For this episode, I speak with agroecologist, entomologist, farmer, and beekeeper Jonathan Lundgren, CEO of Blue Dasher Farm and Director of the ECDYSIS Foundation.
At the very beginning of this conversation, Jonathan discusses his time as a top scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, during which time he conducted important research into the wide-scale use of pesticides in U.S. agriculture. After conducting research that indicated that the use of certain chemicals (neonicotinoids) on fields was causing significant and alarming declines in insect pollinator populations (e.g. bees and butterflies), Jonathan began to experience various forms of suppression and censorship from within the USDA, as an attempt to hinder his work and inhibit his ability to publish his findings on the subject.
After spending 11 years at the USDA, Jonathan moved on to his next project, Blue Dasher Farm, "where research, education, and demonstration converge to support the regeneration of agriculture." While Blue Dasher is a for-profit enterprise, it also serves as a project that develops and demonstrates regenerative agricultural methods that require practically none of the intrusive, disruptive, and ecologically devastating practices employed under the dominant agricultural system in the United States today. Jonathan is also the Director of the ECDYSIS Foundation, a non-profit science lab for independent research.
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about Blue Dasher Farm and regenerative agriculture at: http://bluedasher.farm
- Learn more about Jonathan's non-profit research foundation ECDYSIS here: http://www.ecdysis.bio
- Follow Jonathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/buglundgren
- Follow Blue Dasher Farm on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlueDasherFarm
- Watch Jonathan's excellent TEDxBrookings talk "A Six-legged March Toward Regenerative Agriculture" here: https://youtu.be/qRJ0y9LMhI4
- Get more of the backstory on Jonathan's time at the USDA: https://wapo.st/2s8mtQr
- The song featured in this episode is "Tribes" by Monster Rally & RUMTUM from their self-titled album.