Is Regenerative Farming the Future? with Neil deGrasse Tyson & Will Harris

Is industrial farming bad for us? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly learn about the future of food production, regenerative agriculture, and greenwashing with herdsman, land steward, and author Will Harris.

Why move away from industrial farming? Learn about pesticides and the toll that linear and monoculture farming take on the land. We discuss desertification and the importance of organic matter in the soil. We discuss animal welfare in the cattle industry. What is the difference between grass-fed and corn-fed cattle?

We break down linear farming, its impact on communities, and why we started doing it. Should food be more expensive? We explore the connection between retail eating and industrial farming. Is it a sustainable model? Find out about different farming models’ impact on the environment and how farming practices can sequester carbon.

Learn about Will’s path to restoring his land and what motivated him to make the change. When you cut out pesticides what do you replace it with? How do small regenerative farms size up against multinational corporations? Plus, learn how consumers can help make regenerative farming mainstream.

Thanks to our Patrons Tomasz Paź, Heath Kehoe, Brittni Phillips, Roy Carter, Andrea Cousins, Ben Sellers, Yanko Kaneti, and Noah Jellenik for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.