Edible Activist Podcast

New Brooklyn Farms is a green haven located in the suburbs of Mt. Rainer, Maryland. Doug Adams, owner and founder, is the visionary behind this concept, and it holds a special place in his heart because he grew up in the home right next to it. He is a health and agriculture enthusiast at heart, having experienced a short stint in the juicing business, he always knew the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and local food production. In 2016 Doug was able to acquire 1/4 acre plot next to his parents home, and has started to build what he calls a green event space. In this episode, listen to Doug share how he wants folks to re-imagine their land and take a different approach to homesteading, why owning land is important to him, and his perspectives on growing food for B2B.

Freeing the land and returning to our ancestral ways is a large part of land liberation. During this special episode, powered by Fair Farms Maryland, audience members were part of this live broadcast as host, Melissa L. Jones engaged in conversation with former guest and farmer, Dom Hosack on what land liberation means and how to reclaim what was ours. Listen in as he shares why we must view the earth as part of our own system, the crucial need to care for the land to prevent further climate disaster and be able to grow food, and learn about his work with Earth Bound Building, a member cooperative based in Maryland.

Dffrntwrld, co-founded by DC native Brennan Gerald, is a creative agency that designs solutions to help brands reach their business goals. Their tribe is made up of strategists, healers, designers, alchemists, herbalists, indigenous cultural enthusiasts, and plant-based, ethical, eco-friendly businesses. In this episode, Brennan talks about growing up in a health conscious environment, why he chooses to focus solely on helping healthy and sustainable brands through his consultancy, and his take on the future of food and agriculture.

In honor of Mother's Day, Edible Activist Podcast host Melissa L. Jones interviews her mother about her food journey. Malinda is a southerner with deep roots in Butler, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi. She grew up eating everything on the land, from yard meat to fresh pecans, and is still a country girl at heart. In this episode, mom shares her fondest food memories in the south, growing up as a kid in a rural area, and her bouts with food allergies that forced her to change her diet completely, turning towards a more holistic approach. Tune into: A Mother's Food Journey.

Meet Farming Ninjas, Jeremy Carry and LaVan Anderson, who are using their gardening tools as weapons for good. On a mission to grow organic and delicious food for everyone and everywhere, Jeremy is a self-taught gardener who witnessed a food dessert in Richmond, VA and began growing food by just throwing seeds in a pot! And inspiring master gardener LaVan believes that growing food for survival is more than just resiliency, it also means eating right so that we can live longer. In this episode, we talk through food perspectives and also acknowledge the great Nipsey Hussle and the seeds he planted in the black community.

Living well is a mindset. Colombian native Lina Salazar believes that in order for any type of transformation and healing to occur, there needs to be a shift in the mind. Traveling the world and achieving every goal imaginable, Lina still struggled with her physical image, becoming obsessed with diet and exercise, and even had her bouts with bulimia and binge eating. Having overcome these challenges, Lina now provides support to women as a health coach through her platform, Live Well. In this episode, learn about her food roots in Colombia, how to achieve food sanity and the importance of feeling good about yourself.

Acupuncturist and herbalist, Geoff Edwards brings his wisdom back to the show talking all-things ancestry and herbal healing. He has deepened his work, navigating this ancestral journey even further through the exploration of medical herbs, traveling to Costa Rica and Jamaica connecting with indigenous roots and farmers, and applying this to his Nu Healing Arts practice. In this episode, listen to Geoff speak on the importance of knowing what our grandparents grew, and what their parents grew, as a way to connect with our ancestors and to incorporate a diet that reflects our ancestral DNA.

Rebecca Lemos-Otero has dedicated her career to making safe green spaces where children and youth are the main stewards and cultivators. As co-founder and Executive Director of City Blossoms, Rebecca gets to combine her interests in community development, entrepreneurship, horticulture, the arts, and working with youth. In this episode we dig into her D.C. roots, growing up in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, learn how green spaces create explorative and experimental spaces for youth, and how entrepreneurship is an important part of City Blossom's model. Tune in!

Food On The Stove is a dynamic organization, founded by EMT and firefighter, Jonathan Tate of Engine 11 Truck 6 in D.C., as a way to address the #1 cause of firefighter deaths which is heart disease. In this episode we explore Jonathan's personal relationship to food prior to becoming a first responder, learn about FOTS's initiative, Local Food for Local Heroes, and how they are bringing fresh food from the field to the firehouse to promote healthy lifestyle changes for firefighters in the city!

It's a Vegan Fiesta and Dominique Evans is the dynamic woman behind it all! In this episode, learn how one documentary changed the trajectory of her diet lifestyle and why she advocates for the safety of animals who endure harsh treatment at factory farms. Dominique's online platform, The Vegan Fiesta, showcases her colorful and well-crafted vegan creations (even animal print donuts), pulling inspiration from her own artistic capabilities and curiosity. Tune in!

From rooftop gardens to elementary school vegetable beds, Niraj Ray is on a mission to "cultivate the city" with green spaces. He is the founder of Cultivate the City, an organization based in Washington, D.C. that was created to inspire healthy and sustainable living by empowering communities with tools and training for urban agriculture. In this episode learn about Niraj's environmental science background, how his Indian family inspired his green thumb, the advantages of vertical farming, and how he created 25 urban farms (yes, 25)!

Where's WANDA? Tambra Raye Stevenson is taking her all over the world to inspire little girls to become food sheroes. She founded Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Nutrition to empower women & girls to lead and create healthy communities in Africa and the Diaspora. She is a world traveler, international speaker, mom and amazing cook. Listen in as she defines divine feminine power, speaks on how Western food has failed us, and finding her fulani roots in Nigeria.

AFRO Beets embodies soul and culture. Chris Riddick is a vegetable gardener and plant-based soul food cook who specialzes in growing foods that are, what he calls, building blocks of soul food. Listen in as he shares the importance of food and identity and how he creates small edible spaces without a backyard or porch!

Soilful: the feeling when mind, body, and spirit connect with the earth. In this episode, Xavier Brown shares defining moments and perspectives in agriculture. His belief is that everyone should embody a "soilful" lifestyle and highlights the importance of black people defining their place in agriculture. We also honor the legacy of Horace Pippin, a black veteran, artist and seedkeeper, and talk through how Xavier has created a system to support black farmers through the production of fish peppers to create his infamous Pippin Sauce.

The WaterHole is a gem in the Mt. Rainer community where residents, artists, and moms of toddlers come to nourish their minds, bodies and souls with organic, cold-pressed juices. Lisa Harris, an artist and resident herself, is the owner and operator who started the juice bar after the passing of her dad back in 2013. TWH is the first and only juice bar in Mt. Rainer, a quaint and hippie town nestled in between northeast D.C. and Hyattsville, which is also home to many creatives. Lisa is not only making history as an African-American entrepreneur in her town, but she is truly passionate about health and wants her neighbors to "live organically."

Dreaming Out Loud is what everyone should be doing, right? Founder and executive director Chris Bradshaw thinks so and believes that everyone should feel empowered to "dream out loud." Chris' organization has been working to fix a broken food system for the last decade, realizing that the systematic structures at-large are no accident. He wants marginalized communities to be in a space where they can dream into reality and have access to better jobs, food, education, and more. Listen in as you hear Chris share why our food and economic system is so jacked up, the work that DOL is doing in wards 7 & 8, along with him recounting a story from his lineage-- one of death and escape from Rosewood, Florida.

A juice bar that is turning DC communities natural! Jerri Evans is a DC native and the owner of Turning Natural, a collection of five juice bars that serve up delicious smoothies and fun vibes in and outside of DC. Growing up in Southeast, corner stores filled with sugar and processed foods were at proximity to Jerri and her peers; she has witnessed firsthand the health disparities around her, including her late mother who was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. Jerri is continuing the legacy that her mother started, Turning Natural, and is on a mission to create an entire health movement!

Growing rice in the DC region + healing people?!? Dr. Nazirahk Amen is on a mission and we're here for it all! In this episode, you'll learn how Dr. Amen, a licensed naturopathic doctor, Chinese Medicine practitioner, and acupuncturist is connecting to the land, defining health and what he calls, dis-ease, along with how he helps people to heal and live authentic healthy lifestyles.

D.C. native, Myeasha Taylor, has been pushing locally grown produce over the last ten years! She's a farmer, food systems advocate, project manager, and a go-go + Bmore club enthusiast. In this episode you'll hear how the passing of her grandmother led to creating a path in the health and agriculture space, her experience growing food in Baltimore city, and the narrative that she's hoping to change for her D.C. community.

In the City of Brotherly Love, community residents are building green spaces in the hood, fighting for land access, demanding answers from the city, and banding together to honor what our ancestors built on the land. In this episode, you'll hear about Melissa and Leta's journey to Philadelphia to capture the bravehearts of this city.