gone on our small and spinning planet. From where I stand in the Northern Hemisphere, it marked the shortest day and the longest night—winter’s official beginning. My friends in New Zealand and Australia who reside south of the Equator experience this solstice very differently—they enjoy the longest day and… Continue reading The Winter Solstice Reveals The Urgency of Regeneration

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Organic conferences and events will be virtual for some time, and supporting them is crucial now more than ever. These virtual events provide the opportunity to reach more people and have a greater impact ever before! That’s Regenerative Thinking!

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What really matters as we move into 2021?
We must begin to dream big, promise more, and keep raising the bar for ourselves and everyone else.

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The Biden-Harris plan for Agriculture includes priorities that Organic Agriculture can enhance and help build a better plan for our food system. Georgia's special run-off election that will determine who controls the Senate. Those two seats filled by Democrats Jon Ossoff and Reverend Warnock will be KEY to getting the Biden- Harris and Organic’s agenda funded and done.

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All people deserve the right to nutritious organic food, health care, education, clean energy and a planet that isn’t degraded.

While we sort this out and deal with a global pandemic, here are a few tips to keep us safe, sane and strong, while making the planet a better place.

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Those early girls, they get me every time.
When I see them:
I do not hold them lightly
I only squeeze them slightly
To determine which direction they must go
To the saucepan or the drier
Gazpacho or the fryer
My hungry mouth is their ultimate goal!
Now it’s our turn to show how much we care.

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The summer is over and growing your own food in the garden has been fun and rewarding. If you have the land and inkling to move forward to actual farming, you’ll need some tools and tips to graduate to a full-fledged organic farm.   As exciting as it is, you need to work on making your… Continue reading From Organic Gardening to Farming – You’ll Need More than a Green Thumb

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People in Lawrence, Kansas or Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wouldn’t be having the abundance of fresh organic food right now if Albert Lusk hadn’t put the wheels on it. He changed the world and the way we eat. Many people are grateful for his early contributions.

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It’s the beginning of fall here in the Northern Hemisphere. My garden is in its final throes of budding with stubborn late-season beans, squash and cucumbers. The pollinators are still hungrily at work, careening about with great pantaloons of golden pollen. The earth has tilted as it has for a millennium, yet all is not… Continue reading How Retailers Can Make a Difference in the Fight to Save Pollinators and Our Food

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If you are one of the many people suffering from and feeling the effects of our changing climate, like me, it’s time to get engaged. The West Coast is still burning, with over 7 million acres charred so far. My eyes water from the smoke and the displaced people—the lost wildlife and ecosystems. Zombie fires… Continue reading How to Engage in Mitigating Climate Change Before It’s Too Late

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Most of us spend a prodigious amount of time in our bed. If you sleep for 8 hours a day, that means you sleep for 229,961 hours in my lifetime or basically one-third of your entire life. Modern mattresses contain nefarious materials like flame retardants, formaldehyde, and benzene.
Should we be considering what we are sleeping on?

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Ecological homes have been growing in popularity in the past few years. And there’s a good reason for it. We see our world in disarray—we are weathering a global pandemic and witnessing drastic changes in our climate. We all want to be part of the solution, and home is a good place to start. Whether you are building a new home, adding square footage, or you just want to create a more earth-friendly environment, I have a few tips to help you create your Eco-Friendly home base:

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The extreme weather events of flooding, drought, extreme heat and wildfires, and hurricanes are in the news every day. Human-caused climate change has made the world warmer than it used to be, and the consequences have started to show. Organic agriculture presents a growing opportunity to mitigate climate change while creating economic, environmental, and health benefits for all food system participants.

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Are you working from home now?Here are five habits to adopt to keep you healthy and productive!

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I will never forget the first time I bit into a dry-farmed, early-girl tomato. It was 1984, and I was working at Community Foods, a natural foods collective. A coveralled man offered me a box of these red orbs to sell in our store. I found them to be a bit small. Since they were… Continue reading Molino Creek Farm Ablaze with Fire and Hope – Give Them the Lift They Need to Alight Again

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I can’t help but think it’s getting mighty precarious for our big-brained species from where I sit with ash raining down and smoke choking the air. The earth behaves like a petulant child, and we understand why we are the recipients of her fury. We can choose to retreat for fear of fire and flood,… Continue reading Let’s Tip Towards Reason and Heal This Chaos

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I began eating organic food back in the 1980s before Federal Regulations defined the category. Pesticides originated as chemicals used in warfare, and I intuitively felt that ingesting food grown with them just couldn’t be right. It’s true that sometimes I fudge a bit. If my local store doesn’t have organic onions (which is rare… Continue reading Six Days and Seven Nights – Eating Organic Makes a Big Difference

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My grandmother used the old adage “waste not want not” for good reason. She was a woman who lived during the Great Depression, she grew our family’s food most of her life. Planting, nurturing, harvesting and preserving food was her life—and she didn’t intend to waste any of it! In the US, we throw away… Continue reading Waste Not Want Not: Granny’s Tips on Reducing Food Waste

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I was recently on the phone with one of the original leaders of Organic Valley. He pointed out that we are both steeped well—like a couple of fine teas—in organic culture and history. We have both based our life on organic agriculture and food as a starting place of health and healing. We eat organic… Continue reading How My Life Became an Organic Lifestyle

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My grandfather was a man who cherished every morsel; he ate slowly and with purpose. As a child, I remember he was always the last to finish—and we did not leave the table until he was done. The midday meal was the most substantial and reverently honored. We sat and let him have the last… Continue reading How I Learned to Eat to Live

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I have been attempting to reconcile my place in the world. As it applies to my heritage, racial equality or lack thereof, and social justice. Of course, also realizing how food fits into the equation. This was a personal post for me to write and may not be for the faint-hearted. Growing up in Iowa,… Continue reading The History and Hope of My Iowa Tribe

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Storm clouds may seem to be gathering on multiple fronts these days, but there is hope in many areas. I believe at the root of every human being is a nugget of good—a place where we really want to do the right thing. The world is becoming a more environmentally conscious place. People recognize that… Continue reading Earth Friendly Living is Easier Than You Think. It Begins Right at Home.

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If you believe organic agriculture and organic food is good for you, people and the planet, it may be time to see food as a political act and get involved.

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Over the past several months, the world has been stuck in lockdown. Many of us have been self-isolating, hunkering down at home, so we don’t contract or spread the virus. Life isn’t the same as it was. We cannot do the things we once did, nor can we be with some of the people we… Continue reading Cultivating Mental Health is Key to Conquering the Pandemic

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  Since 1937, the Lundbergs have grown healthy, great-tasting rice while stewarding the soil, air, water, and wildlife as carefully as their crops. Lundberg Family Farms, led by the family’s third generation, uses sustainable farming practices and 100% renewable energy to craft wholesome rice, rice cakes, rice chips, risottos, quinoa, and more. All while protecting… Continue reading Grant Lundberg On Caring for Family, Customers and the Community During the Pandemic

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The modern concept of agroforestry emerged early in the 20th century but planting trees and shrubs amongst fields and furrows is very ancient indeed. The Romans were the first to write about it. But integrating trees with crops and animals is an ancient practice, likely dating back over 10,000 years ago when our ancestors first… Continue reading Is Agroforestry a Path to Help Feed Us and Care for our Planet?

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Want to maintain health and flexibility while sheltering in place? Read on and get your groove on.

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I want to wish everyone who reads this a happy and healthy 4th of July. We are celebrating our democracy and freedom in the midst of uncertain and unprecedented times. Some of us may be unemployed or underemployed. Some of us may be wary of going into the stores to purchase food. Many of us… Continue reading Organic Gardening Can Pave a Path to Self Sufficiency

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