Real Organic Podcast

Zephyr Teachout: Reorganizing Food Systems For Real Food

290: Antitrust scholar Zephyr Teachout explains how monopoly power has reshaped food, retail, health care, media, technology, and nearly every other part of American life. A handful of grocery companies now control much of the marketplace, while dominant distributors use kickbacks and other questionable methods to control of shelf space. Zephyr lays out practical ways states can begin reversing that concentration. Drawing on the history of farmer-led populist movements, she argues that real food depends on democratic markets, strong communities, and alliances capable of challenging corporate oligarchy. https://realorganicproject.org/zephyr-teachout-reorganizing-food-systems-for-real-food 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. 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/directory⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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. To read our weekly newsletter and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/⁠

Bonus: Introducing No Small Endeavor: “What If We Get Climate Action Right? feat. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson”

Today, we are sharing an episode from the Signal Award-winning and 2026 Ambie Award-nominated podcast No Small Endeavor. Hosted by award-winning teacher and Professor of Theology and Ethics Lee C. Camp, No Small Endeavor explores what it means to live a good life, uncovering the habits, practices, and dispositions that facilitate human flourishing. In this episode, marine biologist, policy expert, and New York Times bestselling author Ayana Elizabeth Johnson who wrote What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures. Ayana asks a question that reframes everything: how do you respond to climate change with joy? Those two words, climate change, can fill us with dread, anxiety, and doom. Advocates for action are often fueled by breakneck urgency, but for many, that outlook is paralyzing. Johnson argues there is another way. "This is the work of our lifetime," she says, "so why don't we find ways to make it delightful?" In this conversation, she explains why the climate crisis is no less dire than the news makes it seem, but why climate activism must be rooted in hope and joy to be truly sustainable. Follow and listen to more episodes of No Small Endeavor here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-small-endeavor-with-lee-c-camp/id1513178238

Teri McCall: Jack's Fight, Roundup, And The Supreme Court

289: Teri McCall joins us to reflect on the life she built with her husband Jack, a farmer, before his death from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She talks about the early Monsanto litigation regarding Roundup (glyphosate) and why she chose to speak out publicly even when doing so felt frightening. Teri spoke at the People vs Poisons event in the spring of 26, just before the Supreme Court granted Bayer- Monsanto legal immunity against pesticide lawsuits. https://realorganicproject.org/teri-mccall-cancer-roundup-supreme-court 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. 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/directory⁠⁠⁠ 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. To read our weekly newsletter and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/⁠

John Fullerton: Regenerative Economics For A Living World

Former Wall Street banker John Fullerton traces the personal journey that led him to question the foundations of modern economics, inspired by witnessing 9/11 in real time and finding the seminal book "Limits to Growth." John explains why an economy dependent on perpetual material growth cannot remain stable on a finite planet, and why many of today’s ecological, social, political, and financial crises are deeply interconnected. Looking to living systems for guidance, he explores how cooperation, resilience, decentralization, healthy circulation, and attention to place could reshape finance and commerce. https://realorganicproject.org/john-fullerton-regenerative-economics-living-world 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. 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/directory⁠⁠ 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. To read our weekly newsletter and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here: ⁠⁠https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/⁠

James Cassidy: Soil, Civilization + The Future Of Farming

#286: Soil scientist and educator James Cassidy explains why the ground beneath us is far more than a medium for growing crops. Soil stores water and nutrients, supports biological communities, shapes regional food cultures, and has influenced the rise of nations and civilizations. Cassidy explores how grasslands and grazing animals created some of the world’s richest agricultural soils, how microbes make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants, and why farmers need both scientific measurements and direct observation of their land. He also challenges rigid prescriptions around no-till farming, organic matter, biological testing, and soil amendments, arguing that healthy agriculture depends on understanding the particular soil, climate, crop, and community involved. https://realorganicproject.org/james-cassidy-soil-civilization-future-farming 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. 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/directory⁠ 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. To read our weekly newsletter and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here: ⁠https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/⁠