Lunch Agenda

"Nacho" -- member of Migrant Justice’s Farmworker Coordinating Committee --has negotiated powerful legal changes in Vermont. Jose Ignacio “Nacho” de la Cruz and Julie Kurtz discuss the path from his family farm in Mexico to the dairies of Vermont – and his aspiration for bringing basic labor and human rights to all Vermont farms through the MILK WITH DIGNITY program and ongoing campaign with Hannaford grocers. Will Lambek assists with translation.

Migrant Justice dairy farmworker leaders in Vermont have been re-writing the farm labor rules for dairy…by following the money. Julie Kurtz speaks with Migrant Justice Staff Coordinator Marita Canedo about how migrant farmworker communities have achieved policy reforms, organized for economic justice and human rights – and how you can join the MILK WITH DIGNITY CAMPAIGN so that Hannaford grocery store profits are equitably shared with workers in their supply chain.

Julie Kurtz hosts US Senator Cory Booker’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Adam Zipkin, in this final episode of the Eating the Green New Deal series. We discuss how Senator Booker has flushed out Green New Deal concepts through the Climate Stewardship Act, Farm System Reform Act and other legislation. We consider the stakeholders willing to support these Acts for their potential benefits to farmers, rural communities and the climate – and the farmers and agribusinesses that could block their success.

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In 2017 Ben & Jerry’s reached a historic agreement with Migrant Justice, implementing the worker-driven Milk with Dignity Program in Ben & Jerry’s Northeast dairy supply chain. Julie Kurtz hosts Cheryl Pinto, Ben & Jerry’s Global Values-Led Sourcing Manager, to discuss how they’re incorporating environmental and labor values of the Green New Deal into their regional and global business.

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General Mills aims to bring 1 million acres into regenerative agriculture by 2030. Julie Kurtz hosts Shauna Sadowski, Head of Sustainability for General Mill’s Natural and Organics Operating Unit, to discuss how regenerative agriculture could be part of solving the climate crisis, support farm communities, and how food businesses can lead the way in achieving the social justice, equity and environmental principles of a Green New Deal. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Losing two-thirds of US farmers this past century while farm size tripled, has disproportionately squeezed out small farms, especially African-Americans—where we’ve lost 98% of farmers. Julie Kurtz hosts attorneys Jillian Hishaw and Mavis Gragg, who discuss the strategies they pursue to keep African-American landowners own their land, sustainably managing forests or maintaining their agricultural heritage. They discuss how reimagining government institutions, USDA programs, and reparations would be necessary food system elements of a Green New Deal.

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Is a sustainable farming future possible without farmers? Till just recently, the US has hemorrhaged young farmers, who face a myriad of barriers to entry and to maintaining generational family farms. Today features Davon Goodwin of NC and Jake Ehret of MN to talk about land access, farm communities, and how a Green New Deal could impact their farming futures.

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If this episode doesn’t convert us all into a soil farmers, it at least makes clear how much soil matters. Host Julie Kurtz speaks with Dr. Andrea Basche and Steven Tucker of Nebraska about the power of soils to transform how we do modern agriculture, by using nature’s lessons to help us protect our communities from floods and droughts, create vibrant ecosystems and grow healthy food. They share how vision for healthy soils is spreading in Nebraska, among university students, the state legislature, and the agricultural community. #SexySoils

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The Food System employs more workers than any other sector, but pays less. Guest host Julie Kurtz speaks with Jose Oliva—longtime Organizer, James Beard Award Recipient, and American Food Hero Awardee—about the inseparability of labor, race, immigration and food. We consider how a Green New Deal, as well as the private business sector, could support dignified labor and a food system that supports healthy people and a healthy planet. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Despite enthusiastic response among some, not all farmers, ranchers and rural communities find the Green New Deal easy to swallow. In the second episode with guest host Julie Kurtz, today we talk with Scott Blubaugh of Blubaugh Angus Ranch in Oklahoma and Roger Noonan of Middle Branch Farm in New Hampshire, both leaders in the National Farmers Union, about how they’ve encouraged strong on-farm environmental conversation practices in the midst of challenging social, political and financial pressures -- and how they continue to fight hard to keep midsize family farmers and ranchers at the heart of agriculture.