Billions of pounds of produce are going to waste while millions of Americans are going hungry. Seeing food lines develop all over, some University students decided to do something to change that. They created the Farmlink Project to connect farmers to food banks, delivering millions of pounds of farm fresh produce that would otherwise be wasted to feed families in need. The founder and CEO of Farmlink, James Kanoff explains how this idea has led to up to a million pounds of food per week that might otherwise been wasted, make its way from farms to food banks to hungry people. www.farmlinkproject.org

Consumers have never known more about nutrition and yet, have never been more overweight. For most Americans, maintaining a balanced diet is more difficult than doing their taxes. What are we doing wrong?  Jack Bobo has been engaged with the food system from farm to table and is the author of a new book \”Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices\”. He is a food psychology expert with over 20 years advising four U. S. Secretaries of State on food and agriculture. In his book and here on Farm to Table Talk  he guides us to smarter food choices and improving our quality of life. https://futurityfood.com/

Nutrient density, biodynamic and regenerative are terms of relevance to the health of  our planet, our soil, our food and ourselves. It\’s tricky learning the connections but  Dr. Christopher Daugherty ties it all together. \”Biodynamic is the art and aspect\” of the essential principles of food. Nutrient density is the \”level of nutrients per unit\” of calorie. 

Dr. Chris is a regenerative entrepreneur in \’Ortho-molecular\’ Nutrition & Biological Medicine. Focusing on biological nutrients, product development and farmer direct supply chains provides biodynamic insights for the future of earth to farm to table.

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Now is not the new normal. Consumers were forced to change their shopping and dining food practices by the pandemic.  As they return to stores and restaurants, they need to be the Hero of their lives.  From farmers to restaurants and food markets, helping consumers realize their need to be the Hero from these troubled times, is job One. Suzy Badaracco is the President of Culinary Tides Inc.,  a Trends consultancy with a focus on what\’s going to happen next.  It\’s not just studying the data to see trends taking shape; but rather identifying the \”parents\” of the trends.  Food marketers from farm to table, especially need to take note and act accordingly to help their customers become HEROS.  www.culinarytides.com

Many people wish they could farm and new farmers are needed. Sounds like a match. It is a well established fact that the average age of farmers is around the age that people are thinking of retirement.  So who will be farming in the future, beyond just those who are fortunate enough to be born in to a sustainable family farm?  The Center for Land Based Learning is trying to answer that question with programs reaching out to an audience from High School, to early career and to mid-life career changers. Mary Kimball the CEO of the Center For Land Based Learning joins Farm To Table Talk in a Clubhouse room to explain and answer questions from a live global audience on the future for those who want to be farmers. www.landbasedlearning.org

Families are spending more time cooking at home and local meat provides a better and more affordable alternative. According to Johnathan Hladk the Policy Director for the Center for Rural Affairs, local meat lockers simply do not have the space or equipment to keep up, leaving family farms in the growing direct sales industry without a crucial partner.State and Federal government should support small meat processors looking to improve and expand their infrastructure, which is vital in addressing bottlenecks in local processing and encouraging the growth of rural economies. Funds should be made more available to entrepreneurs seeking to open a new small  meat processing facility. With voluntary support coming from coast to coast, the Center for Rural Affairs addresses issues to improve the quality of rural life.  www.cfra.org

New technologies will play an important role in the future of farming for every size, shape, climate and geographic location. The ideas are popping up fast and increasingly affordable for the full spectrum of global farming systems. Francesco Arlia is the founder and CEO of  one of these emerging pioneers, Harvest Harmonics.  With dime-sized micro-transmitters the natural vibrations and optimum frequency of photosynthesis is changed for the better. Frank talks of the birth of new, non-chemical technologies that could represent the next green revolution. www.harvestharmonics.com

Climate smart agriculture will make a difference to farmers, citizens and life on earth.  Karen Ross, the Secretary of Food And Agriculture for the California Department of Agriculture is on the front line of meeting the climate challenge as chief administrator of food and agriculture programs for the 5th largest economy in the World.  Secretary Ross has a perspective beyond California boundaries having hailed from a western Nebraska farm, managed farm organizations and served as the Chief of Staff at the US Department of Agriculture under then Secretary Tom Vilsack.  Secretary Vilsack is now back at USDA with a fresh charge to lead Agriculture to Climate Smart Agriculture and Karen Ross will promote the synergies that come from state, federal, local and farm/rancher initiatives  that lead to climate smart solutions for a warming planet. www.cdfa.ca.org

Clubhouse is a drop-in audio chat network that now includes conversations about the food system, on Farm To Table Talk.  The Center for Good Food Purchasing uses the power of procurement to create a transparent and equitable food system that prioritizes the health and well-being of people, animals, and the environment. Paula Daniels is the Co-founder and chair of the Center,  developing nationally-networked adoption and implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Program by major institutions. The result is good news for local farmers and communities across the country  from the direct connections with sustainable and regenerative food sources for their schools, hospitals and public administrations. The conversation with Paula Daniels begins in a podcast that wanders in to the Farm To Table Talk Clubhouse to be joined by other  food system pioneers. www.goodfoodpurchasing.org #Clubhouse

It\’s become popular to bash livestock production and meat consumption for extreme green house gas emissions.  What if the data is wrong? In the UK where carbon neutral agriculture is to be accomplished by 2050, new research has found that the \’carbon\’ case against pig farming is not right.  The study conducted by the Institute for Global Food Security found that the carbon footprint has been overstated by 40% over the last 20 years.  Professor Illias Kyriazakis of Queen\’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland is the author of the study. Professor Kyriazakis also explains that there was very little carbon foot print differences in the type of pig production, indoors or outdoors. Genetic improvements deserve much of the credit for the progress, however when soy protein for pig feed is imported from somewhere that destroys rain forests to grow soybeans, the Climate suffers. All livestock systems deserve a closer look before broadly promoting meatless diets to protect the climate. https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/TheInstituteforGlobalFoodSecurity/