[Podcast EP32] Regenerative Agriculture ft. Chris Newman of Sylvanaqua Farms

Today on the Positively Green Podcast we’re having an important conversation with Chris Newman, co-founder of Sylvanaqua Farms which is based in the D.C. region. They raise forest-raised pork, grass-fed beef, and pastured chicken and eggs. Chris offers a unique perspective on regenerative agriculture and where mainstream regenerative ag gets it wrong.

A member of the Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians, Chris places a heavy emphasis on the indigenous ethics, values, and knowledge serving as the (often unacknowledged) foundation of the modern permaculture movement, and the decolonized worldview necessary to ensure the sustainable stewardship of natural resources. An engineer and technologist by trade, he also accepts and explores the potential of modern scientific innovation to address the gaps left by ecosystem farming in solving a sustainability problem wherein timeliness is a factor.

Topics Covered in This Episode:

• Chris’s farming journey and how Sylvanaqua Farms came to be 🐖
• Common issues with small farming practices for farmers, consumers, ecosystems, and the food system in general
• What “democratizing agriculture” means and how it’s different than the model most small farms are using today
• The issue with the notion that all beef should be grass-fed and grass-finished or that all livestock must be farmed regeneratively for its entire life
• The presence of environmental racism, inequality, and what it means to be “Thunberged”
• Books and resources to learn more about environmental racism
• Why conscious consumers can’t just “zero waste” their way into a climate-change-free future
• What we can do to be an active part of an environmentally-sound future
• Chris’s vision for the future of Sylvanaqua Farms 👨🏽‍🌾

Visit Sylvanaqua Farms website

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Written by: Becca

Becca is a blogger, wife, and dog mom living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Having seen firsthand the benefits of switching to a natural lifestyle herself, she's passionate about helping women make the switch to clean beauty products, organic skincare, and a holistic way of life (without the stress of being perfect about it!).