When and why were large farm animals banned from NYC? What’s happening on the one working farm exempt from this ban? Did you know that thousands of pigs used to freely roam around New York City? Pre-COVID, Melissa and Wythe chatted with environmental historian Catherine McNeur and long-time animal farmer Heidi Woolever (formerly of Queens County Farm Museum) in order to learn why we don’t see pigs in the streets any more. We then followed up with Heidi in March, 2022. Queens County is the oldest farm in the city, and the only one currently home to pigs (and cows, goats, and alpacas…). And Catherine’s book, Taming Manhattan, offers rich historical details about our once-pig-filled streets, and why getting rid of the pigs was also a move by the rich to change poor, non-white neighborhoods. We get into “swill milk” (a gross but important story in the city’s history), what animals you can raise in the city (no rhinos, sadly), and how Queens County operates today. We also talk to Heidi about how a person even gets into animal husbandry as a career in NYC—and why goats are magnificent creatures. Check out this episode, review Fields, and share us with your friends!

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Following up on our various dives into mission-driven commercial vertical farming, greenhouse-growing at the Texas State Fair, indoor growing as a tool of food sovereignty in Brooklyn, and food-focused architecture, the Fields hosts discuss both the history of and recent innovations in greenhouses in cities, especially NYC. How can domestic homes incorporate greenhouses to grow food? What have cities done so far to create more viable opportunities to grow food in greenhouses? Melissa reflects on her work experiences and future plans; Wythe draws on his research into indoor agriculture; and Allie brings in the aesthetic perspective—laws often focus on what cities should look like, not helping people feed themselves. Join us for another informational and informal host conversation, and if you enjoy Fields, tell a friend!

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Scott is a scientist, advocate, and educator working at the intersection of social justice and biodiversity conservation. He helps manage the amazing Radix Center in the South End of Albany, NY. Among many other amazing projects that we talk about with Scott, Radix is… growing trees without cloning in order to increase genetic diversity and help protect against pests; planting trees such as paw-paws with climate change in mind; teaching a love for the living environment and an ethic of reciprocity; turning vacant lots into nut orchards; and practicing “compost justice.” Radix is a model for other regions when it comes to connecting urban agriculture, education, and justice. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Are you a business owner? Become an HRN business member! For $500 HRN will shine a light on your work AND you will help sustain our mission to expand the way people think about food. As a thank you for this tax-deductible donation, your business will receive on-air mentions, social media posts, listings on our website and more. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/biz to become a business member today. 

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Fields by becoming a member!

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What does “progress” in developing new kinds of environmentally friendly meats look like? What are the hidden costs of cell-based and plant-based meats? Following up on their interviews with Garrett Broad (Fordham University) and Meera Zassenhaus (New Harvest) regarding cellular agriculture, Melissa and Wythe talk with Allie about some new developments in this growing sector, and what they may mean for urban growers. The Fields team, intrigued by an article in The Counter (“Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story” by Joe Fassler), debates the likely trajectories of cell-based and plant-based meats and responds to different media narratives. In doing so, we challenge the inevitability of technological solutions to social and political problems such as the unequal burdens created by climate disruption and the unequal access to futuristic post-meats.

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The Fields team speaks with Greg Peterson, founder of The Urban Farm in Phoenix, AZ, about his decades of working in urban agriculture. He’s developed an “urban to the max” old-growth food forest in the middle of a dry region. (At the same time, Greg is also the host of The Urban Farm Podcast, which has an archive of over 650 episodes!) We talk about trust in nature, the human condition, abundance, why growing grass makes much less sense than growing fruit trees, and how Greg has taught urban agriculture online during a pandemic. In fact, The Urban Farm offers free urban agriculture classes online. Recorded at the end of COP26 summit, this episode also focuses on climate disruption’s effects on agriculture as well as the politics of agriculture. Check it out, and happy planting!

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In April 2021, the City of East Point, Georgia, adopted its first ever agriculture plan. Almost two years later, Tenisio Seanima is leading the charge as urban agriculture manager for East Point. Following up on his interview with J. Olu Baiyewu, Jeffrey Landau interviews Tenisio. Listen as Tenisio shares his findings on the challenges farmers have faced, how he and his colleagues are addressing them, and his advice for policymakers beyond the Atlanta area as they consider urban ag plans for their cities. From there, Jeffrey and Tenisio cover some of the history of agriculture, and Tenisio shares a long list of role models and books that will inspire anyone working in food and ag.

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What is the role of an urban ag director? And in the City of Atlanta, also known as the City in a Forest, how is urban agriculture impacting the City? In this episode, Jeffrey Landau interview’s Atlanta’s newest Urban Ag Director, J. Olu Baiyewu. Listen as Jeffrey and J. Olu stroll through the online.org/outdoor-center">West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), during a thunderstorm, discussing the latest achievements and challenges urban farmers face in Atlanta, the divide between producers and consumers, the growing network of urban ag directors and policymakers, and what young and aspiring urban farmers can do to pursue this path.

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The Fields team chats with Jeffrey Landau, Director of Business Development at Agritecture Consulting. Jeffrey has been on an exciting road trip to document farming in the United States, both urban and rural, indoor and outdoor. He’s been conducting his own interviews of farmers and agricultural policy makers, and he’s sharing a series of conversations about urban agriculture with us. Before we meet some of Jeffrey’s contacts in urban ag, however, we thought we’d talk to him about his own career. How did he become a full-time, professional consultant in urban and indoor farming? Why did he leave New York City to tour the country in a camper van? What are some trends he’s seeing out on the road, both inspiring and worrying? What is he hopeful for in the world of urban agriculture in NYC, in the year ahead? For more of Jeffrey’s work, check out his road-trip blog, Farms Unknown. And don’t forget to subscribe to Fields!

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What is a sitopia, and why does it matter? The term was coined by Carolyn Steel in Hungry City, referencing a utopia which ideologically pivots around food in some way. How has farming been wielded by creatives’ in their visions of the future? How have architects and artists imagined sitopias which bring human systems back into harmony with ecology in experimental societies through food? We visit Arcosanti, an architectural and social experimental community in the Arizona desert, and Biosphere 2, the world’s largest analog earth system, to examine the role of food in futurist speculation and utopia projects. We look back at food ecologies in sci-fi and NASA’s 1970s space farming projections, and hear insight from David Tollas, the general manager of Arcosanti Agriculture, and John Adams, the Deputy Director of Biosphere 2. Follow Fields for more dives into the futures (and futures-past) of urban agriculture.

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How did rice become a very commonly grown, rock-star grain in many parts of the world? What is the legacy of rice-growing in South Carolina, specifically? How has rice reshaped wetlands—and cultures? Following up on our conversation with Dr. Edda Fields-Black regarding the rice and the West African diaspora, we speak with another historian of rice: Peter H. Wood, Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University and Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Colorado–Boulder. Dr. Wood has been researching the transfer of knowledge regarding rice between West Africa and the Southern United States, including the legacy of the enslavement of Africans on the lands of the United States today. We talk about the history of rice-growing around the world, how it was grown in South Carolina hundreds of years ago and today, and the present and likely future impacts of climate disruption on the state’s coastal wetlands. (If you haven’t already listened to our conversation with Dr. Edda Fields-Black, check it out.) Dr. Wood is the author of Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion (1974), Strange New Land: Africans in Colonial America (2002), and Created Equal: A Social and Political History of the United States (2004). Follow Fields for more explorations of the intersections of urban and rural agriculture, and more discussions of how farming’s history shapes our present food systems.

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