Food, power, and hope in the American West

In today's podcast, we talk to Jennifer Sahn, editor of High Country News, and writers Rick Bass and Laureli Ivanoff, about HCN's September issue, a collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network (FERN). The issue covers a wide range of topics on Food and Power in the American West.

TIMELINE 1'57 High Country News and FERN collaboration on "Food and Power in the West" issue 3'17 stories in the issue including meat packing and pecan growing 6'10 the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Lab at Cal Poly, Humboldt 7'52 what is the Food & Environment Reporting Network 10'12 RICK BASS 10'57 the definition of sustainability and why it's not 100% attainable 12'41 forest service is part of the department of agriculture but really shouldn't be 12'59 old growth forests are a huge carbon sink and guard against climate change 13'48 the cooling effect of forests 15'49 art inspired by old growth forests 18'07 the role of old growth forests in not only climate defense but also global security 20'43 the paradigm shift from seeing the forest as a set of commodities to seeing it as a complex ecosystem—and that saving it is actually better for people than the industrial perspective 21'49 art to help people feel more deeply 22'48 the Yaak Valley Forest Council and the campaign to save it 23'38 defending the forest with love rather than litigation 24'48 trying to reach climate champions in power 25'22 Bass has been living in the forest for nearly 40 years, where he has worked as both a writer and an activist 26'10 trying to have the area dedicated as a climate refuge and a series of climate refuges in the northern forests 27'13 no extinctions since the last ice age 29'04 being a hunter in Montana looking for deer and elk 30'27 preserving the Black Ram forest, see montanaproject.org for art and yaakvalley.org for science 31'22 the importance of contacting elected representatives 31'48 LORELI IVANOFF 32'27 The Joyful Responsibility of Cutting Fish 38'46 the deeper meaning of "subsistence" 41'22 overharvest eventually results in collapse 43'07 the problem with thinking of the earth as possessions, rather than gifts 44'31 you don't take more than you need 45'47 the sense of belonging and community 49'55 the need to talk about community when community is threatened 50'55 how the climate has changed since she started cutting fish 51'41 it's hard to dry fish now because of wetter summer weather, and other climate problems 55'27 the difficulty of trying to live close to nature when you're in the city