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Real Organic Podcast

Real Organic Podcast

By: Real Organic Project
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About this listen

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!!

© 2026 Real Organic Podcast
Earth Sciences Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Management Management & Leadership Science
Episodes
  • Suzanne Simard: When The Forest Breathes
    Apr 21 2026

    #273: Suzanne Simard joins Linley to discuss her new book, When the Forest Breathes, and the science that has made her one of the most influential voices in forest ecology. Together they explore mycorrhizae, soil life, clear-cutting, herbicides, climate adaptation, and the difference between forests managed for short-term extraction (industry) and forests managed for long-term resilience (indigenous populations). The result is a wide-ranging conversation about why both forestry and agriculture have everything to gain from working with living systems instead of against them.

    https://realorganicproject.org/suzanne-simard-when-the-forest-breathes

    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. 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/directory

    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/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Dr. Ann López: California Farmworker Reality Tours
    Apr 14 2026

    #272: Dr. Ann López discusses the California farmworker reality tours she's designed and the deeper story they reveal about modern agriculture. As founder and executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families, López has worked to expose the difficult circumstances farmworker families face while helping the public understand the binational systems that drive migration, poverty, and invisibility in the fields. This episode offers a direct look at the people behind the produce and the structures that keep their labor hidden from view.

    https://realorganicproject.org/dr-ann-lopez-california-farmworker-reality-tours

    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. 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/directory

    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/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Jim Cochran: Growing Real Organic Strawberries in California
    Apr 7 2026

    #271: Jim Cochran joins us to talk about a lifetime of growing organic strawberries in California and the movement that helped make that work possible. A pioneer of organic berry production, Cochran reflects on early side-by-side comparisons with conventional farming, the importance of flavor and customer trust, and the economic pressures facing real organic growers today. The conversation also explores farm labor, land access, water limits, and why hydroponic produce should not be allowed to borrow the meaning of organic.

    https://realorganicproject.org/jim-cochran-growing-real-organic-strawberries-in-california

    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. 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/directory

    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/

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 28 mins
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