Let Them Eat Grass

Episode 35: Farewell

The true story of how I met my wife, Kelli Williams, on top of a mountain in Colorado. Narrated by Austin and Kelli Williams, Calvin Blaylock, Bradford Barnett, and Ashton Anderson. For your listening pleasure.

Episode 34: August 13, 2016

I became a youth pastor, started a new podcast, interviewed friends for a surprise episode on the story of how I met Kelli, and am considering phasing out this podcast. Listen for the full story!

Episode 33: Spillin' the Tea

Episode 32: Two More Weeks!

Now, imagine that actually happened. Because it did. We've by and large lost the expectation to be able to see the night sky. It has become the exception rather than the rule. The night sky has been disappearing rapidly from the public consciousness, and it loss is extremely detrimental to more species than just ours. Birds need it to navigate and baby sea turtles need it to help them get from the beach to the ocean, as just a couple examples. Join me as I argue for responsible stewardship of one of our most valuable resources.

Episode 31: Dark Sky

Rashid Nuri started with a degree in political science from Harvard and ended up as an urban farmer in Atlanta. He's traveled across the post-colonial world to 36 different countries as he sought to aid in nation-building. He wanted a practical skill to help these fledgling nations get off their feet, and he could think of none better than farming. He's on a God-directed mission to bring natural food to communities so they can thrive. Listen to his story.

Episode 30: Salvation in the Soil

Episode 29: Happy New Years 2020!

During the 2018 Christmas season, the average American family spent over $1000 on holiday-related expenses. Ironically, the average family surveyed a few month's prior believed they'd only spend around $700. That's a $300 gap between expectations and reality. One solution is a zero-based budget, and one way to budget is with an app called Every Dollar. I've been using this app for more than two years, and it's definitely the best budgeting app I've ever used. After all, pasture-raised food is expensive. Our farm's ground beef is twice as expensive as Walmarts, but for good reason! Listen more to find out.

Budgeting for Pasture-Raised Food

As a farmer, I've come to see just how complicated the world of farming is. Debt, severe weather events, and decades of convention have all helped turn the colloquial relationship with the farmer down the street to the world of globalized, commodity-based farming. Stay with me as I try to parse it out for you.

Episode 28: Off the Record: The Farming Game

Diets can be overwhelming and confusing. It seems like a new one pops up every minute, and ones we thought were new are just rebranded ones from ten years ago. What do we believe? Especially what do we believe when we have people preaching extremes, and they both seem healthy? Can we be both fully vegan and fully carnivore? (Don't think too hard about it) In this episode I explore a possible middle ground for diet. The easiest answer to the question of whether or not I should eat meat is that... we're omnivores. Some meats and some veggies is probably good for everyone. But God created us so magnificently that we're able to survive on the extremes. For this episode I interviewed Mariah Boatright, who was told she probably wouldn't be able to have children due to ovarian cysts. After trying birth control, she switched to a whole foods/pasture-raised meat diet and she now has two beautiful boys! Listen to the rest of it!

Episode 27: Come Health or High Water (with Mariah Boatright)

Farm-to-Fork is a loosely affiliated restaurant movement that champions close relationships with local farmers instead of nationwide distributors. Wherever you live, there are likely restaurants nearby that practice this philosophy. Farm-to-Fork is part of a groundswell of popular support away from processed food and towards wholesome eating. I interviewed Ben Parks, the chef/owner of a farm to fork restaurant in Columbia, MO. He talks about the movement, the struggles, and the future of good food.

Farm-to-Fork Restaurants (with Ben Parks)

Recently I got interview on the podcast "Faith and Family Fellowship" by Pastor Chris Buscher. I go deeper into the theological underpinnings of why I do what I do than normally happens on my episodes. I hope all who listen can be strengthened and encouraged. Whether or not you're a brother or sister in Christ, I think you'll find it interesting.

Episode 26: Redux: Interview

Across the US, farm animals have been creeping into formerly suburban spaces. There has been an incredible interest in keeping backyard poultry for the many ecological benefits they offer. Trash disposal plus fresh eggs every morning? Sign us up! Chickens do everything from helping control tick populations to recycle biomass. It's a win-win situation. Goats and sheep aren't as common, but they are equally valuable. In fire prone countries like Portugal and states like California, tribes of goats are used to build fire breaks ahead of encroaching wildfires. They eat through all the flammable material, which deprives a fire of any fuel source. Sheep are great to own if you don't want to mow your lawn any more. They'll eat through perennial grass without breaking a sweat. For this episode, I interviewed Janet Garman. She's been keeping backyard animals for many years now, and has a wealth of experience to boot. Check out the Backyard Poultry Magazine if you want to know more about this (she is affiliated with them!)

Backyard Animals (with Janet Garman)

Episode 23: Double Episode Featuring Coming Soon

Leave No Trace (LNT) is a backcountry wilderness ethic preached in many of our national parks. It makes sense. Don't litter, respect wildlife, stay on the trail, etc. But it has blind spots. It encourages an ecological disconnectedness with actions in our daily lives. We might not litter in the park, what what happens to the plastic wrappers that covered our food when we bought it at the store? See? Trash has to go somewhere, too. Conscious Impact Living (CIL) will hopefully be the replacement for LNT. I didn't create it, and I don't even think LNT is bad. LNT served its purpose for many decades. But we've learned a lot about the earth's climate in the half century since LNT was created, and we know more now than ever that everything is connected. CIL is a roadmap to sustainable living in both the city and the backcountry. I can't wait to show it to you!

Episode 22: Leave A Trace

Become a Patron! "Let Them Eat Grass" follows one farmer, Austin Williams, as he tries to make sense of the often complicated world of food and farming. Only 8 months before he began farming, he too knew absolutely nothing when it came it came to the food he put in his body. Show topics include the importance of real food, the deceptive tactics of conventional food producers, the necessity of revising conventional agriculture as we know it, the beautiful symbiosis possible between public and private lands, and realistic guidelines to find local farmers they can trust. That sounds like something we can believe in, doesn't it?

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Let Them Eat Grass

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