What the Field?! A podcast by CrowdFarming

Luis Leblanc Torres from the farmer collective Alvelal Foods lives in one of the driest areas of Europe, the Altiplano of Murcia. Together with his partners in crime, they are 
 trying to get people back to their land, to combat the rural exodus. They see restoring the land as an opportunity for giving back while also harvesting and producing food. For Alvelal, regenerative agriculture is not just a cultivation method but  a tool for the restoration of a landscape.
The question at the centre of Alvelal Foods' activities: "How can we rebuild a society where the farmer is the protagonist?"

Find out about what Luis had to say about the transformative power of regenerative agriculture by tuning in!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

"Wir könnten den Klimawandeln tatsächlich sogar umkehren, wenn wir global regenerative Landwirtschaft betreiben"

Philippe Birker, Mitbegründer von Climate Farmers, ist in Geilenkirchen groß geworden. Nach einem Studium in den Niederlanden und der Mitarbeit an Unternehmen wie Fairphone, kaufte er sich zusammen mit einer Gruppe von Freuden ein leerstehendes Dorf in Portugal, wo er begann, sich für regenerative Landwirtschaft zu interessieren. Zentral war dabei für ihn die Frage: "Wie kann ich die Leute aus der Stadt in die Natur bringen?" 

Bei einer Pilgerreise zu 60 Landwirten in ganz Westeuropa fand er dabei für sich die Antwort auf viele der Probleme, die wir heute haben: Die Skalierung von Regenerativer Landwirtschaft. Um Landwirten bei der Umstellung zu helfen, gründete er Climate Farmers. Ziel ist, dass Landwirte nicht wie aktuell für mehr Ertrag belohnt werden, sondern für den Aufbau gesünder Böden und Kohlenstoffspeicherung.

Zur Flutkatastrophe die vor ein paar Jahren auch sein Heimatdorf Geilenkirchen betraf, hat die Bodenerosion maßgeblich beigetragen, findet Phillipe. Bodengesundheit aufbauen, so meint er,  würde nicht nur die Wasserspeicherkapazität unserer Böden verbessern, sondern auch generell für mehr Resilienz in der Landwirtschaft sorgen.

Hör rein um mehr zu erfahren!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Life in plastic...is obviously not fantastic. And yet we can't seem to live without it.
In this episode we talk to Garance Boullenger, Project Manager Plastics Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, about the complexities that are behind our obsession with plastic.

• Why is plastic being "demonized" in the first place?
• How helpful is recycling?
• What can be done to minimize plastic pollution?
• How is plastic related to climate change?
• And why are the alternatives sometimes worse than the original?

Garance's fact-based approach provides us with eye-opening insight on what is probably the most controversial material out there.

Tune in to find out more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Johannes Grenzebach beschloss eines Tages sich im Quinoa-Anbau zu versuchen. Was in Peru nichts Ungewöhnliches wäre ist für den jungen Landwirt ein Abenteuer - denn seine Felder befinden sich in Hessen.  Als er mit seinen Freunden "Mudda Natur" gründet gibt es über den Anbau der oft als "Superfood" vermarkteten Pflanze in Deutschland noch rund kein Wissen, es ist kein leichtes Unterfangen. Aber er will Menschen mit Glutenintoleranz unbedingt eine heimische Alternative bieten können.  Wir sprechen mit ihm über alles Mögliche, wie:

• Seine Geschichte als junger deutscher Landwirt mit einer neuen Idee 
• Der harten Weg der Umstellung auf Bio-Anbau
• Alles über Quinoa: Nährstoffe, Nachhaltigkeit, Zubereitungsmöglichkeiten und wie  man den bitteren Geschmack los wird

Hört rein um mehr zu erfahren!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

B Corp is a global certification that certifies the social and environmental impact of a company, aiming to change the economic system towards accountability and a stronger community focus.  More and more conscious consumers are looking out for the circled B on websites and products to determine whether a company is sustainable. But how easily is the certification handed out? What does B Corp really stand for?  And how do they make sure that they're not being used for greenwashing?

Maria Correa, Head of Communications and Community Engagement at B Lab Europe answers all of this and more in a candid discussion about the advantages and limitations of B Corp from both a company and a consumer perspective.  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

*Disclaimer: Due to popular demand, we have decided to do this episode in German, but we will still publish in English once a month!

Die Mittelmeerdiät soll die beste Ernährungsform sein. Wie kommt man zu der Annahme? Warum spielt  Olivenöl so eine große Rolle? Ist Olivenöl nicht krebserregend wenn es erhitzt wird? Und wie stehen die Verfechter der Mittelmeerdiät zu Fleischkonsum?
All das und mehr beantwortet uns Dra.Estefania Toledo,  Professorin für Präventivmedizin und öffentliche Gesundheit, die auch an der berühmten PREDIMED-Studie mitgewirkt hat, die ebenfalls in dieser Folge zur Sprache kommt.

Hört rein um mehr zu erfahren und die erste deutschprachige Folge von What The Field?! zu entdecken!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

The topic of animal products has become a subject of heated discussions in the past decade. There’s a seemingly unbreachable chasm between vegans and meat lovers, farmers and politicians, climate scientists and nutritionists. While we don't sell meat at CrowdFarming, we do sell cheese. We are often confronted with whether that choice is in keeping with our sustainability ethos. This is why we invited experts from two sides to discuss the different aspects of animal husbandry and cheese production: Cristina Domecq, our Sustainability Director, and Antonia Herm-Stapelberg, our Farmer Analyst and daughter of dairy farmers. 
They help us dismantle the two main issues, environmental impact and animal welfare, but also touch upon the social implications and what the reality for our farmers looks like.

Although the topic is complex and very controversial, we did our best to answer all of the most common questions we receive regarding milk production, including:

• Is there a distinction between organic and non-organic in terms of animal welfare?
• Why are the young separated from their mothers right after birth?
• What is the difference between cheese from the supermarket and CrowdFarming cheese?

Listen in to find out more! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Charles Dowding, award-winning organic gardener, book author and creator of the “No Dig” method has a recommendation that will make all those looking to grow their own food very happy: leave your soil alone!
In this podcast he explains to us why that is, what’s most important for our soil to be healthy, how to treat it and how to achieve a bountiful harvest without using any chemicals. 

We also get philosophical and talk about our food system, whether food security can be achieved through organic food production and the importance of educating youth. 

Did you know that gardening can improve both your mental and physical health? 

Tune in to find out how your gut is related to gardening, how the No Dig method works and more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

In this episode, Alessio Terzi, Economist at the European Commission and author of "Growth for Good" talks about how we can reconcile economic growth with sustainability. While circularity and phasing out fossil fuels are important pillars of a green economy, we also need a determined society that demands to put nature first  - "We need action from all sides".
Some major questions we discuss include:

• How important is the role of policy to achieve a "green economy"?
• Can new sustainability-oriented business models thrive in the current socioeconomic (inflation!) climate?
• How is the war on Ukraine affecting the "green transition?

Tune in to learn more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

A shocking third of all the food produced worldwide is thrown away, while millions are starving. How did we get to this point? Why is it so hard to avoid food waste? And what is the difference  between food waste and food loss?

Too Good to Go's Helena Calvo shares her perspective with us and explains what the company is doing to make an impact.  We discuss the complexities of the food waste issue, where most of it ocurrs, its relation to emissions, why households are not necessarily to blame and what we can all do to better the appalling inefficiency of the food system. To put it in Helena's words: "It's nonsense!" 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

 Goodbye season 1!
After 15 episodes of learning, laughing and questioning, the first season of What The Field?! is coming to an end.

Our amazing guests have taught us so much and opened our minds to new worlds and perspectives.  We will be continuing the conversation!

What was your favourite episode?
Do share your thoughts with us!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

What is the connection between climate change and agriculture?
Why are wildfires becoming more and more frequent in Europe? And what can we do about it?

Dr.Emilio Chuvieco Salinero is the winner of  the Jaume I Prize for Environmental Protection 2022 and a Professor of Geography. He is also the author of 33 books and 402 papers and serves as the scientific leader of the Fire CCI project of the European Space Agency as well as scientific coordinator for the European project FirEUrisk. 
As such, he is the perfect partner to dive into the controversies of climate change with, and explore a topic that became especially relevant this past summer: wildfires.

At a time where political discourse has taken over the climate debate, this episode tries to bring it back to scientific grounds and the down-to-earth world of farming. 

Whether you are looking for some arguments to counter climate-change-deniers or want to know what the main causes of wildfires are (and what shepherds have got to do with!), this one's for you.

Let's make scientists the new influencers!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

It is much more sustainable to buy all your food from local producers...or is it?
In this episode, CrowdFarming's co-founders Gonzalo Urculo and Juliette Simonin are grilled on their business philosophy, why they sell Spanish oranges to Germans (and Brits and other fellow Europeans) and how they work with farmers across several countries.

Some of the burning questions they answer include:

• What does "local" even mean nowadays?
• Why are imported goods the better choice sometimes?
• How come there are no British or Dutch CrowdFarming farmers?

Sharing both their personal perspective and what they have observed in their daily business in the food industry, Juliette and Gonzalo dare to open the Pandora's box that is the "local vs. European" debate occurring in households and social media.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Have you ever wondered how much of an impact your home deliveries have? 
What role packaging plays in the great scheme of a more sustainable planet? 
Or what the transport of the future will look like?

In this podcast Katja Busch, CCO of DHL and Head of CSI at DPDHL, shares her vision for making the transport sector more sustainable.

Together with our co-founder and logistics expert Gonzalo Urculo we discuss:

• What industries pollute the most 
• How much impact having a parcel delivered to your doorstep has in terms of emissions 
• The impact of the last mile
• Why circularity is the word of the hour
• What the holy grail of packaging would be

Tune in to learn more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Kim Russell can almost be described as a modern-day Robin Hood. A restless Englishman who revived an old cocoa estate on the Caribbean island of Grenada and gave the land to the people. Who rants about "the corporates" and doesn't want his business to grow too much. Who bases his decisions on which materials to use on the social impact it will have on the locals because “worldwide the cocoa situation is desperate for the farmers that grow it."

Kim is the farmer behind Crayfish Bay Organics and produces chocolate in its purest form, together with his wife Lylette -  “If you cut out the greed, you end up with quality”.

He tells us his story and explains some cocoa-related facts such as:

• What is tree-to-bar and why can it change people's lives?
• What does child slavery have to do with your chocolate bar?
• Why is there such a big difference in the taste of the same type of chocolate?

Tune in to learn more!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Bernat Añaños Martinez is Chief Social Movement Officer and co-founder of Heura Foods, a company that creates plant-based meat products with a Mediterranean twist. 

The motivation driving him and the people at Heura seems simple at first glance: For people to stop eating animals by providing the tastiest alternatives possible, akin in both texture and flavor to the meat products it seeks to replace.

We discuss the many reasons why cutting down on meat could be one of the most powerful ways for an individual to make an impact and talk about Heura’s vision for the future.

"We want to create not meat alternatives but meat successors"

We grill Bernat on all the obvious potential caveats:

• What makes Heura products different from other plant-based meat substitutes?
• Why do they come in plastic packaging?
• What ingredients do Heura products contain and are they not unhealthy?
• What does an animal meat-free diet have to do with social justice?

“Social justice is just inherent in the whole food system. (...) We can build a food system that is socially just.”

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Chocolate  might be a beloved indulgence but its production is an ethically questionable one.
Kelly Go, co-founder and managing director of Auro Chocolate, is trying to change the status quo and has created a company that not only directly works with farmers, but also produces its products in the country it sources its cocoa from: The Philippines.

In this episode, she tells us about the challenges of working in the Philippines, what it is like being a young female founder and what Auro Chocolate is doing to make a difference.
We also learn about chocolate itself, myths and misconceptions and what truly makes it good.

• Did you know that dark chocolate is not necessarily vegan?
• Or that there is a huge variety of flavours within cocoa that influence how each chocolate tastes? 

Talking about made-up labels, taste buds and combining chocolate with dried fish, Kelly lets us catch a broad glimpse of her world. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

What does it take for a farmer to convert to organic? What are the main hurdles and why is it so hard sometimes? 

We talk to French vegetable farmer Tiphaine Quemener and Spanish almond farmer Pedro Liñan to learn about their personal experience with the conversion process as well as to Maxime Durand, co-founder of the French “conversion brand” BioDemain about the motivation behind his venture.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

PREDIMED author Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez-González discusses the keys of the ”real” Mediterranean Diet and the role of extra virgin olive oil in preventive healthcare with us. 

• Can the Mediterranean Diet help us live longer? 
• What does extra virgen olive oil have to do with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and breast cancer? 
• What are some of the best and worst things we can eat from a health perspective?

We tackle some common myths, such as whether the famous digestif really helps with digestion, that the healthiest diet is low-fat or that you shouldn’t fry with olive oil.

In this episode we do something we usually never do - talk about health and diet. 
The only reason we decided to make this exception is because we got a true expert, an internationally recognized eminence in his field, to share his knowledge with us: Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez-González is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Navarra, Visiting Professor at Harvard, a cardiologist and one of the leading European researchers in the field of preventative medicine and nutrition. He has led the Predimed trial, the largest study conducted to date on the effects of the Mediterranean diet and health habits, which included over 7,400 participants. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Alfonso Chico de Guzman, regenerative agriculture expert, farmer and co-founder of La Junquera, shares his journey to regenerative farming and explains how he was able to start transforming various plots of his dry and arid lands into thriving fields .

• How can we fight desertification?
• What are the main arguments for and  against regenerative agriculture?
• Why is  the "one size fits all" approach bound to fail?
• What are the minimum criteria for farming to be considered regenerative?

"I see regenerative agriculture as farming that is organic (...) and that improves [verifiably!] the water, the soil and the biodiversity in the short-term, medium-term and long-term."

This inspiring chat with Alfonso gives us a glimpse into the possible future of agriculture and offers some hope in a (farming) world that often seems to be going in the wrong direction.

"Everything really is so much more connected than we thought."

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Maria Palacio, CEO and co-founder of Progeny Coffee, about one of the world's favourite beverages. She shares her story and lets us in on the secret to quality coffee beans.

• Did you know that coffee is rated by a score that goes from 1 to 100?
• What is the criteria for coffee to be considered specialty coffee?
• How can you tell if a coffee is overroasted? And what does roast have to do with the quality?
• Why does the fairtrade label does not necessarily affect the coffee bean growers?
• What does sustainability in the coffee production world look like?
• How did Progeny Coffee manage to lift their farmers out of poverty?

In this episode you will find out about the different types of coffee, the social aspects of its production, what coffee is tasty enough to drink black, why highland coffee is the best and more! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Leandro Sabignoso, CEO and founder of Auravant, about what benefits the digitalization of the agricultural sector brings. From the use of satellite imagery to robots in the fields, Leandro gives us a glimpse of what modern agriculture could look like.

• Can the digitalization of agriculture help fight climate change?
• What are the tools that can help farmers improve their resource management? 
• How can a better harvest be related to a software?
• What is precision agriculture and what does it have to do with transitioning to organic?
• How can we increase production while lowering (negative) impact?

Tech enthusiast or not, be prepared to be drawn into a world full of possibilities that might fascinate you more than you think! (It might also - very slightly - freak you out) 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to  world-renowned beekeeper Gilles Fert, author of "Raising Honeybee Queens" and expert on all things honey. He shares his wisdom on a number of bee-related subjects with us:

• Why do most beekeepers end up losing 30% of their bee colonies?
• Can everyone become a beekeeper?
• How many bees does it take to produce a gram of honey?
• How come bees are sometimes fed with sugar water?
• Why do some honey types crystallize quicker than others?
• What´s the social structure of a bee colony like?

In this episode, we not ony learn about the secret life of bees and how to keep them happy, but Gilles also discusses his personal journey with us - how he became a global beekeeping consultant - as well as giving us some insight on honey itself.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to  the legendary Guy Singh-Watson, farmer and founder of Riverford Organic Farmers. With his help, we tackle some of the most controversial topics in our industry:

• What does "local" even mean and is shopping locally really always better?
• Is plastic truly so bad?
• Are pesticides and herbicides the great evil of agriculture?
• What alternatives are there on a social level when running an agribusiness?

Starting off with Guy's own story and how Riverford came to be, this episode is a multi-faceted one that doesn't claim to give answers to complex issues but definitely gives us some worthy angles to consider.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Iñaki Hormaza, Research professor for subtropical fruit cultivation, about all things avocado! He helps us shed a light on the factors to be considered when it comes to condemning (or not) the "green gold" and discuss the best alternatives to its more problematic aspects.

• What does the avocado business have to do with Mexican cartels? 
• Which are the social implications of avocado cultivation?
• How much water do avocados really need?
• Which avocados are most likely to be subjected to post-harvest treatments?
• What are the solutions?

Whether you already know a lot about avocados or not, we promise that you will learn something interesting you haven't considered before! 

And not only that, Professor Hormaza also gives us a sneak peek of the (potential) future of European tropical fruit cultivation. Fruit lovers, this one's for you! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We grill the co-founders of CrowdFarming, Juliette Simonin and Gonzalo Urculo, on how they became start-up founders and their path to where they are today.

• How did everything start?
• Did mom and dad help?
• Is CrowdFarming inclusive enough?
• What kind of metrics make an impact?
• Does having investors mean selling your soul to the dark side?

We dare you to find company directors that bare it all so publicly!
- "We have committed failures every day"

The founders let us pick their brains to our hearts' content, from Gonzalo's trajectory from being a youngster working in logistics to running a farm and becoming a start-up founder, to the power of differences within a team - or "when Mr. Chaos meets Mrs. Protocol".

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/