#161: Co-director Dave Chapman joins our newest executive board member and Real Organic Project certified grain farmer Anna Jones-Crabtree for an interview by Al Gore at his Climate Underground Summit in November of 2023.
Anna Jones-Crabtree holds a Ph.D in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a registered professional engineer and an early accredited US Green building Professional. She has fostered a national sustainable operations effort for the US Forest Service serving as the first Regional Sustainable Operations Coordinator and as the National Sustainable Operations Director. She lives and farms in Havre, MT at Vilicus Farms with her husband, Doug.
Dave Chapman owns and operates Long Wind Farm in East Thetford, VT, which concentrates on soil-grown glasshouse tomatoes that are produced year round. Dave and ellow Vermont tomato farmer Davey Miskell noticed the suspicious appearance of hydroponic tomatoes from other countries being sold with the USDA organic sticker several years ago. Their research led to a web of injustices affecting real organic farmers, including berry growers, dairy producers, grain farmers and more. The Real Organic Project was founded in 2017 and has evolved into an add-on food label. It is a100% farmer-led organization.
To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:
https://realorganicproject.org/anna-jones-crabtree-dave-chapman-al-gore-episode-one-hundred-sixty-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/
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Senator Jon Tester: Farmers Need Capitalism With Competition
Michael Pollan: Antitrust + Democracy At Your Dinner Table
Bonus: Helen Kees | Turn The Barn Lights Back On
Mark Kastel: An Organic Watchdog Goes After Big Dairy
Chellie Pingree: Failures + Opportunities of US Agricultural Policies
Dave Chapman: Founding Real Organic Project, A Farmer-Led Movement
Encore: All About Real Organic Project + The Real Organic Podcast
Kris Nichols Part Two: Carbon Sequestration Is Our Responsibility
Kris Nichols Part One: Farm-Geeking Out On Soil Biology
Michael Kilpatrick: Small Farms Can Earn Good Livings
Eric Sideman: Organic Means You Must Love Soil
Alan Lewis: Why Real Farm Food Is Rarely Found In Stores
Woody Tasch: Investing In Your Local Soil With Slow Money
Anne Ross: Investigating International Grain Fraud
Ben Dobson: Luddites, Take-nologists, and 4th Grade Climate Science
Jennifer Taylor: Infusing Farmers With The Organic Experience
Walter Jehne Part 2: The True Costs Of Cheap Food
Walter Jehne Part 1: Hydrology, Desertification, And Climate
Didi Pershouse: Water, Water, Water And The Soil Carbon Sponge
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