Lindsey Lusher-Shute: Technology + Cooperation to the Organic Rescue

#071:  Lindsey Lusher-Shute, co-founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition and the "other half" of Real Organic Project certified Hearty Roots Farm in NY, speaks to us about her next venture - the GrownBy App, a cooperative tech solution for direct sales that give farmers full control.

Lindsey Lusher Shute is the co-founder and former Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition (2009-2019). She lives and works from Hearty Roots Farm in NY's Hudson Valley. A longtime activist and policy advocate, Lindsey was recognized as a “Champion of Change” by President Barack Obama and was named among “ 20 Food Leaders Under 40” by Food Tank, and an “American Food Hero” by Eating Well Magazine. Lindsey helped to found Farmer Generations Coop which launched the GrownBy App in 2020/

To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/lindsey-lusher-shute-technology-cooperation-organic-farming-episode-seventy-one/

The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).

To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/farms

We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.

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