Greg chats with a new friend Kaye, a recent convert to organic gardening who has been chronicling her challenges and amazing successes in her small garden. Living in California on the beach has it benefits, but it also comes with a challenging microclimate due to early morning fogs that limit the sun to her small garden.
Greg talks to a newer farmer, Shaun Keesee, who is having some success using biointensive farming techniques. Shaun shares how he reclaimed the land his family was leasing out to a hay farmer and starting growing crops to sell to markets and restaurants. He is applying the skills he has learned through his reading, internet and agriculture courses at his local college.
Brendan teaches Greg a lot about the functions and dysfunctions of the liver and gut, and how a cascade of medical issues can be traced back to the health of the gut. Brendan explains why he gave up his well-paying career to focus on finding answers on the treatment of metabolic syndrome.
Greg chats with Ocean Robbins of the Food Revolution Network to talk about changing our food future and how important it is to make a change in today’s diets. Starting at a very young age, Ocean had been motivated and inspired to help others eat better for their own health. Now as an adult and father, his drive has only grown stronger and deeper to spread a message of education on the food choices being made today.
Greg meets Robbie who is not a farmer or gardener but really has a story to tell that can make a difference. Robbie was inspired by some honeybees and decided to learn more about them. Her research eventually led her to write an environmental fiction book for middle school kids to help them understand and appreciate the honeybees and the challenge of colony collapse disorder.
Greg chats with an organic seed farmer and educator Don Tipping who shares his story about how he started growing seeds. Don also explains how and why a couple cooperatives got started including the Open Source Seed Initiative. He has been able to open his farm to host intensive seed academy classes and he guides Greg through the topics that are covered.
Greg hears from a woman who got tired of marketing food “products” and figured out it was much more rewarding to market for small family farms and local food producers instead. Sarah Highlen tells how her desire to eat better and be healthier led her to a farm that needed some help.
Greg talks with Kerry to find out why she is so committed to helping others improve their diets and connect with locally grown foods. Kerry shares the story of her conversion to healthy foods and then how even that diet was improved after a trip to a restaurant with a friend.
Greg learns more about some organic gardening resources from Kristin who tells her story of how she joined a sustainability focused horticulture company. Kristin has found a way to blend her love of gardening with a care of community by helping create the Dirt on Dirt community.
Greg meets another lover of fruit trees with Susan who founded a community orchard in her home town and found her calling as well. Susan tells how she got the idea to start an orchard in her neighborhood park, and how learning everything she could about fruit trees has morphed into her popular education program.
