34m ·
Published
06 Nov 10:30
Farm-to-Fork is a loosely affiliated restaurant movement that champions close relationships with local farmers instead of nationwide distributors. Wherever you live, there are likely restaurants nearby that practice this philosophy. Farm-to-Fork is part of a groundswell of popular support away from processed food and towards wholesome eating. I interviewed Ben Parks, the chef/owner of a farm to fork restaurant in Columbia, MO. He talks about the movement, the struggles, and the future of good food.
40m ·
Published
24 Oct 17:00
Recently I got interview on the podcast "Faith and Family Fellowship" by Pastor Chris Buscher. I go deeper into the theological underpinnings of why I do what I do than normally happens on my episodes. I hope all who listen can be strengthened and encouraged. Whether or not you're a brother or sister in Christ, I think you'll find it interesting.
42m ·
Published
24 Oct 16:15
Across the US, farm animals have been creeping into formerly suburban spaces. There has been an incredible interest in keeping backyard poultry for the many ecological benefits they offer. Trash disposal plus fresh eggs every morning? Sign us up! Chickens do everything from helping control tick populations to recycle biomass. It's a win-win situation.
Goats and sheep aren't as common, but they are equally valuable. In fire prone countries like Portugal and states like California, tribes of goats are used to build fire breaks ahead of encroaching wildfires. They eat through all the flammable material, which deprives a fire of any fuel source. Sheep are great to own if you don't want to mow your lawn any more. They'll eat through perennial grass without breaking a sweat.
For this episode, I interviewed Janet Garman. She's been keeping backyard animals for many years now, and has a wealth of experience to boot. Check out the Backyard Poultry Magazine if you want to know more about this (she is affiliated with them!)
1m ·
Published
23 Oct 11:30
Seriously, just listen for a minute.
22m ·
Published
09 Oct 10:30
Leave No Trace (LNT) is a backcountry wilderness ethic preached in many of our national parks. It makes sense. Don't litter, respect wildlife, stay on the trail, etc. But it has blind spots. It encourages an ecological disconnectedness with actions in our daily lives. We might not litter in the park, what what happens to the plastic wrappers that covered our food when we bought it at the store? See? Trash has to go somewhere, too.
Conscious Impact Living (CIL) will hopefully be the replacement for LNT. I didn't create it, and I don't even think LNT is bad. LNT served its purpose for many decades. But we've learned a lot about the earth's climate in the half century since LNT was created, and we know more now than ever that everything is connected. CIL is a roadmap to sustainable living in both the city and the backcountry. I can't wait to show it to you!
16m ·
Published
25 Sep 11:00
Our penchant for global travel is destroying the very places we're trying to see. Whether it's going off trail for the perfect instagram picture, or it's more invisible like carbon dioxide melting around 90% of the world's glaciers, these fragile environments are breaking down right in front of our eyes.
Tourism isn't new. Even the Pharoahs of ancient Egypt visited monuments like the Great Sphinx built 1000 years previously. But we aren't going for these grand, month-long tours of different countries. Most tourists now are from the emerging middle class, and they only have time for a week. So ports of call in beautiful locales are swamped with picture-hungry tourists who only have a few hours to prove to their friends back home how much fun they're having.
At least 259 people died while trying to take a selfie last year. That statistic alone proves how messed up our social-media driven culture is.
15m ·
Published
11 Sep 10:30
We've heard a lot about the Amazon Rainforest in the news recently.
"The lungs of the world are burning!"
Well, first off, they really aren't the lungs of the world. And the amount of fires this year in the Brazilian Amazon is actually slightly BELOW the 20 year average for fires by this time of year. So why are we hearing about it now?
We're hearing about it because the media are famous for histrionics and over-simplification of complex ecological issues.
Having no oxygen might scare us, but it's not true. It might get our attention, but it's a lie.
What we need to worry about is having too much carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. It's not our lungs that should be the focus of the Amazon. It's the burning trees.
17m ·
Published
28 Aug 11:45
Sheep aren't complicated animals. They eat, sleep, and poop just like we do. But they are the most mentioned animal in the Bible. We are compared to them more than any one other animal. So, what can we learn about ourselves from sheep?
Sheep are vulnerable, wayward, and need a mentor.
After a year of observing our biological weed control (aka sheep) at work, I have a pretty good idea of what makes them tick. There is a certain nuance to sheep that only becines clear from being around them for months at a time. I checked online to see what other people said about sheep, and I could smell suburbia from across the internet!
Our culture is geared towards making us think we're invincible, self-reliant, and always on the right path. We'd all be better off if we watched some sheep... maybe we'd be reminded of our own humanity.
9m ·
Published
14 Aug 11:30
The average American ate around 5 pounds of lamb as late as the 1960's. Now the average American eats less than 1 pound of it.
Concurrently, there used to be herds of 40-50 million sheep in the US prior to WW2. In 2019, there were around 5 million.
Sheep are honestly my favorite animal on the farm. They love eating anything with deep taproots, which provides them with nutrients from deep soil sub-layers. This makes their bones incredibly good to boost your immune system in the form of a bone broth.
Listen more for why you should start eating more lamb!
1m ·
Published
14 Aug 11:30
This is too short for a description! Just listen to it!
