Real Organic Podcast
Farmers interview scientists, activists, politicians, and authors engaged in protecting USDA organic food against an active corporate takeover. Real Organic Project released its add-on food label in stores and markets in 2021, and is focused on introducing eaters across the United States to our movement and its allies. In this podcast series, you'll meet the best organic and regenerative farmers around, as well as journalists, climate experts, policy makers and chefs (Dr. Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Leah Penniman, Bill Mckibben, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Eliot Coleman - to name a few!) who support our mission and have lent their voices and insights to explaining the importance of keeping corporate cheaters out of the real food movement. As bad players aim to redefine what food is for the sake of their own profits, we believe there is too much at stake for both human and planetary health today and into the future. Feed the soil, not the plant!!
Episodes
259 episodes
Leonard Diggs: Building Community-Based Farms for the Future
#252: Farmer, educator, and EcoFarm President Leonard Diggs joins Dave Chapman for a wide-ranging conversation about the evolution of organic agriculture, the legacy of EcoFarm, and the urgent need to move from commodity-based to community-base...
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Episode 252
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1:05:44
Michael Pollan: “Eat Food” Came From Joan Gussow
#251: Michael Pollan joins Dave Chapman for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of food, health, and the organic movement. Pollan reflects on his friendship with Joan Gussow, her prophetic warnings about industrial agriculture, and her inf...
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28:13
Karen Washington: Food Justice and the Power of Community
#250: Farmer, activist, and Real Organic ally Karen Washington joins Dave Chapman to talk about her decades-long fight for food justice and her friendship with food systems pioneer Joan Gussow Karen traces her journey from growing up in the Bro...
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Episode 250
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52:18
Hugh Kent: Saving A Real Organic Farm Through Direct Marketing
#249: Florida blueberry farmer Hugh Kent of King Grove Organic Farm shares the story of how corporate power and USDA negligence nearly drove his organic farm out of business - and how he saved it through direct marketing. Speaking at the Saving...
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Episode 249
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31:31
Eliot Coleman: The Self-Fed Farm
#248: Pioneer organic farmer Eliot Coleman returns to the Real Organic Podcast to share the ideas behind his newest book, The Self-Fed Farm and Garden: A Return to the Roots of the Organic Method. In conversation with Real Organic Project co-di...
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Episode 248
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1:08:25
"Eat Food": The Amazing Work Of Joan Gussow
#247: This week, we celebrate the life and work of Joan Gussow, the visionary nutritionist whose thinking transformed how many understand the connection between soil, food, and health. You'll hear from many food systems activists and thinkers, ...
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Episode 247
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58:07
Emily Oakley: A Standalone Label for Real Organic Project
#246: In this talk from the Saving Real Organic conference at Churchtown Dairy, Emily Oakley explains why so many small-scale, soil-based farms are dropping USDA certification - and why the time may be right for Real Organic Project to pursue i...
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Episode 246
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23:44
Saving Real Organic: Linley + Dave At Churchtown
#245: Recorded live at the Saving Real Organic conference at Churchtown Dairy on September 27, 2025, co-directors Linley Dixon and Dave Chapman share a joint message about the future of organic farming and our movement’s next chapter. ...
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Episode 245
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54:16
Bob Quinn: Healing Earth By Growing Food As Medicine
#244: Montana farmer and author Bob Quinn believes the cure for chronic disease begins in the soil. His research comparing ancient and modern wheat varieties has led him to found his own 600 acre institute in the middle of his organic grain far...
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Episode 244
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1:07:24
Naomi Oreskes: The True Cost Of Doubt
#243: Celebrated historian of science and author of Merchants of Doubt Naomi Oreskes exposes how powerful corporations distort science to protect profits, by using scientists who seek to promote their personal ideologies. She draws the...
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Episode 243
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1:01:13
Abby Rockefeller: Sewage Sludge Activist
#242: Abby Rockefeller has spent her life pushing back against the toxic legacy of sewage sludge. In this interview, she unpacks how America’s sewer systems pollute water, contaminate farmland, and endanger farmers and eaters alike. From compos...
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Episode 242
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51:17
Adam Nordell + Johanna Davis: PFAS Contamination + Organic
#241: Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell built their farm from scratch, growing vegetables and grains while weaving their community together through food and place. But after more than a decade of farming, they discovered their land, water, and bod...
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Episode 241
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1:10:26
Barbara Kingsolver: Food Systems + Truth-Telling With Joan Gussow
#240: Barbara Kingsolver reflects on her lifelong connection to food, her friendship with Joan Gussow, and the spiritual, cultural, and political meaning of how we eat. She shares why fiction can change hearts, why capitalism has reshaped food ...
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Episode 240
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55:40
Larry Jacobs: Lawsuits + Labeling In USDA Organic
#239: California organic farmer and Del Cabo cooperative founder Larry Jacobs returns to discuss why organic farming must remain firmly rooted in soil and not bend to allow hydroponics. Larry’s proven commitment to integrity comes through via h...
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Episode 239
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35:47
Cameron Molberg: Real Organic Poultry At Scale
#238: Cameron Molberg of Greener Pastures Chicken shares how he’s building a vertically integrated model for pasture-raised organic chicken without cutting corners - as is typically done with the majority of usda organic labeled poultry f...
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Episode 238
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1:11:29
Dick Schwartz: IFS and the Middle Way
#237: In this follow-up conversation, Dick Schwartz, founder of Internal Family Systems therapy, speaks with Dave about how IFS applies far beyond the therapy room. Together, they explore the “middle way” in activism - finding courage and clari...
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Episode 237
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45:27
Emily Oakley: Small-Scale Farming In A Changing World
#236 - Small-scale, diversified farmer Emily Oakley returns to share her evolving philosophy on farming, business, and life as she continues to align her daily work with her personal value system. From growing fertility on the farm instead of r...
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Episode 236
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1:03:28
Steve Ela: Organic Isn't Linear Thinking
#235 - Steve Ela, longtime organic fruit grower and former NOSB member, reflects on the shift from chemical farming to a biological mindset. He shares lessons from decades of growing tree fruit in Colorado, and why soil health, systems thinking...
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Episode 235
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58:38
Episode Swap: JM Fortier Interviews Dave Chapman, Round Two
#234 - In our second episode swap with the Market Gardener Podcast, JM Fortier and co-host Chris Moran sit down with Dave Chapman and trade insights on decentralization, food politics, and how organic values can thrive in today's shifting agric...
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Episode 234
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2:18:40
Nicole Dehne: When Certification Meets Conviction
#233 - Nicole Dehne, director of Vermont Organic Farmers, shares what it means to uphold real integrity in a shifting organic landscape. From hydroponics and organic standards to the struggles of small farms, she explains how certifiers like VO...
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Episode 233
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57:52
Eli Pipkin: Mastering Whole Grain Bread
#232 - Stone Barns head baker Eli Pipkin reveals what it takes to bake whole grain bread that is alive with flavor, nutrition, and story. Rooted in the mission of chef Dan Barber's Blue Hill, Eli shares how his team mills fresh flour, bakes wit...
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Episode 232
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48:20
The Real Story Of Whole Grain Bread with Michael Pollan + Dan Barber
#231 - In this special conversation, Michael Pollan and Dan Barber and other food system leaders explore the deep relationship between whole grain bread, human health, and agricultural resilience. From the nutrient losses caused by industrial m...
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Episode 231
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1:00:03
Paul Hawken: Reversing Ecological Collapse
#230 - Paul Hawken returns to share his hopeful and hard-won perspective on how organic farming and climate solutions go hand-in-hand, and to reflect on the themes in his latest book Carbon. Drawing from his decades of work in food systems and ...
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Episode 230
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1:26:42
Marion Nestle: Follow the Food Money
#229 Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics, joins us to discuss how corporate money shapes what ends up on our plates - and why nutrition science so often serves industry over public health. From USDA dietary guidelines to food market...
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Episode 229
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1:00:21
Dan Barber: Farming Flavor First
#228: Dan Barber returns to explore how farming for flavor - not just yield or shelf life - can transform our food system from the ground up. As a chef and co-founder of Row 7 Seeds, Dan argues that seed breeding should begin in the kitchen, wi...
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Episode 228
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53:12