Organic and Sustainable Farming in the Southern US
Brennan Washington worked in information technology and gardened with his wife just for fun and relaxation. When they moved to Georgia, they produced so much food that they got involved with farmers markets and CSAs–and started seeing the problems as well as the strengths of these outlets. Washington now works with Southern SARE, where he goes all over the Southern US and the Caribbean, talking to farmers and sharing knowledge to promote sustainable and profitable agricultural practices, as well as cultural sensitivity and understanding.
He is co-owner of Phoenix Gardens along with his wife, Gwendolyn. He has served as a board member of Southern SARE, the sustainable research arm of the USDA, Georgia Organics, the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) and is the co-founder and farmer Board Chair of the Georgia Farmers Market Association. Check out his new podcast, The Sustainable Ag Rider.
Show Notes:
0’53 starting in IT in New York and moving to agriculture in Georgia
2’08 transforming a small farmers market into a thriving one
3’00 techniques for building the farmers market
4’12 farmers markets in Georgia and how they’re doing
5’13 the problem of farmers markets being for upper income people
7’13 junk food subsidized, healthy food not
7’26 USDA programs for low-income consumers
8’09 Marker 8
9’07 “pinhooking” explained
9’52 “double-buck” programs
10’52 the limits of non-profits
11’15 consumers wanting more prepared foods at farmers markets
12’51 CSA (community supported agriculture) and its limitations
14’23 urban agriculture and its ups and downs
16’35 demand for different foods from new immigrant communities
19’01 are local food markets making a difference in people’s health
19’18 doctors presribing fresh food
20’53 the importance of “baselining” metrics
21’38 healthy food cooked in unhealthy ways
22’17 urban agriculture vs. gentrification
23’53 the soaring price of urban land in Atlanta
24’58 farmers’ land loss because of development and taxes
25’34 problems facing small and medium regenerative/organic farmers
26’04 getting younger farmers onto land
27’33 lack of housing
27’50 lack of broadband
28’18 farmers in the middle being squeezed out
28’47 lack of processing infrastructure
31’28 need for retail outlets for healthy food
32’24 barriers to building processing facilities
36’30 racism in agriculture then and now
38’17 cultural and language sensitivity
40’15 “heirs’ property”
43’40 seed saving
49’08 Native American seed story
51’02 the Sustainable Ag Rider podcast
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