"LA TIERRA ES PARA QUIEN LA TRABAJA"Escrita por Jennifer Martinez-Medina, PhD Candidata en la Universidad Estatal de Portland, este último episodio de la serie "Voces Del Campo" narra como tratados de libre comercio han desplazado millones de familias campesinas a trabajar en un industria de comida en masa en donde pasan #CarenciaAlimentaria. Campe…

AN EAR TO THE GROUND EPISODE 3Every five years, the National Young Farmers Coalition surveys young and Black, Indigenous, and people of color farmers, ranchers, and growers across the country to understand their brightest hopes and biggest challenges, and the policy solutions that will help them to be successful in their farming careers. In 2022, t…

"DIVERSIDAD EN LAS VOCES DEL CAMPO" En este segundo episodio de la serie Voces Del Campo, sigue como #ORCOFS descubrió que #campesinxindigenas hablan más de 30 idiomas distintos de tan solo México y Guatemala. Porque esto facto, los trabajadores agrícolas tuvieron problemas para acceder a información y recursos sobre COVID-19 en sus idiomas. Esto g…

Un oído al suelo Episodio 2 (SPANISH EPISODE)UN OÍDO AL SUELO EPISODIO 2. Cada cinco años, la Coalición Nacional de Jóvenes Agricultores encuesta a jóvenes, negros, indígenas y personas de color, agricultores, ganaderos y productores de todo el país para comprender sus esperanzas más brillantes y sus mayores desafíos, y las soluciones políticas que…

AN EAR TO THE GROUND EPISODE 1Every five years, the National Young Farmers Coalition surveys young and Black, Indigenous, and people of color farmers, ranchers, and growers across the country to understand their brightest hopes and biggest challenges, and the policy solutions that will help them to be successful in their farming careers. In 2022, t…

"MUJER CAMPESINA"Este primer episodio de la serie Voces Del Campo sigue a dos mujeres que comparten cómo lidiaron y superaron el costo económico y emocional de cuidar a niños y familias a través de las fronteras a través de COVID-19, cierres de escuelas e incendios forestales.Las conversaciones de Voces Del Campo incluyen entrevistas con nueve trab…

"VOCES DEL CAMPO: CONVERSACIÓN DE LANZAMIENTO"Esta conversación previa con el equipo colectivo de Voces Del Campo marca el lanzamiento de la serie de tres historias. El equipo reflexiona sobre por qué lanzamos esta iniciativa de historia, la descripción de la serie, el proceso de producción comunitaria y los episodios programados para lanzarse entr…

Join us for this end-of-the-year conversation between the current Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer, Dr. Caroline Collins, and former Cal Ag Roots Producer, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, who is currently the Executive Director of the California Institute of Rural Studies (the parent organization for Cal Ag Roots). Caroline and Ildi reflect on the impact of st…

"THE WELL Honoring Our Elders."For this episode of The Well, we asked our listeners to join us as co-producers by sharing personal stories of how they honor their elders or ancestors. We recorded five personal stories spanning different regions in the state, including our youngest ever Cal Ag Roots storyteller–Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer Caroline…

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Keolu Fox."This in-depth conversation with Dr. Keolu Fox (Kānaka Maoli, or Native Hawaiian), Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Indigenous Futures Institute, digs into Indigenous futurism, which looks to indigenous technologies and ways of knowing…

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Nicole Celaya."This in-depth conversation with Nicole Celaya, Co-Executive Director at FoodLink for Tulare County Inc. examines how ally organizations across the state can work to support Land Back efforts (Photo Credit: Original Artwork by Diana Morales, arteesmedicinina.com. Courtesy Nicole Celaya).The Well La…

"THE WELL Landback Conversation with Brittani Orona."This in-depth conversation with Dr. Brittani Orona (Hupa, Hoopa Valley Tribe), Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University digs into the concept and practice of the Landback movement in California, including the deep history of native resistance in the state (Phot…

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 3 “A Contemporary Harvest: Oakland’s Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm Project."Structural systems from zoning laws to the systemic loss of green space have disconnected many Black urban residents of California from agricultural practices. This episode examines how a community garden project in Oakland isn't just re-connecting…

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 2 “To Free Ourselves We Must Feed Ourselves: The Hidden Legacy of the Black Panther Free Breakfast Program in California."In January 1969 a group of young visionaries at the forefront of the Black Power movement launched an innovative Free Breakfast Program for children in Oakland. In doing so, they didn’t just help shape pu…

SEEDS OF CHANGE EPISODE 1 "United We Stand: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Food Justice in Black Los Angeles’s Victory Markets."In WWII era Los Angeles a young Black preacher, Rev. Clayton D. Russell, and Black businesswoman, Charlotta Bass, launched the Los Angeles Negro Victory Commitee. In doing so, they not only helped plant seeds of today…

The passage of the Farmer Equity Act, California Assembly Bill 1348, in October 2017 was ground-breaking. For the first time, California acknowledged the racist patterns of systematic discrimination that have been common practice in governmental agricultural institutions which have impacted farmers of color in accessing the most basic thing that fa…

Join us for this mini-episode conversation between the current Cal Ag Roots Podcast Producer, Dr. Caroline Collins, and former Cal Ag Roots Producer, Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, who is currently the Executive Director of the California Institute of Rural Studies (the parent organization for Cal Ag Roots). Caroline and Ildi reflect on the challenges of p…

We Are Not Strangers Here Ep. 6: “Still Here Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” Relationships to the land can be seen throughout African American history and culture. However, Black Californians haven't just long been connected to the natural world in the past. In our sixth and final episode of this series, discover how Bla…

Sneak Preview: Episode 6, our final episode of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Still Here: Black Farmers & Agricultural Stewardship in the Modern Age” premieres March 9, 2021. Relationships to the land can be seen throughout African American history and culture. However, Black Californians haven't just long been connect…

In 1908, African American pioneers established the town of Allensworth forty miles north of Bakersfield as part of the broader Black Town Movement. Discover how these settlers not only built buildings, established businesses, and planted crops--they also inspired the imagination as they tested what was possible in rural California. (Photo Credit: T…

Sneak Preview: Episode 5 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “ Back to the Land: Allensworth and the Black Utopian Dream" premieres March 9, 2021. In 1908 African American pioneers established the town of Allensworth forty miles north of Bakersfield. Part of the broader Black Town Movement, discover how these settlers not…

WE ARE NOT STRANGERS HERE EPISODE 4 “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California." Starting as early as the 19th century, Black communities--large and small, loosely organized and formal took shape across rural California. Discover the undertold history of California’s Black rural settlements including how these communit…

Sneak Preview: Episode 4 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Independent Settlements: Building Black Communities in Rural California" premieres March 2, 2021. Starting as early as the 19th century, Black communities--large and small, loosely organized and formal took shape across rural California. Discover the undertold …

WE ARE NOT STRANGERS HERE EPISODE 3 “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, & Civic Leaders." Black people have long cultivated the land in rural California. And in doing so, they’ve contributed to what we grow and how we grow crops in the state. Discover how early African American farmers and ranchers didn't just grow crops…

Sneak Preview: Episode 3 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, “Cultivating Change: African American Homesteaders, Innovators, & Civic Leaders" premieres Feb. 23, 2021. Black people have long cultivated the land in rural California. And in doing so, they’ve contributed to what we grow and how we grow crops in the state. Dis…

Episode 2 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series is "Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California" premieres Feb. 16, 2021. One of the most impactful ways we come to know about places is through the stories we tell about them. Discover how Black people in rural California have been reme…

Sneak Preview: Episode 2 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, "Hidden Roots: Uncovering the Legacies of African American Homesteaders in California" premieres Feb. 16, 2021. One of the most impactful ways we come to know about places is through the stories we tell about them. Discover how Black people in rural California h…

WE ARE NOT STRANGERS HERE EPISODE 1 "Freedom Chasers: Early Black Settlers and the California Dream." Thousands of African Americans participated in the California Gold Rush. Some were still enslaved when they did like 49er Alvin Coffey. Join us for Episode 1 to learn more about Coffey's fascinating tale. (Photo Credit: Alvin Coffey, Tehama County,…

Sneak Preview: Episode 1 of the Cal Ag Roots six-part We Are Not Strangers Here series, "Freedom Chasers: Early Black Settlers and the California Dream." Thousands of African Americans participated in the California Gold Rush. Some were still enslaved when they did like 49er Alvin Coffey. Join us for Episode 1 to learn more about Coffey's fascinati…

Sneak Preview: On Feb 9, 2021 we'll release Episode 1 of We Are Not Strangers Here, a six-part Cal Ag Roots podcast series shedding light on the history of African Americans in rural California. (Photo Credit: Nine young men and women sitting in a field, Tulare County, 1912. Courtesy of the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.)Music Credit…

California, the golden state, is known for many things, chief among them is its status as the breadbasket of the nation and the world. Yet, the ability to sustain agriculture and support the communities is limited by access to water. This podcast examines how access to groundwater is influenced by drought and climate change, but also, how the persi…

Af Cal Ag Roots

Stories of California farming history often start at the Gold Rush. Sometimes, they reach back in time to include the Mexican or Spanish eras. But very rarely do we hear about the ways indigenous Californians were tending the landscape to produce food for thousands of years before contact with colonizers. The story of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band an…

Nina Ichikawa is shaping the conversation about the future of California farming in many different ways. She's the Interim Executive Director at the Berkeley Food Institute, a member of the Farmer Justice Collaborative, the great grand-daughter of influential Japanese American flower growers, as well as a writer about Asian-American food histories.…

Antonio Roman Alcalá has a lot of ideas to share about power-building in the food movement. He’s an organizer, and a thinker, a theorizer and a farmer. Antonio strikes me as someone who manages to have his hands in the soil AND his eyes on the horizon at the same time. In our conversation at his kitchen table in his tiny Berkeley apartment, I got t…

For centuries, people have been telling other people what to eat. The paleo diet fad might be new, but the idea that some people know what food is best, or healthiest, or cleanest and that other people need to be educated about that is definitely NOT new. It might be one of the oldest ideas we’ve explored on this show.And it has surprisingly little…

This is a Thanksgiving podcast, featuring three tasty audio pieces that celebrate family food traditions and workers who have given their lives to fill our tables. Tune in to this 4th episode in our Borderlands of the San Joaquin Valley series to hear two student-produced audio pieces by Cindy Cervantes and Omar Gonzalez and a powerful performance …

Dr. Mario Sifuentez is an Associate Professor of History at UC Merced who's done a lot of thinking about the past and future of California's Central Valley. He's been involved with Cal Ag Roots since the very start of this project, both as an advisor and as an interviewee. (You can hear his voice on our third podcast, where he gives us real insight…

Ours to Lose showcases another performance from our live story-telling event, Borderlands of the San Joaquin Valley. The radio play at the center of this episode, Ours to Lose, written by Yia Lee and produced by the Valley Roots Project, is based on an interesting research process. The play was written using a Story Circle process that involved int…

Mai Nguyen is an innovative grain farmer and an influential farmer organizer. In this interview, the first in our new series of conversations with food movement leaders that we're calling "Digging Deep," Mai talks with Ildi Carlisle-Cummins about how examining our agricultural past is the only way to move into a just, healthy farming future. As she…

In this podcast, listeners hear about the waves of immigrants who have shaped California's agricultural empire-- the great Central Valley. Much of this podcast comes from our latest live event, "Borderlands of the San Joaquin Valley." Janaki Jagannath describes the ways that small immigrant farmers carve out niches in the industrial agricultural la…

Picture your produce aisle: Strawberries. Tomatoes. Lettuce. Celery. Onions. These crops fill shopping carts across the country and a full third of them come from California. There was a time, though, when California fields grew mostly wheat. Huge tracts of the land we now know as the salad bowl of the world were then pumping out massive quantities…

It might be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when Mexican immigrant workers were welcomed with open arms into Californian communities. The Braceros were Mexican guest workers, many of whom saved the crops left in farm fields as WWII started and young men enlisted-- some call them the forgotten members of the greatest generation. This is th…

Until 1982, there was a law on the books—the 1902 Reclamation Act-- that limited the size of farms allowed to use government subsidized irrigation water across the Western U.S. to just 160 acres. That’s much, much smaller than the kind of massive-scale agricultural development that characterizes California farming in general and the Central Valley …

When you think of California Cuisine do you imagine baby lettuces doused in olive oil and carefully arranged on white plates?If you’ve ever driven down the Highway 99 corridor, which cuts through California’s Central Valley, you might have a different sense of the state’s contributions to global food culture. Driving 99 any hour of the day or night…