Anna Claussen, Ash Hanson and Matt Jorgenson are three innovative social
entrepreneurs we met at the Old Salt Festival, who work at the intersection of art, culture and enterprise. They tell their stories of how they are uplifting the creativity of rural people and communities.

A shocking sea change in food and agriculture policy is underway in Washington DC. Policies that were improving human health through better nutrition, rural economies, small and mid-scale growers have been decimated. Trade and immigration policies are harming the largest farms. The future looks bleak to many. But Maine’s veteran of the House Ag Committee, Chellie Pingree shares her honest thoughts on what may lay ahead and how we can maintain the course toward a healthy, resilient and just food and farming system.

Ali Ghiorse, Christine Caruso and Vetiveah Immanuel, leaders in the in
the movement for food justice in Connecticut, share their perspectives on what is working and what is still needed to make healthy affordable food available to all in a state with an incredible wealth gap.

Episode 2 of 4 of Old Salt Festival conversations features Dr. Stephan van Vliet, among the planet’s leaders studying the impact of regenerative agriculture on nutrient density in meat.At the festival he shared the latest findings that confirm good ecological stewardship of pastures leads to meat that provides many more phytonutrients than meat from feed lots and animal factories. Phytonutrients are natural chemical compounds found in plants that support health by enhancing immune function, reducing inflammation, and protecting against chronic diseases.

E1 of 4 features Cate Havstad-Casad, founder of the Range Revolution, the
heirloom quality leather goods company, Sheldon Atwood, CEO of Western Ranchlands Corporation and Taylor Ophus, land steward at Mannix Ranch. They were three of the inspiring attendees of the 2025 Old Salt Festival in Montana, a June gathering of nearly 3000 ranchers, artisans, chefs, advocates and musicians dedicated to promoting land stewardship, regional
food, rural communities and regenerative ranching

Feeding the world without killing it is easily said, but hard to do. Figuring it out is as important as producing energy without fossil fuel. Author Michael Grunwald has his views on how and I have mine. We seek to end the polarized views that dominate the cultural discussion on the challenge and find common ground among the so-called regenerative, organic, and industrial approaches.

GenZ, those in their 20s, are the future of the good food movement. They are clearly critical to the future of food. Flipping the Table’s new co-host Coco Sanabria engages 3 of the 4 ROC Summer GenZ Team to explore their values around food and agriculture, their reasons for wanting to work on food systems with Roots of Change and the college food experience.

Stuart Woolf, among California’s largest farmers and Executive Chairman of Woolf Farming Company, has a vision for the heart of California’s Great Central Valley. And agave, the hearty cousin of the tasty asparagus plant, is central to that vision. We talk of Stuart’s interesting journey, his family’s regenerative practices and his fascination with and enthusiasm for agave’s resilience in a drying valley and its distilled spirits that could create a whole new industry in the Golden State.