The Ruminant: Audio Candy for Farmers, Gardeners and Food Lovers

The Ruminant Podcast: this episode, a young farmer profile. Jacklyn Lamb and her partner Shawn bought in to her parents' farm in Southeastern Quebec. They raise certified organic lamb, hay, and other cash crops. In our conversation, Jackie dishes on how she and Shawn got started, what's working, and some of the struggles they've faced.

Here's what you've been waiting for: a primer on eating bugs and why it's likely to play an increasing role in our food system. My friend Afton is a consultant with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Programme and recently got on the horn with me to talk about the work she does. We had an interesting conversation about bugs. They're chock full of protein, you see, and may come to play an important role in animal feeds and on our dinner plates in the future.

Some more resources to check out:

A UN FAO Report:  Assessing the Potential of Insects as Food and Feed in Assuring Food Security

Here's a company that has incorporated insects into animal feed.

A TEDx talk on the role that insects can play in fish food

In this long-form interview with gardening writer Steve Solomon, we discuss his new book, The Intelligent Gardener, which he co-wrote with Erica Reinheimer.

I read the book a month ago. It's really good. In it, Steve argues that the key to growing healthy crops is to combine the return of organic matter to the soil with a practice called remineralization, which involves assessing the mineral content of your soil and then adding the right mix of amendments to ensure they are in proper balance (Steve's contention: few soils are). Along the way, Steve provides an excellent beginner's entry into soil science, and challenges some of the organic movement's tightly held assumptions about sustainable crop production.