TABLE OF CONTENTS
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AGRICULTURE as CULTURE 52 CHLOÉ PANTAZI-WOLBER
The STATE of FIRE 66 BEAU FLEMISTER
The MICROSCOPIC LIFE of COMPOST 78 CASSANDRA MARKETOS
PUBLISHER / CHIEF BRAND OFFICER Austin Brown
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dustin Beatty
EDITORS ’ LETTER
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On the COVER
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Lily Moayeri
ART DIRECTOR Joel Speasmaker
166 170 174 176
LIVING REGENERATIVELY
GROUNDED
A NEW HOPE 110 DUSTIN BEATTY
HOW FOOD MOVES SOIL by the NUMBERS
COPY EDITOR Leah Zibulsky
SENIOR EDITOR Lisa Butterworth
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christian Cummings, Maya Eslami, Beau Flemister, Julie Gerstein, Hayley Helms, Laura Mallonee, Cassandra Marketos, Angely Mercado, Lily Moayeri, Chloé Pantazi-Wolber, Jeanine Pesce, Zoe Rosenberg, Tatiana Oliveira Simonian, Kevin Whitton CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ashlie Chavez, Sean DuFrene, Brandon Harman, Neal Handloser, Aditi Kannan, Amber Maalouf, Rogelio Puente, Ben Rosser, Aaron D. Stallworth Jr., Julia Stotz, Clarke Tolton CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Clay Hickson, Haisam Hussein, Liana Jegers, Obi Kaufmann, James McClung, Josh McKenna, Sandra Navarro, Peter Oumanski, Jessica Rotter, Armando Veve
BIRDS of PARADISE 60 DUSTIN BEATTY
NATURAL CURIOSITIES 70 DUSTIN BEATTY
CHANGE is BREWING 84 BEAU FLEMISTER FIGHTING for the RIGHT to FARM 90 ZOE ROSENBERG
FIELDS of CHANGE 130 JULIE GERSTEIN
150
BUZZING TOWARD an ETHICAL PLAN BEE 118 CHRISTIAN CUMMINGS
The FIX for FOOD WASTE
LAURA MALLONEE
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154
Ideas, inspiration, and community stories from those with dirty boots on the ground who are dedicated to doing good.
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Dr. Kelsey Hood Cattaneo
COVER ARTIST Bill Rebholz
The DIAMOND of DATES
From SOUL to SOIL
COMMUNITY
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PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Dawn Riley
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Peter Wells
DUSTIN BEATTY
ZOE ROSENBERG
From FARM to FESTIVAL SEEDS of SANCTUARY A NATIVE BREW REBORN When FARMWORK BECOMES ARTWORK An EMPOWERED PLATE
26 36 40
OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE in FIBERS 96 JEANINE PESCE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steve Brazeel
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The Rooted Journal © 2025 is an official publication of Elevated Foods, Inc. and is published under contract by YAH Group Inc. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and advertisers. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Elevated Foods or The Rooted Journal. The publisher makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein and will not be held liable for any errors or omissions. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750004G029 . Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, any reference to specific brands or types of products or services does not constitute or imply an endorsement by
DIRTY BOOTS
PASTURE , PRODUCE , & PURPOSE 124 ZOE ROSENBERG
12 16
SOWING FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
GROWING HOMES A FARM in FASHION
20 48
A GENIE in the BOTTLE 102 HAYLEY HELMS
FATHER NATURE 138 JULIE GERSTEIN
FIELD GOALS
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HEALTH
The SOCIETY of SOIL
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The ONION FIELDS
PRODUCTS
the U.S. Department of Agriculture for those products or services. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. The Rooted Journal (ISSN: 2998-7849) is published biannually by Elevated Foods, Inc. © 2025 by The Rooted Journal. All rights reserved. The Rooted Journal is a registered trademark of Elevated Foods, Inc. For advertising inquiries, email ADVERTISING@THEROOTEDJOURNAL.COM .
BEST MADE CO. Is BACK The REGENERATIVE TABLE
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MAYA ESLAMI
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An ARTIST’S HARVEST
TECH
On the RIGHT TRACTOR
19
JULIE GERSTEIN
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Printed in the U.S.A.
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EDITORS’ LETTER
We the natural world into focus and challenge the notion that saving the bees alone is enough to sustain our ecosystems (“Buzzing Toward bring an Ethical Plan B,” p. 118). Art enters
A
GRICULTURE IS MORE THAN the act of growing food — it’s the foundation of our communities and our traditions, and it’s the way
UP BEFORE THE ROOSTER THE FARM WON’T WORK ITSELF A SUNRISE KALE HARVEST BOOTS PRINTS IN THE RICH SOIL DIRT UNDER THE FINGERNAILS PROOF OF A QUALITY LIFE
we connect to the land. Across generations and continents, farming has shaped culture as much as culture has shaped farming. From the ancient practice of seed saving, which we explored in Issue 1, to the modern push for regenerative techniques we celebrate daily, the way we cultivate the earth is a direct reflection of what we value, how we live, and who we are. In this issue, we tell the stories of farmers who see their work as an extension of heritage (“Agriculture as Culture,” p. 52), chefs who champion seasonal ingredients as an act of resistance (“An Empowered Plate,” p. 46), and innovators weaving new technologies into time- honored traditions (“The Diamond of Dates,” p. 134). These are not just stories about food; they are stories about people, resilience, and the evolution of our relationship with the land. At a time when industrial farming and imports threaten biodiversity and food sovereignty, embracing agriculture as culture reminds us of what’s at stake
the conversation as we introduce a world-famous painter whose upstate New York farm — funded in part through collaborations with fashion brands — grows and donates more than 100,000 pounds of food a year to nearby underserved communities (“A Farm in Fashion,” p. 20; “An Artist’s Harvest,” p. 144). Long before food was a commodity, it was a lifeline, a ceremony, a story passed down through generations. From the terraced rice fields of Asia to the milpas of Mesoamerica, from the pastoral traditions of Africa to the regenerative practices of indigenous communities across North America, the way people grow, harvest, and share food has always been an extension of their identity (“The Society of Soil,” p. 8). Agriculture isn’t just about sustenance; it’s about survival, storytelling, stewardship, and adaptability — returning to old ways of farming that just might stall what goes into a landfill (“The Fix for Food Waste,” p. 150). Each story in this issue is another chapter in uniting communities across America, taking a closer look at regenerative practices, and ensuring an optimistic outlook on how we all can participate — even through something as simple as buying clothing (“Our Sustainable Future in Fibers,” p. 96). We believe empowerment comes in many forms, often through the smallest actions, and we invite you to explore more. Thanks for reading and sharing. Stay rooted. Stay elevated. — THE ROOTED JOURNAL EDITORS
on the Hawaiian Islands (“Sowing Food Sovereignty,” p. 12). It urges us to support the hands that feed us (“Father Nature,” p. 138), honor the ecosystems that
sustain us, and reconnect with the roots — both literal and figurative — that ground us. After all, how we farm is how we live, and the future of both depends on the choices we make today, especially as we educate the next generation to dig in the dirt and carry on tradition (“Natural Curiosities,” p. 70).
MOUNTAIN PASS
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ON THE COVER
W
Hand-painted lettering was central to that world, with artists like Steve “ESPO” Powers and the late Margaret Kilgallen incorporating sign painting into their work. “Through graffiti, I got obsessed with drawing and got really interested in mid- century Americana industrial design, where you see that style of lettering and little mascots,”
HEN ARTIST BILL REBHOLZ WAS young, he was drawn to an eye-catching display near the train tracks in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.
Beyond the industrial grit of train yards, bridges, and corridors, railway cars were painted in bold, vibrant colors by local graffiti artists. His fascination deepened after watching “Style Wars,” the cult documentary about New York’s early ’80s graffiti scene. It clicked: What he saw in his hometown was part of a much larger movement.
“FARM STAND” 2025
foods made from Alaska-grown LP
he tells The Rooted Journal. That aesthetic lingers in rural America — fading signage on markets, liquor stores, gas stations, and agricultural centers, weathered by time but rich with history. For this cover, Rebholz painted a love letter to those remnants of hand-painted Americana, tying together the visual language of farm stands and rural signage. “When I look at a farm stand, it’s almost like a structure made of signs — like you’re inside a sign of sorts — built from rudimentary construction, covered in information telling you what they have and how much things cost,” he says. His artwork celebrates the farmers and food workers in this issue — those who feed their communities, advocate for food security, and honor agriculture as culture.
Find local retailers & order online
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Visit BILLREBHOLZ.COM to learn more.
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The SOCIETY of SOIL
Farmer’s Footprint stands 10 toes down on building the regenerative farming community through storytelling.
by ANGELY MERCADO
/ HEALTH SPR UT
What does that look like in practice? We collaborate with doing grassroots work, whether on a farm level or at a policy level, or even at a community level. We connect to different creatives, like filmmakers, photographers, writers, and more, to craft storytelling pieces in the form of communication campaigns, short documentaries, etc., so that more people can be aware of these topics. They can take action alongside these initiatives — at a policy level or on a more local level. An example could be our organizations that are glyphosate campaign. We launched a petition to mobilize our growing network of community members around banning glyphosate in the United States, and that petition eventually made it to Senator Cory Booker [D-NJ]. We hosted a free
Almost 40% of land in the United States, about 880 million acres, is dedicated to farmland for food production. Nearly half of this acreage is subjected to monoculture farming, which has stripped soil of the nutrients needed to produce healthy food. Organizations and sustainability movements around the world are advocating for a return to regenerative farming, which uses fewer chemicals and crop rotation to increase nutrients in our soil, in turn improving the quality of our food. One such organization is Farmer’s Footprint.
Farmer’s Footprint provides funding, supports community- building initiatives, and creates educational resources and informational campaigns for both farmers and the general public, all in service of regenerative farming. Through storytelling that highlights indigenous communities, seasoned farmers, and health experts, Farmer’s Footprint aims to inspire a collective shift toward regenerative practices to help reshape food systems for environmental and human well-being. The U.S.- founded organization now has an international presence in Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy, among other countries. Here, Alana Mooi, the managing director at Farmer’s Footprint, tells The Rooted Journal more about the organization’s mission for a healthier, more holistic approach to agriculture.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: LIFE FEEDS ON LIFE WHEN SOIL IS HEALTHY.
How does Farmer’s Footprint spread its message of regenerative farming? We seek to unite the agricultural and health systems so that more people can realize that planetary health is human health. We focus on education, awareness, coalition building, and inspiration. We’ve developed three main pillars of our storytelling work around agriculture, health, and culture. We offer tangible tools and resources on how people can take action based on the stories that we share.
CHOCHO, GROWN BY INDIGENOUS ANDEAN FARMERS IN ECUADOR, IS A NUTRIENT-DENSE, REGENERATIVE SUPERFOOD THAT DOUBLES AS A COVER CROP. MOOI TRAVELED TO XOCHIMILCO IN MEXICO CITY TO HARVEST AND COOK FRESH INGREDIENTS FROM ARCA TIERRA, A PROJECT REVIVING THE PREHISPANIC CHINAMPA FARMING TRADITION BY CONNECTING LOCAL CONSUMERS WITH REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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community webinar that raised awareness about the problems associated with glyphosate from a farmer’s perspective, from a planetary perspective, from a human health perspective, and from a policy activism standpoint. We share a lot of stories about farmers and health practitioners. We also have a digital Farmer’s Footprint Community hosted on the Mighty Networks platform, where we offer educational courses around topics like how to grow food in your backyard. We connect people that come our way to resources, tools, and learning and networking opportunities. For example, if there’s a farmer looking to transition from conventional to regenerative practices, we would connect them with other growers that could help them on their journey.
We seek to shift perspectives and acknowledge how a lot of the blueprint of what we could do differently, as human beings interested in regeneration, is alive in communities in the Global South. When we facilitate these dialogues between the Global North and the Global South and share stories from indigenous communities, it is with the intention to have mutual acknowledgement of how both ways of approaching systems are really valuable. It’s not a fight against technology or against development. It’s about seeing the impact that embracing nature’s processes could have, rather than colonizing them or trying to control them. Can you describe how more sustainable farming practices are connected to ideas in health, like food as medicine? This is one of my favorite topics. I’m not a farmer but I grew up in the kitchen, so I continue to feel inspired when I see the parallels between nutrient density and flavor in food. I grew up eating seasonally, and I feel it’s the tastiest. When we eat seasonally and locally, not only are we eating the most flavorful ingredients available, but we’re also eating the most nutritionally dense foods, at least when the ingredients are grown in healthy soil by farmers using regenerative practices. ABOVE: MOOI (LEFT) AND FRIEND WITH A FARM FRESH HARVEST. OPPOSITE FROM TOP: GAIL FULLER, A DEDICATED FARMER AND FOUNDER OF FULLER FIELD SCHOOL, WHERE HE ADVOCATES FOR REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE, HEALTHIER SOILS, AND FARMER WELL-BEING. ANDEAN FARMERS IN ECUADOR.
When food ingredients are transported from one place to the other, they lose nutrients as well as flavor. And then there’s the carbon footprint when ingredients are transported great distances before they reach our local grocery store shelves. When we eat seasonally and locally, we get to engage in a more reciprocal relationship with our immediate community, too. We get to support the farms growing the food closest to us — we benefit from the peak- season produce and get to experience the freshness, flavors, and nutritional density of locally grown ingredients. Is seasonal farming a tenet of regenerative agriculture? When we talk about regenerative farming and embracing nature’s processes, we’re enhancing biodiversity, as opposed to monocrops, which are a staple of the industrial farming complex. There’s no biodiversity or seasonality with industrial farming and monocrop food systems, because if you’re always growing corn or soy, it eventually depletes the soil. Farming regeneratively, you’re planting diverse crops and rotating seasonally — not only do you enhance the quality of the soil; you’re also rotating your soil, so it keeps getting better, and you’re inherently building more diversity that is changing, and increasing, with each season. You growing up in the kitchen. How has your personal experience influenced your connection to regenerative farming? My Mexican culture has been a mentioned huge part of my journey. I think, How do we align with what’s in front of us and create something from that? For me, that’s appreciating how I grew up. Maybe there were limited ingredients, but I was raised on a very seasonal diet
Farmer’s Community, depending on where they are in their transition to regenerative, we see who we can connect them to. In the past, we offered a program called The Nest, where we developed websites and other marketing materials for small- scale farmers so that they can have more ways to sell their product or connect with brands looking to source regenerative ingredients. We help them diversify their revenue streams to lower their risk. We also have a lot of educational materials that farmers can share with their customers, whether at a farmers’ market or in their local grocery store, so they can educate consumers about why their regeneratively grown products are more expensive and better for them and for their local community. Footprint What are some challenges you face when trying to support those farmers? The support that they need to be more successful in their regenerative operation or business model varies a lot. It will depend if the farmers are selling directly to consumers or if they’re
selling wholesale or to restaurants. Some farms try new things, like an agro- tourism or educational component. Some are looking for ways to sell more value-added products, so they might be looking for partners to develop those. When [people] criticize industrial farming, we often forget that farmers are already under so much stress. They need to get loans to make it work. They need to buy all these fertilizers. Mental health barriers are also huge. Depression rates amongst the farmer community are off the charts. So I think the first thing we need to do as a general public, when we ask farmers to transition, is to support them in that transition and stand alongside them as a community. How does Farmer’s Footprint incorporate global indigenous teachings? Like I mentioned, we have three pillars: agriculture, health, and culture. The indigenous knowledge systems really come through the culture pillar. We share different stories and dialogues with indigenous elders from around the world to learn about their growing traditions.
that was very healthy, and we got to share it in the community. It really took me going to the U.S. and seeing how disconnected most people were from these traditions around food and ways of accessing food — this was the turning point for me. The United States is a country of such diversity in terms of heritage, but the way that American society urges people to be more homogenous and adapt to fast foods is contributing to the level of disconnection between human beings, farming, and food. Growing up in Mexico instilled an appreciation in me around just how important it is to have direct and meaningful relationships with the people that we’re getting our food from. Healing that [relationship] can be on all of the levels — physical but also spiritual. When we know that we are part of something bigger, we realize how our sustenance is so tied to the community that we’re part of.
Where should a farmer or food producer go to get this kind of help? A great place to start would be to join our free Mighty Networks Farmer’s Footprint Community. Each farmer’s journey is so unique, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. When a farmer comes into the
Visit FARMERSFOOTPRINT.US to learn more.
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THE SOCIETY OF SOIL
SOWING Food SOVEREIGNTY
Kaua‘i’s Common Ground farmers and innovators are demonstrating how local food systems can thrive without reliance on imported inputs.
by KEVIN WHITTON photographs courtesy of COMMON GROUND
/ DIRTY BOOTS SPR UT
Fortunately, Hawai‘i has a growing contingent of local farmers who are eager to return to a more sustainable, regenerative form of agriculture to produce diverse crops for local consumption and value-added food products, such as chocolate, tea, honey, and even ‘ulu chips. Common Ground, a lifestyle company situated on a former sugar plantation and guava farm on the verdant north shore of Kaua‘i, is raising awareness of the benefits of regenerative farming by creating a community of farmers, food and beverage business owners, and visitors on its 83-acre agricultural campus. Through its demonstration agroforest, Food Innovation Center, community food hub, restaurant, and business incubator for farmers and food entrepreneurs, Common Ground is practicing the future of Hawaiian farming today.
When Polynesian voyagers came to settle the Hawaiian Islands between 1000 and 1200 A.D., they arrived in canoes filled with two dozen species of useful plants that would become the elemental food and material sources to establish a thriving, self-sufficient society in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Known as canoe plants, kalo (taro), niu (coconut), ‘uala (sweet potato), and ‘ulu (breadfruit) are just a few of the crops that were traditionally grown through sustainable, regenerative farming practices that linked the resources of entire watersheds, from upland farms along cold, freshwater streams to shoreline fishponds. Most of the canoe plants can still be found growing across the Aloha State today, but Hawai‘i’s traditional farming practices have been superseded by modern Western agricultural systems that rely heavily on imported fertilizer, pesticide, and fungicide to grow large swaths of monocrops (single crops grown repeatedly on the same land), like pineapple and corn. This method of farming strips soil of its nutrients, requires higher use of pesticides and water, and reduces biodiversity, creating a ripple of detrimental effects in the environment.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS IMPORT A STAGGERING 85% TO 90% OF THEIR FOOD.
“As growers, we need to develop agricultural systems that don’t rely on mainland inputs. You can’t talk about food security and resilience in the same breath if all of the farm inputs — animal feed and fertilizer — are coming over on the same barge as the food,” Common Ground Director of Agroecology John Parziale tells The Rooted Journal. “Farmers must adapt and develop agricultural ecosystems that can be productive without those inputs, and the time to develop these systems is not when the mainland inputs are gone.”
Adaptability is one of the hallmarks of traditional Hawaiian agriculture, and it will once again be required of the islands’ farmers as they reimagine agricultural systems that could reestablish Hawai‘i’s food sovereignty. Parziale, who has been practicing organic, ecological agriculture on Kaua‘i for 23 years, sees the return to regenerative farming practices as a solution that can be modeled and scaled to farms across the state, creating self- sustaining ecosystems. At Common Ground, Parziale is employing what’s known as suc- cessional agroforestry: cultivating a rainforest ecosystem that is intercon- nected from fruit to fertility. And by in- corporating multi-species animal graz- ing into the system, he’s eliminating the need for imported inputs like fer- tilizer and animal feed. “Using nature’s operating instructions on how forests are created and then managing yields throughout that process, I’m filling ecological niches with the appropri- ate plants and animals, which provide yields as well. The climax of this system is a food forest,” he explains.
LMOST 200 YEARS AFTER THE first sugar plantation opened in Kōloa, Kaua‘i, the business of growing food mainly for export has devastated Hawai‘i’s food sovereignty. In fact, Hawai‘i imports 85% to 90% of its food, making island residents vulnerable to supply-chain and shipping disruptions caused by natural disasters and global events, while paying more out-of- pocket for the same fruits and veggies enjoyed for less on the mainland.
LEFT: COMMON GROUND’S JOHN PARZIALE HAS PRACTICED ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE ON KAUA’I FOR OVER 20 YEARS. RIGHT: COMMON GROUND’S 83-ACRE AGRICULTURAL CAMPUS IS A COMMUNITY FOOD HUB, RESTAURANT, AND BUSINESS INCUBATOR.
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“When people see the overlay of our young forest
Parziale has layered his diverse agroforest with canopy trees like avocado and breadfruit; understory plants like kava, coffee, and peach palm that grow between the canopy and the ground cover; and forest floor species like upland taro and seasonal vegetables. To cultivate regenerative fertility, grazing beef and dairy cows leave manure behind, which chickens scratch and spread, unearthing nourishing insects for healthy egg laying and enabling the plants to more efficiently absorb the nutrients from the manure. Parziale also enriches the soil with chop-and-drop pruning, so the plant cuttings decompose right where they grew, and mitigates pests through biological farming, bolstering natural predators that keep the pests
in check. For example, instead of spraying pesticides to kill nematodes (roundworms), he feeds soil fungi that naturally prey on nematode eggs and juveniles. The result is a self-reliant system that can operate without a continuous supply of imported inputs. Through the many programs at Common Ground, Parziale and the team share this knowledge, and the food it produces, with island residents and visitors alike. The Common Ground Incubator program has helped 17 local businesses develop systems and strategies for their food, beverage, and lifestyle products, essentially linking food entrepreneurs with local farmers to engender a collaborative, sustainable agricultural economy in Hawai‘i. A new cohort will launch this year. A farm- to-table restaurant feeds visitors with 100% locally sourced food. And the organization also acts as a local food hub and distribution center, establishing much-needed local supply chains. “Farmers are food providers. As trusted growers, they have a deep connection to the land and the community,” says Parziale. “When people see the overlay of our young forest ecosystem, the layers of edible ferns growing on the ground, coffee growing under the ‘ulu trees, the grazing animals, it’s an aha moment and people can grasp it — the interconnectedness and how it can strengthen our food security.”
/ PRODUCTS SPR UT
ecosystem, the layers of edible
ferns growing on the ground, coffee growing under the ‘ulu trees, the grazing animals, it’s an aha moment and people can grasp it — the interconnectedness
When we pick up an axe, as natural or as unwieldy as it may feel in our hands, we may experience some kind of primordial déjà vu. Somewhere, deep down within our human code, we understand that this tool once helped us make fire, build shelter, clear land to grow food — that it once helped us survive. Indeed, there’d be no humanity, no us , without this ancient instrument. And like the wheel, one doesn’t reinvent the axe. But, maybe, the axe reinvents you. When Best Made Co. founder Peter Buchanan-Smith moved out of New York City and into a small rural community upstate, he likely was reminded how important this tool — the brand’s original, popular product — actually is. A small brand from NYC that made a huge splash through the 2010s, Best Made Co. was known for its rustic but useful outdoor products and curiosities — from toolboxes and waxed jackets to first aid kits and, of course, axes and hatchets. After the sale of the company shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, it all but disappeared. BEST MADE CO. Is BACK No axe to grind but their own.
and how it can strengthen our food security.”
Visit BESTMADECO.COM to learn more.
Buchanan-Smith left the Big Apple for a barn in the country, and as the pandemic fog lifted, he was offered the opportunity to buy back Best Made Co. He accepted and has since quietly resurrected the brand. His first product? A limited run of his legendary Old Gold No. 1 axes, which quickly sold out. Since relaunching last year, the Best Made Co. site stocks small- to large-batch runs of its patented strongboxes and solid brass rulers, its chore jacket, belt, handsome utility vest (with a loop for an axe, of course), and more. With a fierce commitment to quality and sourcing locally grown, USA-made materials that uplift communities close to home,
Buchanan-Smith ensures every Best Made Co. product upholds five crucial tenets: utility, durability, relevance, responsibility, and wonder. It’s that last one — described on the brand’s site as “intangible qualities that defy expectations” — that has always intrigued Best Made Co.’s community. It’s that wonder you feel, harkening back to something in you from long ago, when you pick up an axe and decide where in nature you want to take it. — BEAU FLEMISTER
Visit COMMONGROUNDKAUAI.COM to learn more.
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Growing HOMES
In the wake of the Lahaina wildfire, Eddy Garcia’s regenerative farm is nourishing a rebuilding community with fresh food and innovative housing solutions.
by BEAU FLEMISTER photographs courtesy of EDDY GARCIA
/ DIRTY BOOTS SPR UT
“Basically, we teach people agriculture, stewardship, and homesteading,” he explains, leading me to an opening behind the large containers where tanks of aquaponic-grown plants are being cultivated, among other setups that look like the work of a mad scientist. “It’s going to be a couple years before permanent housing is built, so we’re providing creative ways for folks who lost their homes to live. And not even just housing but off-grid, self-sufficient homesteads.” “Homesteads?” I ask. “Yeah, that means we’re also about regenerative teaching them how to grow food around those areas and help them utilize the land that they’re on, so that they can continue to live sustainably for years to come. With regenerative agriculture, we’re approaching this all from a place of, How are we gonna repair or regenerate? The main point is giving people the tools to restore a balance so that this land serves the environment, community, and everything around them.”
On a particularly soggy Hawaiian morning in West Maui, just off the Honoapi‘ilani Highway in Olowalu, a few miles south of Lahaina, Eddy Garcia greets me with a smile. He’s barefoot and shin-deep in a flooded parking lot, the giant puddles brought in by summer showers overnight.
TENTATIVELY FOLLOW THE MAN through a swamped maze of Matson containers, hoping there are no live electrical wires anywhere, while Garcia, bubbly and talkative, couldn’t be more confident. Largely self-taught, Garcia has lived off-grid on the islands most of his life, growing or catching almost all the food he consumes. It was a choice he made not long after reading Masanobu Fukuoka’s seminal “The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming” as a young man. I’ve come to meet Garcia and have a look at his operation — which, at the moment, feels a little underwater, although he seems unfazed. A regenerative farmer with the suntanned, board-shorted look of a guy who’s just gone surfing, Garcia is the executive director of the nonprofit Regenerative Education Centers. (He’s also the founder of Living Earth Systems, an agricultural cooperative that designs and builds regenerative farms and offers online courses.) Garcia is renowned on the island for being instrumental in providing organic produce and housing solutions to families affected by the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, the deadliest in modern U.S. history that took the lives of more than 100 people and burned down 2,200 homes, buildings, and other structures.
ARCIA HAS BEEN TEACHING folks in the community how to build tiny homesteads since well before the wildfires. But after Lahaina burned, Regenerative Education Centers received donations to feed people and build them small, temporary homes, which are intended for families to keep as a secondary housing unit on their property once they’re able to rebuild permanently on their own land. With a list of nearly 500 people whose homes burned down, Garcia’s nonprofit is turning 100 shipping containers into houses for folks most in need, retrofitting each one with a solar energy system, bathroom, and kitchen — all completely self-sufficient. These homes can be set up on agricultural land until families are allowed to return to their properties. So far, 40 have been given away, with new families added to the list every week.
“The main point is giving people the tools to restore a balance so that this land serves the environment, community, and everything around them.”
ABOVE: TEMPORARY HOUSING PROVIDED TO RESIDENTS WHILE THEY REBUILD. RIGHT: THE MAHINA RAPA NUI GROUP VISITS GARCIA (FAR LEFT).
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Garcia explains that right after the fires, this space became a storage base for rescue operations and supplies being delivered to the island by boat and air. “That went on for a few months, but then we quickly saw the redundancy of old food coming from a lot of these nonprofits. Diapers, old clothes, stuff that was just piling up everywhere, so we decided to switch gears. It was like, How can we utilize the nonprofit we have and help our community? For one, we can feed people good food, not the stuff coming from the food banks and outdated canned food. We can feed them living, fresh vegetables and greens that we already have growing in the back.” He motions me to follow him further, and we wade through more water, up to some raised gardens and mounds of earth brimming with fruits and vegetables of all kinds. The amount of growth and produce flourishing in the plots is astounding.
/ TECH SPR UT
On the RIGHT
TRACTOR An autonomous electric tractor promises a safer alternative for farmers.
and are actively giving away around 300 pounds a week to all people who are victims of the fire disaster and need fresh food. “Not a single drop of fertilizer or pesticide,” Garcia adds, proudly. “Just consistency, hard work, and a community that wants to grow this way and show stewardship. Most of what is grown here is known as the voyaging plants. These are the plants that were originally carried here by canoe. People can also come here and get trees from us.” Garcia explains that part of the reason Lahaina burned the way it did is that agricultural companies razed its wetlands — specifically, thousands of ‘ulu (breadfruit) trees — in the 1800s. “Beyond just being very bad agricultural management, clearing all the ‘ulu trees was culturally traumatic for the Native Hawaiians, too,” Garcia continues. “Trees were planted as family, to the extent that a newborn’s placenta was buried beneath the tree. So, cutting down that tree was like cutting down a part of your family.” Regenerative Education Centers teamed up with a micro-propagation company to mass-produce ‘ulu from strains of the original breadfruit trees, which were stored in a genetic bank.
ABOVE: BEETS AND CARROTS ARE JUST SOME OF THE CROPS GROWN ON THE PROPERTY. LEFT: THE CREW SORTS THROUGH A TARO HARVEST. TARO IS A NUTRIENT-DENSE ROOT VEGETABLE AND A STAPLE OF HAWAIIAN CUISINE.
The future will be automated, or at least the most dangerous parts will be. Monarch Tractor is on a mission to change how farming is done: Its smart, electric tractors create a safer environment for farmers while increasing food production and lowering pesticide use. As the company’s name implies, it all started with a butterfly. The monarch population has been in sharp decline since glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) was introduced as an herbicide in the 1970s. This butterfly is a critical pollinator, and its presence (or absence) gives insight into the health and balance of an ecosystem, making it the perfect mascot for an effort to transform farming. In 2016, Carlo Mondavi — a third-generation winemaker in Napa Valley and co-founder of Monarch Tractor — initiated The Monarch Challenge. It’s an ongoing effort to raise awareness about traditional agriculture’s detrimental effects, minimize use of herbicide on Northern California farms, and create a template for better practices. With a family legacy of knowledge and experience and a notable name in the industry,
Visit MONARCHTRACTOR.COM to learn more.
Mondavi co-founded Monarch Tractor in 2019 to address these issues, among others. For most farms, tractors are an unfortunate necessity. “The most dangerous place on a farm is in the driver’s seat of a tractor,” Mondavi tells The Rooted Journal. According to the National Ag Safety Database, tractor overturns are the leading cause of farming fatalities. In addition to tractor accidents, “farmers are exposed to chemical hazards in concentrations that are well beyond any recommended limits regularly, and the cancer rates reflect that,” he says. Mondavi’s solution? Replacing traditional diesel tractors with Monarch’s automated, electric ones. According to the company, the tractors can decrease chemical and pesticide use by 90% with the help of AI-targeting technology, dramatically increase safety for farmers, and deliver
higher profit margins, thanks to increased efficiency and reduced fuel costs. Other benefits include lower main- tenance expenses, fewer hours in the driver’s seat, and lower implementation costs with initiatives like California’s Rural Electrification and Charging Technology program. The goal is to create an automated system that will allow expanded sustainable food production on a large scale, while making farmers safer and profits greater in an industry known for razor- thin margins. Monarch’s MK-V line of tractors is helping achieve it. — BEN CLASSEN
This began a process of creating thousands of new ‘ulu trees in Lahaina after the fires. “Reforesting with some of these ancient strains of breadfruits, the goal is just trying to give something back to our community and bring some change that could be significant for generations to come,” Garcia says. “An ‘ulu tree, by the time they’re old, can produce thousands upon thousands of pounds of harvest. They’re literally some of the most prolific food trees on the planet.” “We want to have agriculture that’s fed by culture, right?” Garcia asks. We certainly do.
He points down to a mutant-like vegetable growing on a vine and says, “Check this out.” It’s a squash the size of a football. “Within the first few months, we had tens of thousands of pounds of food growing in the ground. Since then, we’ve given well over 40,000 pounds of food away,
Visit RECENTERS.ORG to learn more.
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ISSUE 02
Sky High Farm Universe fuses style, culture, and community to spotlight regenerative farming while nourishing those who need it most.
by JULIE GERSTEIN
/ DIRTY BOOTS SPR UT
The Next NEWMAN’S OWN
For inspiration, Seybold and Colen look to brands like food company Newman’s Own, which has donated more than $600 million to charity, and outdoor-apparel maker Patagonia, which donates its profits to fight climate change. “We realized the one thing we do have is a very committed community that can help tell a story around these concepts,” says Seybold. “We can essentially package it in a way that people actually want to engage with it.”
Take a walk around L.A. or New York City’s most stylish neighborhoods and you might notice a particular illustration adorning the chests of the young and beautiful: a cheery, beatific strawberry perched delicately on a smiling crescent moon. It’s the logo of Sky High Farm Universe, the lifestyle brand built to support the work of Sky High Farm, a nonprofit regenerative agriculture farm founded by artist Dan Colen that donates 100% of its crop and cattle yield to food banks in its upstate New York community. Colen bought the 40-acre Hudson Valley farm in 2010, after ascending to the white-hot center of New York City’s mid-aughts art scene (read our story on page 144). He launched Sky High Farm Universe almost a decade later. “I started it with very little planning or forethought,” he told W Magazine in 2020. “Luckily there were some people in my life that were able to help steer it in a good direction.” One of those people was James Gilchrist, the vice president of avant-garde design house Comme des Garçons USA and luxury retailer Dover Street Market USA. Gilchrist brought Sky High Farm Universe into its Dover Street Market incubator program, which helps emerging designers establish their brands. “The story behind the farm and the ambition that Dan had for it, together with the huge success of
LEFT: FOUNDER AND ARTIST DAN COLEN ON SKY HIGH FARM. BELOW: THE SKY
That’s why it pays to have friends in fashionable places. Take, for instance, Sky High Farm Universe’s 2022 collaboration with luxury provocateurs Balenciaga, known for creating a nearly $2,000 leather sack shaped like a garbage bag and selling a leather tote resembling an IKEA bag for even more. Sky High Farm Universe used some of the brand’s unsold backstock that would have otherwise “collected dust in the warehouse,” says Seybold. Each jacket and T-shirt was adorned with the strawberry- on-the-moon illustration by artist Joanna Avillez and a photo of Sky High Farm livestock taken by renowned photographer Ryan McGinley, who came up in the art world alongside Colen. The collection was sold at a relatively low rate — $500 to $800 apiece, compared with the more than $2,500 retail price of a typical Balenciaga cotton-canvas jacket. Since then, Sky High Farm Universe has collaborated with other influential artists, including Kara Walker, best-known for her cut-paper silhouettes, and the multidisciplinary artist Rashid Johnson. The brand has also worked with notable stylists and photographers, like Alistair McKimm and Quil Lemons, and collaborated with classic streetwear brands, including Nike and Converse, and up- and-coming ones like Denim Tears.
HIGH FARM UNIVERSE TEAM LOOKS TO THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY TO BUILD AWARENESS OF AGRICULTURE THROUGH COLLABORATIONS.
these initial projects, made it a no- brainer for us to partner,” Gilchrist tells The Rooted Journal. Following the incubator, Colen recruited Daphne Seybold, Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market’s former head of communications and marketing, to serve as Sky High Farm Universe’s co-chief executive officer and chief marketing officer. Seybold was attracted to the concept of using commerce to support a cause. “It was really this idea that we could coalesce different brands, artists, individuals, and communities
around the farm’s work,” she says. “Traditional philanthropy is typically driven by donations and grants, and as we all know, those are really sort of hamstrung by people’s willingness to be continuously generous. So the idea of using merchandise and harnessing capitalism to that end seemed like an interesting concept.” Seybold is aware, though, of the difficulties lifestyle brands have in getting off the ground. “Starting a brand is such a massive undertaking. And it’s not lost on me what the success rate is,” she says.
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“It’s getting the dialogue of farming and ag
into the minds of people who might not necessarily be thinking about it.”
THIS PAGE: SHFU PARTNERED WITH
DICKIES ON A NUMBER OF WORKWEAR STAPLES. THEIR CONVERSE COLLABORATION REPURPOSED FABRICS TO LIMIT WASTE. DENIM TEARS’ PRINTS CELEBRATE SEED PACKETS (OKRA, COLLARD GREENS, BLACK EYED PEAS, AND WATERMELON) OF WHAT FOUNDER TREMAINE EMORY CALLS “BLACK FOODS.”
ABOVE: MORE FROM THE DENIM TEARS COLLECTION DESIGNED BY TREMAINE EMORY AND INSPIRED BY THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. LEFT: SKY HIGH FARM UNIVERSE REFRESHES SEASONAL DROPS WITH EACH GROWING SEASON.
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A FARM IN FASHION
The UNIVERSE and BEYOND
don’t know that we’re donating 100% of what we grow” — around 160,000 pounds of food in the past 15 years — “to food banks and to communities in need. Education is a huge piece of it, for sure.” “I don’t know any other brand that’s working with Balenciaga and talking about farm animals and regenerative agriculture,” says Matty Friedman, Sky High Farm Universe’s senior brand and product manager. He says the label is building a critical bridge between the worlds of high fashion and farming. “It’s getting
“If they do know the farm exists, they often don’t know that we’re donating 100%
Grant Lurie, Sky High Farm Universe’s strategy lead, says the brand will aim to increase customer engagement and awareness around the farm’s mission. “Most of the customers we talk to recognize the logo, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I love your brand. It’s really cool.’ But they might not know the farm exists,” he says. “And if they do know the farm exists, they often
BELOW: TOPS, BOTTOMS, SWEATERS, HATS, OUTERWEAR, AND EVEN UNDIES ARE SOLD WITH 50% OF PROFITS SUPPORTING SKY HIGH FARM. OPPOSITE: DAPHNE SEYBOLD, SKY HIGH FARM UNIVERSE’S CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
of what we grow — around 160,000 pounds of food in the past 15 years
— to food banks and to communities in need.”
the dialogue of farming and ag into the minds of people who might not necessarily be thinking about it.” While Colen is co-CEO of Sky High Farm Universe, Seybold is quick to clarify that the farm and the brand are completely separate. The farm operates as a 501(c)(3), while the brand is a business that donates 50% of its profits to Sky High Farm. And Colen “still very much maintains his identity as an artist. He’s not a designer, that’s not how he identifies,” she adds. Yet, says Lurie, “it’s really important that the two organizations go together and are almost thought of in the same breath — the nonprofit and the brand. The brand was fully created in order to support the work of the nonprofit. So that’s everything we’re trying to do.”
Recently, Sky High Farm Universe has branched out beyond clothing, launching a sparkling honey- flavored soda and collaborating with skincare giant Tata Harper to create a hand cream. Seybold says these types of collaborations are just the beginning. “I think it’s actually important that we’re able to not only demonstrate that these things are possible, but then replicate them over and over and over again and show that you can have a viable business based on that approach,” says Seybold. “And I do very much think it’s possible.”
As Sky High Farm Universe builds out its roster of collaborations, it keeps the farm’s mission at its center. “You’re going to see a lot of big projects from us over the next couple of years,” says Friedman. “And I think that you’re going to be hearing a lot more people talking about regenerative agriculture in places that you didn’t really expect it before.”
Visit SKYHIGHFARMUNIVERSE.COM and SKYHIGHFARM.ORG to learn more.
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A FARM IN FASHION
From FARM to FESTIVAL
At Coachella, the headliners aren’t just on stage — they’re in the kitchen.
by LILY MOAYERI illustrations by CLAY HICKSON
/ COMMUNITY SPR UT
Despite its desert location, Coachella Valley farms — like Aziz Farms and County Line Harvest — provide a lot of the produce for the immediate area but also for Los Angeles restaurants. The April timing of the festival lines up perfectly with the harvests, offering “a good variety of produce and enough ingredients to make an interesting menu,” according to Denevan. Outstanding in the Field’s Coachella dishes are as eclectic as the festival’s lineup: latkes with caramelized leeks and apple crème fraîche, bacon-wrapped dates with olive tapenade, roasted masa-crusted golden beets with golden atole, crispy enoki mushroom and pistachio salsa macha. The combinations are inventive and make maximum use of the available produce.
Of course, there are always post-festival leftovers, and Adler has food diversion programs in place at Coachella. Unused food that can last for a bit gets delivered to local organizations such as Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Galilee Center. Food that needs to be eaten quickly is directed to locations that feed unhoused people. Every vendor is required to compost, and those food scraps go directly into the festival grounds. Regardless of where the food goes, where — and who — it comes from is the focus of Coachella’s Outstanding in the Field dining experience. Adler brings everything back to the farmers: “If there’s meat involved, there’s the rancher. If there’s wine involved, there’s the winery. But at its core, it’s a way to celebrate the farms.”
The chefs come from all over. Past events have featured Bangkok- based Gaggan Anand, Australia’s Josh Niland, “Next Level Chef” judge Nyesha Arrington, Hollywood favorite Eric Greenspan, One Off Hospitality’s Paul Kahan, artist Minh Phan, and California cuisine pioneer Jonathan Waxman. While the aim was to keep the talent local, Adler says nearby businesses have a customer boom around Coachella dates and prefer to retain their chefs during that busy time rather than lend them to the festival. Still, 70% of the chefs are Southern California–based, and, in addition to participating in Outstanding in the Field, many of them have food stands at the festival, allowing thousands of festival goers to enjoy their creations.
VISUAL ARTIST JIM DENEVAN founded Outstanding in the Field 25 years ago on his brother’s organic farm, Happy Valley Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The concept brings diners to where their food is sourced: fishing docks, vineyards, beaches, meadows, and sustainable farms. This unique dining experience was introduced to Coachella 10 years ago by Nic Adler, vice president of festivals at Goldenvoice, Coachella’s promoter. “We bring chefs to family farms that are 10 minutes away from the festival site,” he tells The Rooted Journal. “They walk the fields. They learn about what goes into the farming. They point to the ground at what they’re looking for. It’s pulled, put on a truck, and two hours later, it’s on the plate. There’s a real connection between the farm and the table.” Music festivals are about their artist lineups. This is certainly the case for Southern California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of North America’s flagship music events. For some festival goers, however, Coachella is also about the food experience, particularly Outstanding in the Field. The traveling long-table dinner seats 300 and takes place every evening of Coachella’s two weekends. The food, prepared by chefs from around the globe, is sourced from local farmers who practice regenerative farming.
Some of the farmers walk the length of the table during the meal and chat with diners about where the ingredients are from and what dishes they can be found in. “The festival goers are surprised and charmed,” Denevan shares. “The farmers are out of their typical surroundings. The cool thing is, the farmers get to see where their food goes and the enthusiasm of the folks.” Adler has a long history with music and food. A son of legendary music producer and manager Lou Adler, Nic basically grew up in the iconic L.A. music venues co-owned by his father: The Roxy and the Rainbow. In 1998 he took over The Roxy and, 20 years later, launched the thriving vegan SoCal fast food chain Monty’s Good Burger shortly before opening the (now shuttered) plant-based
restaurant Nic’s on Beverly. When Adler joined Goldenvoice in 2013 as culinary director, he used the role to significantly elevate the promoter’s food and beverage game. Around the same time, food posts became more popular on social media and users were developing new interests in all things culinary. Adler noticed a connection between the way people listened to music on their phone and the way they were “eating through their phone” and thought about how he could tap into that for festivals. “What is different about a festival is discovery,” he says. “People are in an open state. They are exploring music, relationships, friends, experiences, drink, food. They’re not looking to eat what they eat all the time. They’ll try something they’ve never tried.”
Visit OUTSTANDINGINTHEFIELD.COM to learn more.
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