Mighty Fine Farm & Food

Since the federal government codified organic food standards more than 20 years ago, advocates for transparency in their food chain have witnessed food labeling reform, a blossoming of farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurants and the emergence of shoppers increasing invested in the ideals of Slow Food USA that food can be "good, clean and fair." The election of Donald Trump, and the GOP-dominated Congress that will convene in January slows that momentum, Slow Food USA executive director Richard McCarthy said on the Mighty Fine Farm & Food podcast. Visit https://www.slowfoodusa.org/ for more information about Richard and Slow Foods USA.

Nona Yehia joins the Mighty Fine crew by phone from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to talk about how she made the leap from architecture to urban farming. She co-founded and is the current CEO of Vertical Harvest, a a year-round greenhouse that employs people with disabilities and grows over 100,000 pounds of produce on 1/5th of an acre of land. For more info on Vertical Harvest, visit: http://verticalharvestjackson.com/.

This week, Steve and Jere are joined by Andrea Wells, a local entrepreneur, mother, and grandmother who specializes in fresh baby food made from local and organic ingredients. Together, they talk about Andrea's story, where and why she makes her baby food, and the future of the organic baby food business. Read more about Andrea's business, Farm to Baby, at www.farmtobaby.net.

A fish by any other name will still taste just as good, as Lula Luu of Fin Gourmet in Paducah, Kentucky found out when she and her business partner John began a social enterprise fishing operation that sells Asian Carp. An invasive species with no natural predators - except for humans - Asian Carp have become a major concern for some North American freshwater ecosystems. Where many saw a destructive enemy, Lula and John saw an opportunity - to turn Asian Carp into a sustainable, delicious, and sought-after Kentucky Proud product. Their operation, Fin Gourmet, also relies on Second Chance employees - victims of domestic violence and former addicts - making their business beneficial to all involved from source to plate. Boneless Asian Carp and other Fin Gourmet products are available in restaurants and grocers from coast to coast. For more information on Fin Gourmet, visit http://fingourmetfoods.com/.

The Mighty Fine crew jumped at the chance to interview Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, person with autism, and best-selling author of "Thinking in Pictures," and "Animals Make Us Human." Dr. Grandin was in town for the US Austism & Asperger Association's 2016 World Conference, and talked with Steve and Jere about her animal welfare work, how autism helps her better understand a slaughter operation, and why she's delving into the world of crop science. For more information about Dr. Grandin and her work in animal sciences, visit http://www.grandin.com/. For information about Dr. Grandin and autism, visit http://www.templegrandin.com/.

Chad Rosen visits from Campbellsburg, Kentucky, to talk about why "life's better with hemp." Chad founded Victory Hemp Foods, a company that grows and produces hemp products. He talks with Steve and Jere about what hemp is, what hemp is not (marijuana), why people confused the two, and the plant's health benefits. For more information, visit: http://www.victoryhempfoods.com/.

Mighty Fine co-host and Louisville Courier-Journal food writer Jere Downs hosted a live taping of the podcast at the FEAST Organic Food Festival on the first Saturday in September. The all-star agriculture lineup included Louisville Farm-to-Table program coordinator Sarah Fritschner and Executive Director of the Berry Center and daughter of Wendell Berry, Mary Berry. Together they talked about the meaning of organic and the benefits of organic food for consumers, the environment, and our health.

Bob Scowcroft has been a sustainable food systems activist since the early 1970s, when he first joined the environmental movement in Alaska and later organized against pesticide Agent Orange for Friends of the Earth. Now he's Secretary for the Nell Newman Foundation, which gives away $400,000 every year to grassroots and nonprofit organizations trying to make a more sustainable food system. Bob was in Louisville for the 2016 Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders forum and sat down with Steve and Jere to talk about his journey in food activism, and why the myth that one country should feed the world is destructive to the environment. For more information on the Nell Newman Foundation, visit http://nellnewmanfoundation.org/.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Private Lands Biologist Jason Nally took a break from banding geese to hang out with Steve and Jere for this week's episode of Mighty Fine Farm and Food. Together, they talk about Jere's fear of wild pigs (they do exist here in Kentucky!), wildlife management for farmers and gardeners, and the workshops KDFW offers, like "Field to Fork" and "Hook and Cook." For more information about the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, visit: http://fw.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

Have you ever heard of Ben & Jerry's Bagels? Of course not, but you've heard of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream! Jerry Greenfield joins the Mighty Fine crew from Vermont to talk about the easy choice between the bagel business and the ice cream business, and how they "make ice cream in the best possible way" by marrying business with their values. For more ice cream and info, visit www.benandjerrys.com.

On this special edition of Mighty Fine Farm and Food, Steve and Jere talk with Patrick Holden, British farmer, activist, and founding director of the UK-based Sustainable Food Trust. They talk biodynamic farming, Brexit, his True Cost of Food campaign, and how Jack Daniel's ads in the London tube brought him to Louisville. For more information on the Sustainable Food Trust, visit www.sustainablefoodtrust.org.

This week the Mighty Fine Farm and Food team gets a visit from Thomas Edwards of Louismill, which uses organic, non-GMO grains sourced from Kentucky farmers and used in Kentucky restaurants. Louismill operates on the belief that sustainable farming can change lives and communities. Edwards is also one of the brains behind the upcoming Anchorage Farmer's Market and MozzaPi, a mobile pizza oven for catering. For more information on Louismill, visit www.louismill.com.

Director of the Wallace Center John Fisk joins us this week from Virginia to about talk their work as supporters of entrepreneurs and communities building new food systems healthier for people, the environment, and the economy.

KentuckyOne Health joins the Mighty Fine crew to talk their new "farm to hospital table" project in Louisville's Hazelwood neighborhood.

Dr. Louis Heuser is the CEO of Heuser Health, a healthy living program that empowers individuals to health through fitness and nutrition. Dr. Heuser and the Mighty Fine crew talk healthy eating choices and about food as medicine.

Writer, farmer, butcher, and cook Meredith Leigh joins the Mighty Fine Farm and Food crew at the Organic Association of Kentucky conference in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. She talks about her new book, The Ethical Meat Handbook, and her path from vegetarian- and veganism to raising animals for food production. Find out more about Meredith at her website: http://www.mereleighfood.com/.

Steve, Jere, and Summer chat with Sarah Fritschner, coordinator of the Louisville Farm-to-Table program.

Steve, Ivor, Summer, and Jere chat with Dawne Gee, news anchor at WAVE-TV in Louisville, KY.

Steve, Jere Downs, Ivor, and Summer chat with Louisville’s Mayor, Greg Fischer.

Louisville's first local craft butcher shop is Red Hog, owned by Kit Garrett and self-pronounced "meat geek" Bob Hancock, features a variety of meat cuts from local, sustainable, and ethical farmers - including their own signature Red Hog raised in nearby Goshen, Ky. The butcher shop also features a cafe, with local cheese from Capriole Farms in Indiana, as well as pizza, small plates, and beer and wine. For more information, visit: http://redhogartisanmeat.com/.