230. Embracing the Seasonal Cycles of Life & Women's Wisdom with Corinna Wood

It's the autumnal equinox as we record this one — rain all afternoon, a first cup of hot tea for the season, the kind of cozy day that makes you want to slow down and pay attention. Fitting, since Mary and Emma open this episode by pausing to say hello properly: a reintroduction, for anyone new to the podcast, of who they are and why they've kept this conversation going for years, even as the pace has slowed to something more sustainable than weekly. Then Mary sits down with Daniela Ochoa Gonzalez, a food systems circularity advocate who's spent more than fifteen years turning zero-waste ideas into real programs — from a green-barter pilot she built in her hometown in Michoacán, Mexico, to her current work here in the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. Daniela's story moves through Cornell, a favela-inspired recycling exchange in Curitiba, Brazil, and a front-row seat to just how much food — avocados especially — travels a long, tender distance before it ever reaches an American kitchen counter. This conversation lands just ahead of Food Waste Prevention Week, and it's full of the kind of practical, no-guilt wisdom Daniela calls "food communion" — not just what we eat, but what we do with what's left over. Expect real numbers, real hacks, and a genuinely moving reframe of a habit most of us do without thinking twice. In this episode: Mary and Emma's reintroduction to the podcast — where Lady Farmer and The Good Dirt have been, and why the podcast has settled into a monthly rhythm Daniela's path from international relations and conflict resolution studies to food systems circularity, by way of Cornell, the Pan American Health Organization, and a green-barter pilot she built in Michoacán, Mexico The Curitiba, Brazil program that inspired her work: exchanging recyclables for fresh produce in low-income communities What "food systems circularity" means — from soil to plate to what happens after The scale of avocado waste moving through the DMV region, and what that waste costs the farmworkers and land it came from How Daniela ended up in the Montgomery County Ag Reserve, and what she learned about the incinerator eight miles from home The difference between landfilling, incinerating, and composting — and why methane from food waste is a bigger climate issue than most people realize A tour through the local composting landscape: decentralized vs. centralized composting, drop-off locations, and why "closer to home" matters Practical food waste prevention hacks: the three-list system (pantry, fridge, freezer), "remix night," market traps, proper storage (onions and potatoes should never share a bin!), freezing bread and bananas, and more Confusing food date labels — why "best by" doesn't mean "bad," and where to check if you're unsure Food Waste Prevention Week: what it is, when it runs, and how to find local and virtual events Daniela's monthly community group in Poolesville and how listeners can plug into food waste prevention where they live Resources & Links Mentioned: Food Waste Prevention Week — national campaign; this year runs September 28–October 4 Save the Food — NRDC's food waste tips, storage guides, and recipes Eat or Toss by Rachael Jackson — a science-based resource for deciding whether food is still safe to eat NourishNet — University of Maryland's NSF-funded food recovery initiative; free English/Spanish fact sheets available on the site Compost Crew — DMV-area food scraps recycling and composting service, with Compost Outposts at One Acre Farm, ECO City Farms, Butler's Orchard, and Greenbelt Red Wiggler Community Farm — Germantown, MD care farm with a CSA Koiner Farms (Charles Koiner Center for Urban Farming, Silver Spring, MD) Regenerative Solutions — Daniela's freelance practice and monthly community group in Poolesville, MD Eco City Farms One Acre Farm A note on the numbers: Daniela cites a number of statistics in this conversation (avocado waste tonnage, Montgomery County food insecurity figures, household

A few weeks ago, we sat down with Jill Demers and couldn't stop talking...so, we came back for part 2! In this episode, we dig into the economics of small farming in America, and why the deck has been stacked against it for decades. Jill lays out the numbers plainly — most small farms operate at a loss, propped up by off-farm income, in a system that was never designed to sustain them. We talk about commodity crops, genetically modified seed, the vertical integration of the food industry, and what "get big or get out" actually did to the farms that used to feed us directly. But this isn't a doom-and-gloom conversation. Jill's real subject is reconnection, what she calls "farm hospitality," and what we'd call remembering something our bodies never really forgot. Because underneath all of it is the same idea Jill's been chasing for over twenty years: food is our deepest connection to nature, and the fracture in that relationship is costing us more than we realize...in our health, our communities, and our sense of belonging to the land under our feet. In this episode: Why 86% of U.S. farms are classified as "small" — and why most of them lose money every year How the "get big or get out" model took hold after WWII, and what it replaced What a commodity crop actually is (and why that field of corn you're driving past isn't headed to anyone's dinner table) The vertical integration of seed, chemical inputs, and distribution — and why it locks small farmers out Genetically modified corn, glyphosate, and what it means for our gut health Jill's concept of "farm hospitality" as a way to reconnect people to their food — and why many farmers resist it The disappearance of farmland to development and, increasingly, to solar leases Food deserts and systemic inequity on reservation land in Montana Why Jill encourages people to "start at the top of the food chain" (and what that means) The cultural narrative that food should be cheap — and why that narrative is doing real damage How much less of our income goes to food today than it did in the 1950s, and what filled that gap The "60 harvests" figure from Kiss the Ground — and what it means for how much time we actually have Why Jill believes consumer dollars, not policy, will be what shifts the system first

Our guest today on this week's episode is Julie Brams — an earth-centered psychotherapist, certified forest therapy guide, meditation teacher, and the author of The Nature-Embedded Mind: How the Way We Think Can Heal Our Planet and Ourselves. Julie states that her work is in helping restore the human mind to its rightful place within the living world. She is also co-founder of Elemental, an earth-centered learning community helping participants heal the division between humans and the rest of nature. This is a rich, unhurried conversation — the kind you might want to take on a walk, or sit with under a tree. We hope it meets you right where you are. In This Episode Julie's path from 34 years as a licensed marriage and family therapist into earth-centered psychotherapy and forest therapy guiding Why she moved away from the term "ecopsychology" to "earth-centered" and "re-rooting." The idea of "the rest of nature" — and how this small language shift addresses the human/nature divide How Western civilization's model of extraction and domination differs from cultures built on kinship and reciprocity The historical roots of mind/body/earth separation — from ancient Greek philosophy through Descartes and the Enlightenment Why our bodies "cannot be separate from Earth" — from the air we exchange with plants to the physiological toll of space travel Gloria Steinem's phrase "linked, not ranked" as an alternative to hierarchy The story of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight and the moment it reshaped Julie's thinking about sustainability What forest therapy actually looks like in practice — and Julie's own humbling first encounter with a tree A story about a jumping spider that became an unexpected lesson in love versus ownership Reflections on grief, reciprocity, and the idea that the more-than-human world may be missing us as much as we miss it Language, indigenous wisdom, and the book Sand Talk as a guide to non-divisive ways of thinking Why unlearning this division is, in Julie's words, "a group effort" Resources & Links Mentioned The Nature-Embedded Mind: How the Way We Think Can Heal Our Planet and Ourselves by Julie Brams (2026 Nautilus Gold Award winner) Elemental, the Earth-Centered Learning Community co-founded by Julie Brams The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, where Julie was certified as a guide The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta Paul Hawken, author of Carbon: The Book of Life— referenced from a past Good Dirt conversation EcoCiv, an organization promoting earth-centered culture and economy A Note From Mary If this conversation stirred something in you — a longing, a memory, a small ache of recognition — we'd love to hear about it. Send us a note or leave us a voicemail. And if you try Julie's simple invitation this week (find a tree, sit with it for twenty minutes, see what happens), tell us how it goes. 🌻 About Lady Farmer: Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & Community Visit Our Website Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you! Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Dirt podcast is proudly part of the Connectd Podcasts network. 🌿 The Good Dirt Producers: Wendy Gray

This episode initially aired on June 19th, 2021

Jill Demers is the founder of ReWild Ranch in Montana, a one-of-a-kind regenerative farm, wellness destination, and educational space, rooted in the one question she's been asking for over two decades: Why are Americans so disconnected from their food — and at what cost? As a regenerative farmer and certified nutrition therapy practitioner, Jill has built ReWild as an answer to that question — a place where the farm is the center point, and guests leave changed in ways that they will never forget. This conversation is rich, wide-ranging, and deeply resonant with everything Lady Farmer stands for. It's also the kind of talk that makes you want to go outside and put your hands in the dirt. In this episode, you'll hear about: Mary's return to growing her own vegetables — tomatoes, seeds, and all — as she and Emma transition away from their longtime CSA Emma's reflections on joining a new CSA and what food rhythms look like in a young family Jill's origin story: childhood memories of fresh-shucked corn, a lifelong obsession with food and ecology, and graduate school research on the Dust Bowl What ReWild Ranch is — a regenerative farm, glamping destination, and women's retreat space in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana The three ways guests can experience ReWild, from passive glamping to immersive hands-on workshops and women's retreats How Jill's son Alder's autism diagnosis became the catalyst for her deep dive into nutrition therapy — and how dietary and lifestyle changes led to the eventual loss of his clinical diagnosis The Dust Bowl: what caused it, what it revealed about soil health and industrial agriculture, and why Jill argues we may be living through something even more catastrophic today Glyphosate, the gut microbiome, and the parallel between soil health and human health The "60 harvests" statistic — where it comes from and what it means for the future of food Why Jill believes feeding the world is not America's job — and what a "checkerboard" model of small-scale agriculture could look like instead The concept of "accidental education" and why ReWild is designed to connect people to food, nature, and each other in ways they can't unlearn Wendell Berry, John Steinbeck, and the long literary tradition of writing about humanity's relationship with the land The genuine constraints of local, seasonal eating vs the cultural reality of a food system that allows almost limitless food choices — and how to navigate that without guilt or rigidity Resources & Links Mentioned: ReWild Ranch — Jill's regenerative farm, glamping, and retreat space in Montana Kiss the Ground — documentary film on regenerative agriculture and soil health The Nature-Embedded Mind by Julia Plevin — mentioned by Mary; a psychotherapist's exploration of humanity's innate connection to nature Zach Bush, MD — physician and researcher who speaks extensively on the shikimate pathway and glyphosate's effects on the microbiome Wendell Berry — essayist and farmer whose writing on agriculture and community Mary has been revisiting The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck — Jill's graduate thesis subject; discussed as an early work of ecological criticism My Story as Told by Water by David James Duncan — mentioned by Jill as a formative read Stay in touch & keep the conversation going: Have thoughts on this episode? A question for Mary and Emma? We'd love to hear from you — send us a message at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 443-459-1950. Tell us what the good dirt means to you. And stay tuned — Jill and Mary and Emma have so much more to explore together. Part Two is coming. 🌻 About Lady Farmer: Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & Community Visit Our Website Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you! Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Di