Grace was there at the beginning when organic was much more of a grassroots movement and far less of a market industry. As a result she's seen her fair share of "tension between grassroots and suits" over the years. Grace sees that the bifurcation between the organic 'movement' and the organic 'industry' has often been detrimental to the progress of organic agriculture as a whole, and that situations are usually much more complex than black and white.

Gary Oppenheimer, founder of AmpleHarvest.org, created the organization to address two problems in our food system - food waste and hunger - with one simple solution. Listen in to hear what that simple solution was!

Ambassador Darci Vetter has spent her career thinking about trade as it relates to agriculture and global agriculture policy, listen in on Rootstock Radio.

Lindsey Shute, executive director and co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition, discusses the challenges beginning farmers face today. She says that in order for young farmers to secure a viable future for agriculture, the next thing that must be addressed in agriculture legislation is land access.

Kathleen Bauer, creator of Good Stuff NW, connects the dots between what's happening in the field and what she puts on her table. Kathleen has been increasingly interested in the idea of "ag in the middle" -- the idea that we need to help small farmers scale up to middle-sized and that, in turn, we need to help these mid-sized farmers compete with Big Ag because they are more sustainable, can produce the same yields and contribute meaningfully and measurably to their communities.

Eric Holt-Gimenez of Food First doesn't want to "fix" the food system -- he wants to transform it into something completely different. Because, as he points out, "when you say you want to 'fix' the food system that means you think that it once worked well." In today's episode, Eric explores how capitalism drives our food system and how understanding that can help us make real, lasting change.

"The US is quite different from a lot of the other Western countries in the world in the fact that there aren't that many laws on the books that focus on animal welfare--particularly on farm animals," says Dr. Meggan Hain, animal care specialist at CROPP Cooperative / Organic Valley. She agrees with last week's guest, Melissa Hughes, that we need clearer expectations and guidelines around animal welfare in organic agriculture. We also speak with Meggan about what it's like being a woman in the field of large animal medicine.

Many people who purchase organic eggs have no idea that large-scale poultry producers are able to cut corners in ways that don't align with one of the core principles of organic: that "animals are able to exhibit their natural behaviors," says Melissa Hughes, general counsel for Organic Valley. In this episode, we discuss the organic standards and recent circumstances around the Organic Livestock Poultry Practices rule (OLPP), which would have clarified and ensured consistency in organic practices with regard to raising poultry...if it had been allowed to pass.

Dr. Joan Dye Gussow, professor, author, food policy expert, environmentalist and gardener, illuminates the connection between nutrition and food. Joan has worked tirelessly throughout her career to help people -- in the field of nutrition and beyond -- make the connection between nutrition and food, and she'ss cautiously optimistic about the progress that's been made.

"We went from an organization that was searching for food, to an organization that was looking at how to distribute a million dollars worth of food," says Justin Levy, executive director of the nonprofit Conscious Alliance, which works to support hunger relief and youth empowerment across the country. They're the founder of the "Art that Feeds" food drives at major national music concerts, and the food and funds raised at those prominent drives are a boon for those in need. Listen to hear how they do it!