Episode 6: Close to Home - Glyphosate and Relocalizing Food with Helena Norberg-Hodge Video

In the final episode of The Invisible Ingredient, host Blair Beattie sits down with Farmer’s Footprints own Alana Mooi to step back and reflect on where the journey has led and what comes next. Together, they explore the urgent need to move beyond chemical dependency in agriculture, reframing the conversation away from simply removing toxins and toward embracing biological possibility. They discuss how working with living systems can restore soil function, strengthen ecosystems, and support human health in parallel. This conversation urges us to consider food as more than fuel by examining its cultural, relational, and place-based dimensions, and the risks of relying solely on Western agricultural frameworks. Drawing attention to small-scale farmers and long-held practices across diverse bioregions, they highlight the value of local knowledge, biodiversity, and context-specific approaches. This closing episode affirms that there is no single solution, only many pathways shaped by land, culture, and community, and that meaningful change emerges through shared learning and collective effort. --- Special thanks to the incredible teams at ⁠farmersfootprint.us⁠ and farmersfootprint.org.au⁠ ⁠as well as ⁠podbyron.com.au⁠ ⁠for their amazing support in producing the show. ⁠ Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Invisible Ingredient podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Farmer’s Footprint or any affiliated organisation. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as medical, legal, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making decisions relating to health, farming practices, or environmental management. The Invisible Ingredient shares conversations that awaken awareness of how our food systems, environment, and health are intertwined. We invite you to listen with curiosity, explore the research, and carry forward what resonates on your own path toward healthier people, land, and communities.

In this episode, we sit down with Nick "Duggie" Dugmore - vigneron and founder of Stoke Wines - for a deeply human conversation that moves between vineyard rows and the inner terrain of the body. At 39, Duggie was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer. As he traced his health journey backwards, he began questioning the invisible exposures shaping both land and body, including glyphosate and its disruption of critical biological pathways. Speaking without blame, Duggie reflects on the parallels between soil health and mental health, the pressures farmers face within chemical-dependent systems, and how illness reshaped his understanding of presence, purpose, and connection. The episode offers a grounded exploration of how the stories of land and human health are inseparably woven. Social Handles: Instagram: ⁠@stokewines_au⁠ Website: ⁠stokewines.au⁠ Bio: Nick ‘Duggie’ Dugmore is the winemaker behind Stoke Wines on Kangaroo Island, recognised nationally as a Young Gun of Wine for his care for land, craft, and community. At 39, a stage 3 bowel cancer diagnosis set him on a path he never expected. When his surgeon estimated the tumour’s growth at around 16 months, Nick began tracing his exposure with precision — a process that led him to glyphosate and a series of hard truths about the chemicals embedded in modern agriculture. Determined to understand the science and speak openly about what he uncovered, Nick has documented his journey in a series of essays and personal reflections on his website, offering both rigor and vulnerability. He also co-hosts The Power of Awareness podcast, where he supports others navigating cancer with clarity and compassion. In this conversation, Duggie brings a rare and necessary voice — a farmer and winemaker living the consequences of exposure, willing to share what he’s learned, and calling for a future where health, farming, and honesty sit at the centre of our choices. Website: ⁠⁠theinvisibleingredient.org⁠ Citations: ⁠Here⁠ Special thanks to the incredible teams at ⁠farmersfootprint.us⁠ and farmersfootprint.org.au⁠ ⁠as well as ⁠podbyron.com.au⁠ ⁠for their amazing support in producing the show. ⁠ Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Invisible Ingredient podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Farmer’s Footprint or any affiliated organisation. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as medical, legal, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making decisions relating to health, farming practices, or environmental management. The Invisible Ingredient shares conversations that awaken awareness of how our food systems, environment, and health are intertwined. We invite you to listen with curiosity, explore the research, and carry forward what resonates on your own path toward healthier people, land, and communities.

In this episode, Sheina Crystal, Co-Director of Re:wild Your Campus, joins us to explore the growing youth-led movement to eliminate toxic herbicides from school grounds. She shares her journey from awareness to activism, revealing how pesticides harm both human health and local ecosystems, and what it takes to transition campuses to organic land care. Together, we unpack the power of students, parents, and groundskeepers working side by side to create healthier, more biodiverse learning environments—with a bold vision to make every U.S. school pesticide-free by 2030. Social Handles Instagram: ⁠@rewildyourcampus⁠ Facebook: rewildyourcampus YouTube: rewildyourcampus Website: r⁠ewildyourcampus.org/⁠ TikTok: tiktok.com/@rewildyourcampus Bio: Sheina Crystal is the Co-Director of Re:wild Your Campus, a national, youth-led movement working to eliminate toxic herbicides and reimagine school grounds as living systems of biodiversity, beauty, and health. As a student at UC Santa Barbara, Sheina began by listening and learning—walking grounds with restoration crews, building relationships with campus staff, and asking what change might look like from the soil up. She went on to help lead a successful campaign to ban glyphosate across all 10 University of California campuses, and co-developed the Green Grounds Certification, a program supporting ecological landscaping practices in educational institutions. Sheina now works directly with students across the country, mentoring the next generation of changemakers who are transforming lawns into habitats and campuses into catalysts for systemic change. With insight, courage, and a deep sense of possibility, Sheina joins this conversation to speak to the power of grassroots advocacy—and the role young people are playing in shaping healthier, more life-affirming futures. Website: ⁠⁠theinvisibleingredient.org⁠ Citations: Citations Link Special thanks to the incredible teams at ⁠farmersfootprint.us⁠ and farmersfootprint.org.au⁠ ⁠as well as ⁠podbyron.com.au⁠ ⁠for their amazing support in producing the show. ⁠ Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Invisible Ingredient podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Farmer’s Footprint or any affiliated organisation. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as medical, legal, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making decisions relating to health, farming practices, or environmental management. The Invisible Ingredient shares conversations that awaken awareness of how our food systems, environment, and health are intertwined. We invite you to listen with curiosity, explore the research, and carry forward what resonates on your own path toward healthier people, land, and communities.

In this episode, attorney R. Brent Wisner shares his frontline experience taking on Monsanto and exposing the dangers of glyphosate. He traces the herbicide’s origins, the corruption behind its approval, and the legal battles that revealed its links to cancer and other health risks. Through landmark verdicts, Wisner highlights how these cases have shifted public awareness and sparked a reckoning for the future of agriculture—calling for a cultural shift toward valuing farming and food production that support healthy communities.

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Hutchings — a leading voice in Indigenous food sovereignty— shares how Māori knowledge and the Hua Parakore organic framework are reshaping the future of food. She explores the deep connections between land, spirit, and community, and how reclaiming Indigenous growing practices can heal both people and planet. Through themes of kai sovereignty, environmental justice, and collective consciousness, this conversation offers a powerful invitation to reimagine our relationship with food, nature, and one another.