Interview with Diana Rodgers
Diana Rodgers is the owner of Radiance Nutritional Therapy, a health coaching company on a mission to help clients rejuvenate their health through optimal nutrition and digestive support through offering cooking classes and health workshops. Diana also runs Clark Farm, an organic farm in Carlisle, Massachusetts with her husband, where they reside with their two children. But before her interest in sustainability, human health, and environmental and social justice, her interest in learning more...
Diana Rodgers is the owner of Radiance Nutritional Therapy, a health coaching company on a mission to help clients rejuvenate their health through optimal nutrition and digestive support through offering cooking classes and health workshops. Diana also runs Clark Farm, an organic farm in Carlisle, Massachusetts with her husband, where they reside with their two children. But before her interest in sustainability, human health, and environmental and social justice, her interest in learning more about her food and human health was piqued by a life-altering event— a much needed Celiac’s diagnosis after a lifetime of suffering from weak digestion. After her diagnosis, she began a gluten-free dietary regimen that rendered her symptom-free within a few short weeks. It was then when she decided to learn more about food and food issues, leading her to the path she is on today. In this interview, Diana talks to Paleo Foundation about sustainable farming, farmed fish, climate change, and the Paleo Movement’s role in fostering the growth of the small-scale farming industry.
Get your copy of Diana's Homegrown Paleo Cookbook
Is your question, 'Was the Neolithic revolution a good thing?’ It's not realistic that we are going to willingly go back to living as a paleolithic man. Things are too good for us. As we have been domesticating plants and animals, we have been domesticated.
As such, we no longer primarily hunt for our food. Although I do think it’s awesome that some folks are returning to living a rural, more wild existence, I am dedicated to finding practical solutions for people and do not believe in preaching radical ideas which are just not going to be a reality for most people.
If you think about the ethics of raising meat at all, it is an odd business for sure. A farmer has to spend so much time and energy and love to make sure the animals are growing and thriving. Then, when it's time to process them, he has to turn those emotions off and kill the animal. Of course he does the killing as humanely as possible, but still, he has gone from nurturer to predator, in a sense.
It’s something that any conscientious farmer would consider. However, I do think it’s better to give the animals a good life and humane slaughter if you’re going to eat them. I don’t personally know anyone who only eats wild caught meats 100% of the time and also is a contributing member to society.
I don’t think domestication in itself removed them from natural migration patterns. Some people assume we instantly took animals from their Edenic environment and plunked them into a factory farm. Industrial livestock production is riddled with ethical, economic and environmental problems. As we hunted animals to extinction and became less migrational, it became necessary to keep some large animals closer to our homesteads. We learned through many years of selective breeding which livestock and plants to raise/grow for better yields. I think we actually created a food source that could thrive alongside man.
So looking at what we’re given today, with so many people on the planet, how can we handle this? Raising animals in environments and on foods that most closely mimic their natural state, and treating them with respect and kindness is what we’re trying to do on our farm. We need more farmers doing this kind of work.
What was the most interesting thing that you learned from attending the Eat Red Meat, Save the World talk at Harvard Law School?
In addition to his work on the environment, Allan Savory has a lot of political experience. One person asked how change can happen on a big scale. His reply was that it has to come from the people. We have to MAKE the politicians change. My husband and I actually hosted the very next day to a class in Global Food Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. While the class toured our farm, we discussed this same issue. People need to be the driving force behind the policy change, not politicians. I think this idea is something that can be applied to sustainability and the paleo movement. It’s important to educate folks on the issues so that they are the ones who demand change. Get your copy of Diana's Homegrown Paleo Cookbook
How did you get into farming? How did you become a sustainability enthusiast?
I have worked on farms since I was a teenager as my summer job during high school and college. I loved being covered in dirt, being outdoors all day, and being so incredibly tired at the end of the day from the hard work. After I graduated college it was time to go out and got a “real job”. My boyfriend and I moved to Portland, Oregon and both landed jobs in the high tech world. On the weekends, we would escape the city and go for hikes. One place we visited frequently was a small farm where we learned about the concept of CSAs – Community Supported Agriculture. Andrew (now my husband) was fascinated by the idea that he could potentially make a living working outdoors, using his body, and most importantly, doing something important for the environment by helping to save the land from development. We moved back to Massachusetts, got married, and he went back to school to study soil science. He also apprenticed on a small farm to learn the practical end of farming skills. He was quickly hired to manage a financially troubled farm north of Boston. For the next ten years, we ran the farm together. He managed the fields and crew, and I helped run the store, produced events, and did the communications. We grew the CSA to over 400 members, started a successful apprentice program, ran an education program with local schools, and hosted some really cool events. The farm was financially stable and doing great. A couple of years ago, we had the opportunity to revive an old dairy farm in another town. Eager to find a more long term farming opportunity, we decided to move to this new farm. Today, we run a vegetable CSA and raise pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep. There is also a big education component to the farm, working with local schools and universities. I am pretty focused on my own education to become a Registered Dietitian and running my nutrition practice, but am still involved with the farm, though Andrew and his crew manage the daily farm activities. Blending my interest in nutrition with my knowledge of farm life seemed natural, so I started my blog, Sustainable Dish, and am working on a new book dedicated to helping people connect with their food.In your opinion, what does it take to be a sustainable farmer?
The USDA website defines sustainable farming as farming practices which focus on environmental as well as financial aspects of farming. When I think of sustainable food production, I tend to think more about a goal of the farm is capable of thriving with as little off-farm inputs as possible, while still being a financially viable business. Every year we get a little closer to closing the loop and having a self-sustaining farm. I think a sustainable farm needs to incorporate basic principles of using animals along with growing vegetables, having diverse and multiple revenue streams, being a valuable part of your community, and spreading knowledge to the next generation of young farmers. 4. Have you ever considered that the domestication of animals, particularly large herbivores, may have been a mistake since it removed them from natural, erratic migrational patterns that Allan Savory has discovered to be so important to the vitality of the land?Is your question, 'Was the Neolithic revolution a good thing?’ It's not realistic that we are going to willingly go back to living as a paleolithic man. Things are too good for us. As we have been domesticating plants and animals, we have been domesticated.
As such, we no longer primarily hunt for our food. Although I do think it’s awesome that some folks are returning to living a rural, more wild existence, I am dedicated to finding practical solutions for people and do not believe in preaching radical ideas which are just not going to be a reality for most people.
If you think about the ethics of raising meat at all, it is an odd business for sure. A farmer has to spend so much time and energy and love to make sure the animals are growing and thriving. Then, when it's time to process them, he has to turn those emotions off and kill the animal. Of course he does the killing as humanely as possible, but still, he has gone from nurturer to predator, in a sense.
It’s something that any conscientious farmer would consider. However, I do think it’s better to give the animals a good life and humane slaughter if you’re going to eat them. I don’t personally know anyone who only eats wild caught meats 100% of the time and also is a contributing member to society.
I don’t think domestication in itself removed them from natural migration patterns. Some people assume we instantly took animals from their Edenic environment and plunked them into a factory farm. Industrial livestock production is riddled with ethical, economic and environmental problems. As we hunted animals to extinction and became less migrational, it became necessary to keep some large animals closer to our homesteads. We learned through many years of selective breeding which livestock and plants to raise/grow for better yields. I think we actually created a food source that could thrive alongside man.
So looking at what we’re given today, with so many people on the planet, how can we handle this? Raising animals in environments and on foods that most closely mimic their natural state, and treating them with respect and kindness is what we’re trying to do on our farm. We need more farmers doing this kind of work.