Ground Work

Themes: Healing Chronic Illness, Animal-Based Diets, Intersection of Big Food and Big Pharma, Decentralization of Systems, Listening to your Gut

Brett Ender embarked on a healing journey in 2016 that would see him hospitalized from debilitating ulcerative colitis and taking a 65,000 dollar drug once every 8 weeks to having no signs of inflammation or microinflammation in 2019. What happened in between? In 2018, Brett went full carnivore and within 2 weeks saw a complete abatement of symptoms. His story, these days, isn’t all that rare but where it led Brett, into a deep exploration of health and nutrition, food systems, and regenerative agriculture. Today, he is half of the Meat Mafia duo, where he explores nutrition and food with guests on his podcast. In this episode, we unpack his healing journey and the rise of chronic conditions like ulcerative colitis. Why are these inflammatory autoimmune conditions on the rise? Can they be cured? How do we leverage diet and lifestyle interventions to our benefit? Brett and I also explore what it means to invest in your health and the ROIs you might not have considered when it comes to “giving up” foods you love that might not love you back. We talk about meat as a healing modality and finding the motivation to spark change. We do a deep dive into the history of our current food model and how food and pharmaceuticals have gotten us into this mess and how decentralization can get us out of it. Brett is incredibly inspirational and throughout this journey, he makes catalyzing change feel simple and actionable.

We also talk about:

• How to talk to your doctor and become the CEO of your own health
• How to become your own experiment
• Gut feelings and finding your intuition
• The importance of continuing to have conversations with people who view things differently
• & so much more

Find Brett:

Anne Biklé and Dave Montgomery are a husband and wife team and authors of the newly released What Your Food Ate and the trilogy: Dirt: the Erosion of Civilizations, the Hidden Half of Nature, and Growing a Revolution. Together, with Anne’s lens of biology, and David’s lens of geology, they explore the topics of soil, land, and human health. In this episode, we explore all things soil. Starting with an exploration of how many dynamics between organisms above ground feel combative, but life beneath the soil is truly collaborative. Anne and Dave explore nutrient cycles and how nutrition in the form of minerals is liberated from rocks by microbial and fungal life and recycled through time. We also explore how plants and animals (including humans) get their nutrition. Anne and Dave touch on the state of our soils and what it means to have lost around half of our soil organic matter in a short amount of time and what we can do about it. Touched on are ideas around taking a long view, and how we can do that with our own health and land health and how the history of the treatment of soil might teach us a little bit more about looking into the future. We look at not just regenerative agriculture, but also the impacts of chemical and mechanized agriculture. Ultimately, Anne and Dave guide us towards the future and just how much hope and resiliency nature is capable of.

We also talk about:

• Policy changes informing changes in practice
• Boom and bust cycles of agriculture and civilization
• & so much more

Find Anne + Dave:

China Tresemer is at once writer, artist, winemaker, farmer, and something else altogether. Her new website, Still Life with Field Notes, is dedicated to weaving together the threads of her work in collaboration with the earth - from her art, writing, recipes, and beyond. At home in the space where the Hood River meets the Columbia River, between rainforest and desert, China grows plants, animals, and grapes at Hiyu Wine Farm. She opens by talking about how farming is her medium, and in the conversation the theme of medium, in between, and liminal recurs. In this episode, we explore the natural winery she co-founded, Hiyu, and what it means to grow dozens upon dozens of grape varietals under categories such as light phenomena, birds of prey, constellations, and the hedgerow. We get curious about the space where terrestrial bodies meet celestial bodies and where astrology influences people and plants alike. We dive deep into unpacking terroir through the lens of the beautiful intimacy we can find with animal, land, season, and people. China shares her thoughts on recipes, cooking, and how taste invites us to connect to something deeper. Fermentation is at the heart of many of the inner workings of Hiyu and we explore its connection to transformation - whether it’s compost into fertility, grapes into wine, or leaven into bread. This is a wide ranging and beautiful conversation for ushering in the Autumn season.

We also talk about:

• Permaculture, Biodynamic, and ultimately - learning to read the land
• Autumn and the space between
• Farming and the connection to the spiritual
• & so much more

Find China:

Brandi Stanley is a walking and talking paradox and you are, too. This episode is a long-form podcast between two people that don’t know how to be bite-sized. Often discussed through the lens of paradox where paradox is the answer and not the problem, and pleasure is found in the pursuit of all the questions. In it, Brandi discusses finding purpose in her life as a generalist for whom curiosity is always burning. We talk about aliveness as a North Star for purpose in that, according to Brandi, “whatever wakes up aliveness is your purpose.” We talk about connection - both connecting disparate ideas and also what happens when we become disconnected and it manifests as illness in our bodies, divisiveness in our culture, and breakdowns in our ecology. Brandi shares about the role of religion in her life and her exploration of the intentional split between matter and the sacred, and how she is reintegrating them in her life. We explore the idea of ‘living in the gift’ and how we can share our gifts with the world and how we can receive the gifts of others.

We also talk about:

• The intersection of eroticism + aliveness
• Learning to stop cutting off pieces of yourself to belong
• Holding complexity
• Finding purpose in illness

Find Brandi

Dr. Anthony Gustin is a man leveraging his curiosity to find opportunities in the problems of our modern age. He started as a chiropractor working with elite level athletes and saw the need for education around nutrition. That first crossover led him into founding Perfect Keto, Equip Foods, and helping put together Zero Acre Farms. He’s as much of a disruptor as he is a dreamer - and lately, he’s been getting into farming on his small farm, Joyfield Farms, outside of Austin, Texas. In this conversation, we explore modeling life after Wendell Berry and having a balance between intellectual and more physical and farm-related pursuits. We talk about the natural state of humans and whether or not we can get back to it, and if we can’t, what might come next and how in order to build it we have to start trying to solve some problems of progress. Anthony shares how to get people engaged with everything from eating real food to buying directly from farms and how some of his companies have served as stepping stones in that space. We dive into the scale of agriculture currently and what it’s going to take to get smaller farms in financial shape to begin to provide a viable alternative to the corporate organism. Anthony also shares some of his big questions about farming, as a self-professed novice, and how people have reacted to his viewpoints. This conversation asks big questions but also posits big solutions.

We also talk about:

• Americans consumption of over 70 billion pounds of polyunsaturated fatty acids per year - can animal fats compete?
• Finding a spiritual practice coming from an atheist background
• The importance of community
• & so much more.

Find Dr. Anthony Gustin

This is an episode you won’t want to miss, chock full of conversations around rightness, death, farming, and preservation - not just of food - but of ways of life. Caught in the heat of August and the peak of harvest, we talk about what it means to preserve something beyond just what is going into our freezers, cans, and solar dehydrators. We talk about preserving a different way of life. In it, we unpack the ways that death invites us to experience the full range of our humanity and connectedness. Tara dives into farming in Canada and beyond and what regulations might mean for the future freedom of our food system. There is an honest and in depth conversation on marriage, the highs and the lows, and how we can show up in service to our spouse. Within that, we cover what bulls and men have in common and how thoroughly both should be celebrated. We explore service over purpose and why chasing happiness isn’t the answer. Throughout the conversation, we talk about raising animals, eating delicious food, celebration of small farms, and freedom.

We also talk about:

• Going beyond what is comfortable and safe
• Nutrition
• & so much more!

Find Tara

Will Harris of White Oak Pastures is a 5th generation rancher in Bluffton, Georgia. Will switched from a conventional model of farming to a holistic model in the 90’s and has been building not just soil organic matter, but also community, in his small rural town - once named one of the poorest in America. Now raising 10 different species, with integrated processing facilities, and a team of over 170 people, has given Will Harris a lot of ups and downs to consider what the business and mission of resiliency is all about. We talk about his recent viral moment discussing Bill Gates becoming the largest farmland owner in the U.S. We dive deep into resiliency - not just as it applies to land, but also as it applies to communities and businesses. Our discussion around finances runs deep and Will is transparent about how money flows in and out of White Oak Pastures and why traditional financial institutions won’t touch farming - but there are other options. Will highlights how market access and getting your product to consumers is one of the biggest hurdles in the business and how ‘greenwashing’ in the market has made it harder for small businesses to bust into the space occupied by multinational corporations. At the heart of the conversation, is an idea of coming home and digging in to build up rural America, just like Will has done with Bluffton

We also talk about:

• The importance of slaughter and processing in the farm to table process
• How fundamental cycles - water cycles, microbial cycles, nutrient cycles are to farming
• Carbon tunnel vision
• & so much more

Find Will Harris and White Oak Pastures:

In this episode, Irene Lyon breaks down not just the fundamentals of the nervous system but just how fundamental healing your nervous system is. It’s where we deepen our connection to ourselves and our environment. You’ll learn about how the nervous system is set in early childhood and how that forms the foundation for how we interact with the world. We dive into how we can harness neuroplasticity and the same regeneration and resiliency we see in nature to begin to shift the way our nervous system is regulated. As chronic health conditions and depression are on the rise, Irene looks at something that may be at the root of the matter - the state of our nervous systems. It may not be a quick fix, and we cover all the myths around the hacks and quick fixes that dominate the wellness sphere these days, and the truth that healing the nervous system is about building devotion to your body for the long haul. Irene shares her own story of how injuries and childhood experiences shaped her journey and how weaving together her work in the personal training and fitness world, somatic experiencing, and nervous system training with some of the world’s foremost practitioners - Peter Levine and Kathy Kain - led her to create a whole library of education and courses for healing your nervous system. We also explore how healing the nervous system isn’t just about the individual, but also about the next generation.

We also talk about:

• Is the vagus nerve overhyped?
• Why meditation may not be working for you
• Why a preconception nervous system reset may be in order
• What nature teaches us about the nervous system

Find Irene

In this episode, we dive into the nervous system’s connection to chronic illness. Over 50% of Americans have at least 1 chronic illness and 46% of American children also suffer from a chronic illness. Diet, toxin exposure, circadian biology all play a role in chronic illness but what about the nervous system? In part 2 of our journey into the nervous system with Irene Lyon, we explore the nervous system’s role in chronic illness - and the research behind it might just surprise you. We talk about the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study and what it exposed about the nervous system’s role in chronic illness. She also explains the mechanism where fight, flight, and freeze create a situation that can cause illness. Irene also discusses finding a healthy balance with technology and the way we share our personal lives and how our relationship with our phones is changing our nervous systems. In an important note, we talk about finding safety within ourselves and not outsourcing our power of healing to gurus, doctors, or anyone else. This interview is packed full of information, but it’s also a study in becoming our own healers.

We also talk about:

• Victim consciousness
• Intergenerational Trauma
• Fawn Response
• & so much more

Related Episodes:

Part 1 with Irene

Find Irene

Your mineral status is reflected in the mineral status of the soils, of your mother, and of your grandmother. Hammid Jabbar is exploring the way the mineral matrix affects our energy and the way minerals connect us back to our universal nature. In this episode, we look at the mineral depletion in soils and what that might mean about our own mineral status. Hamid first got interested in minerals through the lens of ancestral diets and then, later, plant medicines. After finding Morley Robbins’ work and the Root Cause Protocol, Hamid began to see first hand how changing his mineral status was improving his health. We first explore the role of mitochondria and how our maternal matrix informs our biology and just how much our mineral status in preconception, pregnancy, and beyond influences both our health and the health of our children. Much of this discussion looks through the lens of copper, as we get curious about her role in the regulation of iron, of our energy creation, and health. We discuss thirst as a product of mineral depletion and how mental health is also reflective of mineral status. Hamid offers a beautiful perspective on why we should do away with the idea of the mind/body connection and come home to our wholeness and how sound can heal.

We also talk about:

• Time
• Integrating knowledge and finding a season for rest
• How EMFs are impacting us and how we can become less sensitive
• All about retinol

Find Hamid

Dr. Stephan van Vliet is at the forefront of researching what he calls the ‘dark matter’ of nutrition. Beyond the nutrition facts panel, beyond just protein, fat, and carboyhydrates and beyond the vitamins and minerals we are familiar with lies a world called metabolomics where thousands and tens of thousands of compounds and phytochemicals exist. Dr. van Vliet is looking at these compounds and in how food is grown - whether it’s conventional, regenerative (which Dr. van Vliet refers to as agroecological) and whether it’s plant-based or animal-based agriculture. In this episode, we explore the nutrient cycle from soil to plant to animal to human and back to soil in depth. We look at biodiversity from the level of metabolomics, whether it’s diverse forage for cattle to graze, or a diverse array of species to nourish the soil, or diversity in the human diet. We discuss everything from older animals, water in the West, what flavor may indicate, seasonality and how it influences the compounds in meat, and so much more.

We also talk about:

• Are older animals more rich in phytonutrients?
• How seasonality influences phytonutrient content
• Can humans have the innate wisdom in their food choices we see in animals?
• Do we have tunnel vision when it comes to greenhouse gases?
• Farmer Pprotests in the Netherlands (Dr. van Vliet is from the Netherlands)

Find Dr. van Vliet

Ashleigh VanHouten is at the center of exploring muscles - both building them in the gym and cooking them in the kitchen. Author of cookbooks Carnivore-ish and It Takes Guts and pioneer of women’s strength training programs her work makes cooking and exercise feel easy and accessible. During this conversation, Ashleigh and Kate explore the world of incorporating organ meats into your diet from a place of no shame - whether you’re highlighting them or hiding them, these nutrient dense superfoods deserve a place on your plate. Ashleigh talks about being a woman in male-dominated industries and how marketing has shaped the way women eat and train over the years, for better and worse. She talks about how we can celebrate the differences in women’s physiological and hormonal outlays to train better, prioritize recovery, and get the protein women need in their diets. In that same vein, Ashleigh discusses her carnivore-ish pregnancy and what it has been like to begin to introduce the next generation to nutrient dense foods like organ meats in her baby’s diet. This conversation is wide-ranging and incredibly empowering.

We also talk about:

• Healthspan and considering muscle mass as we age
• Taking a critical look at our end goals by asking “to what end?”
• Prioritizing feeling good and how the byproduct might be looking good

Find Ashleigh

Brandi Stanley, who is an incredible interviewer and explorer of paradox, was generous enough to share this interview of Kate from her podcast, This Plus That. In this interview, Kate explores the paradox of life and death, the desire for things to taste better and what that means ecologically. She expounds on the difference between conventional and ‘regenerative’ agriculture and the history of reciprocity between animals and plants. She also talks about how life thrives at edge zones, the place where forest meets field and stream meets field and how much richness and biodiversity we can find there. No podcast with Kate would be complete without a dive into Ancel Keys and how we replaced fat with sugar much to our detriment. Additionally, Brandi and Kate explore their shared love of complexity, nuance, and long form.

If you loved Brandi, and we know you will, you can find her podcast here. You can also look forward to an interview with her on this podcast soon!

Find Brandi and This Plus That:

Will Reusch has 16 years of experience as a high school teacher first in a public school in East LA and now in Private School -  a teacher of history, civics, geography, government, and more - his main mission is to teach kids not what to think, but HOW to think. We explore the pitfalls of the current education system, everything from the unnatural environment of fluorescent lights to how curiosity, in the current paradigm, is viewed as disruptive and compliance is what makes a better student. Will aims to turn that on its head, exploring how we can connect kids to the material they’re learning, help them seek out the why, and develop an open and curious mind. We also dive into how to have conversations as adults in an increasingly polarized political environment, asking how we can build bridges instead of deeper divides. Will’s work on instagram has been to create a space where conversation is welcome and a diversity of ideas and viewpoints are encouraged when looking at some hard-hitting topics. We touch on the place of religion and get curious about how a declining belief system has potentially led to a sort of unmooring and seeking framework for beliefs in political structures instead. We dive into the role grief might play in culture and how our turning away from death and our “disgust” response leads us to shield ourselves. Throughout the conversation, the idea of the importance of struggle is present, and how, even if it’s manufactured, struggle is important for creating a sense of purpose.

We also talk about:

• How just looking at things through the lens of “good” and “bad” leaves no room for nuance and complexity
• How we can scale good education in a K-12 model
• Seeking out disconfirmation and its importance in critical thinking
• How meat got vilified and how that conversation is going

Where to Find Will:

Lacey Jean is. Lacey Jean is many things, a polymath at heart, at once butcher, mobile processor, hide tanner, shearer, and shepherdess but none of the many hats she wears defines Lacey Jean. This is one of those incredibly juicy conversations where you walk away feeling more alive for it, dripping with honesty and earnestness, triumph and failure, and the meandering path we are all taking as we try to find home within ourselves. As Lacey embarks on building her own Geodome home by hand in the Pacific Northwest, she muses about what it’s taken to build a home in herself. Already, as she has started to move in, she has noticed how living in the round is changing her mindset and we explore the round robustness of cycles - from life to death and back into life again. Along the way, we talk about all the skills she has built to get here and what it means to be capable. Lacey talks about holding death as a butcher and mobile processor but also what it means to let parts of your self and your dreams go so others can take root. Lacey's story is incredibly inspiring and everyone will find wisdom in this conversation!

We also talk about:

• Using social media as inspiration, not comparison
• Raising sovereign children

Find Lacey

Sarah Kleiner has been on a health journey and each leap she has made has been because of her children. In this episode, we talk about finding fertility and upending the traditional paradigm of fertility treatments and preconception diet. Sarah’s journey truly begins when her daughter was diagnosed with autism 13 years ago, leading Sarah to explore the world of diets from vegetarian to carnivore. More recently, after failed attempts to conceive and hold a pregnancy, Sarah looked to circadian biology, red light therapy, and cold exposure to help her become pregnant. Sarah walks us through that journey, what she’s craving during this pregnancy, all while unlocking vital information about our exposure to the sun, how we can think about hydration, EMFs, and so much more.

We also talk about:

• What the rise of sunscreen use and the decline in health might have in common
• How we can get healthy sun exposure
• Parenting fearlessly
• & so much more

Find Sarah:

Tristan Scott wants to figure out where beef and bitcoin overlap - and the areas where they overlap turns out to be rather surprising and plentiful. Is the moment when Nixon takes the U.S. off the Gold Standard where both our health and currency woes begin? Tristan and Kate explore the answer to that question by looking at two parallel journeys: a weakening U.S. dollar and the rise of Bitcoin and the precipitous decline in health and the centralization of our food system and the rebirth of the local and regenerative food movement.  Are bitcoin and regenerative beef disrupting the current paradigm? Could be. Kate’s father had a saying: “You can see as far up a bull’s ass as I can” and this holds true for looking at the future trends for bitcoin and beef, but at the end of this marathon episode, it’s clear that the time for decentralization is nigh. Please note, there is no financial advice in this episode, nor should you take it as such.

Find Tristan:

This episode unpacks the relationships between all things, taking a systems view of mind, body, and soil. Bobby Gill is the Director of Development and Communications at the Savory Institute but he is also on a similar quest to uncover the way life is connected on a multitude of different levels. This is a deep dive into ecology, humanity’s relationship with nature over time, and finding ecological literacy in an age of ecological illiteracy. Bobby and Kate unpack the idea of systems thinking through the lens of the textbook ‘Systems View of Life’. Technology, psychedelics, ruminants, nutrient cycling, parenting are all part and parcel of this wide ranging conversation. We also explore the way that meat has been portrayed in media and dive into some of Bobby’s work with the Savory Institute. This is a conversation that is truly not to be missed.

We also talk about:

• Holistic planning
• Ruminants as ecosystem engineers
• Embodying the full expression of life and health
• & so much more!

Resources:

Carrie Bennett is unveiling the interconnectedness between us and our environment. Exploring health and connection through the lens of quantum biology, Carrie lays the ground work for understanding the electric nature of our bodies and how they interact with our environment to create energy. This podcast explores and uncovers the deep interconnectedness of mind, body, and soil that we’re always exploring and dives even deeper with discussions around exclusion zone water, EMFs, circadian biology, and more. She ties everything back to our connection with nature through light, ground, and water. Not only does Carrie elegantly deliver the foundational knowledge we need to understand these concepts but she provides an abundance of information on resources for quantum healing, many of them free and right outside your door.  This is a powerhouse of a podcast that spans both the technical and the actionable in an introduction to quantum biology.

We also talk about:

• The surprising nature of collagen
• Light as a nutrient
• Seasonal living in colder climates
• & so much more!

Resources:

We follow the journey of a log from forest to home with Katrina Amaral of Timberdoodle Farm. Have you ever wondered where the wood beneath your feet, in your walls, and your furniture comes from? As Katrina puts it “pretty much wherever you are, you’re within 5 feet of a wood product.” Katrina brings her lens of conservation work to her and her husband’s sawmill in New Hampshire. Drawing similarities between a local and more globalized food system, Katrina guides us through a look at what a local and global lumber trade looks like. As wood prices skyrocket, it’s a good time to get curious about what the lumber market is all about and how to tap into your local one. Covered is everything from forest stewardship, urban wood removal, utilizing local species over trendy species of wood, and bringing architects and designers into the conversation. If you’ve ever wanted to better connect with wood and the forest - this is the podcast!

We also talk about:

• Finding financial sustainability in the sawmill industry
• Ground nesting birds
• & so much more!

Resources:

Erin Pata is one of those people whose journey makes you deeply consider your own life’s journey. Her journey starts in Ohio and winds through ranching and dry farming in the Jalama Valley in California, many National Parks, motherhood, graphic design, and leads her to where she stands now: at the precipice of attempting the summit of Mt. Rainier. We talk about why we chase our dreams - whether they’re mountains, art, or just a life guided by wanderlust. Our conversation leads us to look at life through the lens of motherhood and the lessons we impart to our children that we could probably stand to learn ourselves. Throughout the conversation, we hit on values that guide her life - things like freedom, bravery, curiosity, and creativity. We dive into her passion for tracking megafauna and how it led her to buy a piece of property where she’s building a cabin in Montana. Through all the time she’s spent in nature, we talk about how nature has the ability to bring a sense of peace and calm to highly sensitive people, and we have a detailed conversation about both of our experiences as HSP’s. This is a rollicking conversation and Erin’s wisdom and zest for life is contagious.

We also talk about:

• Erin’s work as a freelance graphic designer
• Problem solving
• Learning to mountaineer
• & so much more!

Resources:

In this episode, Kate takes a step outside of her relationship with her husband and really gets curious about what makes the man she married tick. This discussion is both rollicking and intimate. Josh Curtiss has been collecting skills over the last two decades - as a master carpenter, butcher, farmer, welder, entrepreneur, and so much more. We talk about how he arrived at the decision to collect skills and how he tended to and cultivated them over the years. Not just that, but we talk about play and joy as skills that we must practice. As Josh says “play is the embodiment of practicing joy.” Josh had a lot to say about what it means to play and how we can create a sense of play in everyday life. We dive into the food system, talking intimately about what it means to invest in our food and in our health. We parse out the difference between lifespan and healthspan and what keeps us accountable in our journeys toward health, and we talk about running businesses together over the last decade and how we approach farming and entrepreneurship as a couple. Our intimate conversation leads us in and out of the intricacies of growing and evolving together. And throughout the conversation, is a thread of joy, and what it means to cultivate it. This conversation is as surprising and gentle as it is intimate.

We also talk about:

• Raising animals
• Finding presence and focus
• Dangerous jobs

Resources:

“You are not a drop in the ocean; you are the entire ocean in a drop.” - Rumi.

Salt is not just a seasoning on your table - it is the currency of cells, the crystal of life. This podcast unfolds in two parts. At the beginning is a mini-dive into salt with Kate. Why does salt matter so much? From history, to our biology, salt has an important place at the table. In the second part, an interview with Nancy Bruns of JQ Dickinson Salt-Works in West Virginia. Nancy shares the story of her 7th generation salt operation in the Kanawha valley in Appalachia where they make salt by hand using the power of the sun and the briny waters of an ancient underground ocean. We explore the process of making salt and how it connects us to the land, to our bodies, and to history.

• The salt-making process
• The importance of trace minerals
• The difference between JQD salt and sea salt
• A brief history of salt
• & so much more

Resources:

Chelsea Connor is one of those people who exudes the kind of magic that leads you back home to yourself. Combining science, research, and an innate understanding of the nervous system, our conversation is a journey about the art of slowing down, learning to listen to our bodies, and beginning to heal our nervous systems. We deep dive into the nervous system, exploring physiology alongside a more intuitive approach to how we might begin to heal starting with looking to our childhood passions as a gateway to that healing journey. We don’t leave the conversation there, though, and we meander through topics like moving from the city to a rural environment and all that entails, finding who you are without society’s perceptions, the art of slowing down, understanding nervous systems through the lens of our relationship with our parents (and horses!), and so much more. Chelsea is not just a wealth of information but feels like a bright light in the health space, bringing a sense of joy and play to her work and a felt sense of magic to the world of our nervous systems. This conversation is a fun one!

We Also Talk About

• Our experiences as first-time horse owners
• Cacao and tapping into ritual
• Nourishment for body and mind
• EMFs and grounding
• Breathwork
• Attunement

Resources:

Lissa Monberg is a fifth generation farmer in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where she is steward to Hama Hama Oysters and Hama Hama Logging. We talk about natural resource management and the beautiful relationship between agriculture and aquaculture. Hama Hama celebrates their centennial this year, and we explore the ways in which a business changes over a century, going from resource extraction to resource sustainability to restorative stewardship. We explore plenty about the oysters Hama Hama is known for and a little about the clams we should be eating more of. We talk about cycles large and small as Lissa guides us through the seasons of a multi-generational business and the tidal cycles of the oyster business.

This podcast illuminates aquaculture and the way an oyster so perfectly reflects its ecosystem back to us through flavor but it is also the story of how time changes a place and the people who call it home.

GroundWork10 will get you a 10% discount on an order from Hama Hama through 5/31/22! We highly recommend that you have some oysters, clams, and mussels shipped right to your doorstep.

We Also Talk About

• Clams clams clams!
• The meditation we find in work
• Diversified farms
• Stewardship and family businesses

Resources:

Heather Hansman knows a thing or two about water. Adventurer, writer, and journalist, Heather Hansman embarked on a journey some years ago to raft the length of the Green River from the headwaters in Wyoming down through Utah. Along the way, she looked at shareholders along the length of the river: ranchers and ag, fisheries and fisherman, outdoorsmen and recreational users, rural and urban endeavors - and she puts it all together in her beautiful book Down River. Heather has also recently published Powder Days and her wonderful essays are found in publications from Outside to Scientific American. We talk a lot about water in the West - especially as the 100 year anniversary of the Colorado River Compact, which determined how the Colorado River water would be divided between 7 states, comes around this year. We dive into where that compact stands now and the issues facing water rights in the West now and in coming years. We also talk about how we connect to water - which is often through our time in nature. We dig into Heather’s adventures, connection to nature,  seasonal living, and so much more.

We Also Talk About

• Our brains and bodies on nature - from cold plunges and beyond
• How to connect to local water initiatives
• & so much more!

Resources:

Lynn Goodwin and Kim Welch are helping others connect to their health, the land, and their dharma - and they started with ghee. Farmtrue founders Lynn and Kim wanted to share the Ayurvedic principles that had changed their lives and knew that ghee was the perfect gateway - but their business stretches far beyond their 100% grass-fed and grass-finished ghee. In this episode, we let a lot of truths bubble up to the surface. We talk about living in connection with the seasons and nature and the basics of Ayurveda. We have a very open conversation about what it means to really source from local farmers and to be true to your mission as a business. We get vulnerable about the triumphs, hardships, and evolution of small business ownership. Not to mention - a deep dive into fat and ghee.

We Also Talk About:

• Finding spirituality and connection in nature
• Separating your value from your business
• Living out your dharma
• Seeking balance and harmony in mind, body, and soil.

Resources:

Brad Marshall knows a thing or two about fat. Farmer, butcher, chef, and molecular biologist; Brad has looked at fat through a lot of different lenses. He is known for his work around diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, more commonly known as PUFAs. We dig deep on the detrimental effects these are having on human, and even animal, health. Whether looking at PUFAs in vegetable oils or corn and soy fed hogs, we explore just how PUFAs are changing us.

We also get to explore how Brad translated his knowledge of PUFAs into his farming practices with pigs, exploring mob rotational grazing pigs and the incredible intuition of a hog’s palate for plants. We look at how the American, and even the global, diet has changed over the years and its implications for health. We dig into the financial model around farming, butcher shops, and the need for financial sustainability to exist alongside environmental sustainability.

Not to mention - we have a fair bit of fun - put two butchers and farmers in a conversation and watch as Brad breaks down a complicated topic with a lot of levity. This is a great episode for those that want to dig really deep into the science of fat and the art of raising pigs.

We Also Talk About

• History of the food system
• The Croissant Diet
• & more

Resources:

Shele Jessee is a polymath. Rancher, shepherd, tanner, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and beyond, Shele Jessee of Hollow Bone shares a peek into her philosophy and life in the Central Coast of California. We talk about her journey back to the land and into the world of ranching alongside stories around the state of drought and trust in rural communities in the West. Shele weaves the magic of turning her relationship with nature tactile through hide tanning and slow fashion. We dive into reciprocal relationships - both on and off the land. Shele shares her ideas around creating and finding beauty in the every day - ideas that I’m sure will resonate with all listeners.

We Also Talk About

• Ranching on leased land
• Supply chains
• Intuition and living a life full of feeling
• Entrepreneurship

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Alicia Brown is rooted in intention and it translates to every aspect of her farm, Edible Uprising, in Troy, NY. In this podcast, we start from the ground up, exploring how Alicia and her husband, Ben, approached starting a vegetable farm with over 150 weekly CSA  shares on just an acre of land. It all starts with soil, and we cover the way they care for the soil food web first on their farm. The result? The most delicious and nutrient dense vegetables and vibrant flowers you’ve ever seen. And it’s no coincidence - we discuss how the decline in soil health has directly correlated to the decline in nutrient density in our food. We also dive into what it means to run a human powered farm and to care for our bodies as farmers, what regenerating farmland across the country might look like, about efficiency and functionality and where beauty fits in, and so much more.

We Also Talk About

• Human powered farming
• Looking at soil testing
• The loss of nutrients in soil and food

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Ed Roberson, host of the Mountain and Prairie podcast and Conservation Director at the Palmer Land Conservancy, shares his journey through both his personal and professional life. We weave through Ed’s career in real estate that led him into conservation work in the West and his personal evolution and exploration in everything from ultramarathons to meditation. Ed is as inspiring as he is dynamic, as dedicated a father as he is a storyteller, and as voracious a reader as he is a conservationist.

We Also Talk About

• Meditation, breathwork, running
• Creating a practice around reading
• Rising above distraction
• Teddy Roosevelt
• Water rights in the West
• Conservation work

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In this inaugural solo episode, I cover my personal journey while weaving in the themes of mind, body, and soil that we’ll explore in future episodes. I talk about how my curiosity around nature and the meat industry led me to a career in regenerative agriculture, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and how working with regenerative farms and seeing nature’s incredible resiliency taught me about my own resiliency. This first episode is part my own human journey, part history of agriculture, and part the mirror that nature holds up for us to find our own nature.

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Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh