The Appropriate Omnivore with Aaron Zober

Justin Smith has a background as a personal trainer and a nutrition coach. From working in the health field, he learned about the cholesterol myths. This lead to write a book about the myths and then make the documentary $tatin Nation, where he also talks about the dangers of cholesterol lowering statin drugs. Justin tells Aaron about the people that were influential in his research, such Malcolm Kendrick and Kausik Ray. Aaron and Justin discuss the many problems with statins, including their side effects, how they don't improve overall health, and that we don't know the long term effects of them. Justin also gets into how he's now researching the true causes heart disease and how that's the topic of his follow up documentary.

It’s the Appropriate Omnivore joined by the Ethical Omnivore. Lana Salant has created the web page The Ethical Omnivore Movement (EOM). Lana explains just what an ethical omnivore is. It’s about honoring your body, your food, and our planet. Lana talks about her exposure early on eating all kinds of meats of such as beef tongues and chicken feet and how she came to start EOM. In addition to getting pastured meats, Lana also discusses her issues with the sustainability of seafood and why she’ll only eat fish from lakes, not any from the oceans. Lastly, Lana also mentions how her Mindful Meat Mondays came to be with the Meatless Mondays not doing anything to educated people about the benefits of grass fed meats.

With the Jewish high holidays coming up in a little over a week, Uri Laio, founder of the Yahoo! group Nourishing Traditions Kosher, makes a visit to The Appropriate Omnivore. Uri talks about the relationship between the Jewish Traditions and Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Tradtions". Uri discusses how fermentation is found in many traditional Jewish foods, such as challah, wine, and pickles. Uri then goes into the difficulty of not being able to get local, kosher meat in Los Angeles and the efforts he's been making to change things, so it can be easier for people in LA that are following a kosher diet to get pastured, nutrient dense meat and poultry. Uri also talks about his experience as a backyard beekeeper. .

Katie Falbo runs Cultivate Events, which is responsible for organizing many festivals and conferences related with traditional foods. She shares the details of the upcoming Santa Barbara Fermentation Festival, letting listeners know about the speakers, demos, vendors, and lunch that are all related with real food. Katie explains why this is a great local event for people to learn about fermentation, food producers in their area, as well as how to get involved with a local Weston A. Price chapter. Plus, the Santa Barbara Festival will have fun things, such as a cultured petting zoo and Patti the Pickle. In addition to the Fermentation Festival, Katie gives some info on other events she's organizing, such as the SOL Food Festival and some others that will be happening next year, such as the Take Back Your Health conference and the Real Food Symposium, that she'll now be running.

The Appropriate Omnivore is joined by Frank Fitzpatrick of 5 Bar Beef, who describes himself as a terrestrial carnivore. Since a young age, Frank had wanted to be a cowboy and ended up becoming a pioneer in the grass fed beef movement. Frank talks about the principles he applies to his food that are related with the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Savory Institute. Aaron and Frank get into how they share a love of grass fed beef and how they both see it as important to cook muscle meats with in a tallow or bone broth. Frank also talks about how the only meat you'll find with the 5 Bar Beef name on it is from his own farm and the farmers markets you can go to in Orange County to find his wonderful meat.

Jesus & Jutta Gamboa make a visit to The Appropriate Omnivore as they let the listeners know about all of the farm fresh, local, and organic produce that they offer with their community supported agriculture (CSA,) Zucchini Xpress. Aaron explains all about why CSAs are a great and convenient way to get real food straight to your door. The Zucchini Xpress surpasses many other CSAs as they not only offer produce, but also great grass fed beef, olive oil, raw honey, chocolate, and coffee. And Jesus and Jutta want to include even more types of food as well as expand the geographical area where people can join. Jesus and Jutta also have an online magazine, Free Range Zucchini, that's filled with recipes and resources where people can find organic food.

Aaron Zober closes out the 2013 edition of July Independents Month. The final independent business showcased for the month is The Brinery in Ann Arbor, MI with its owner and founder David Klingenberger being interviewed. David comes from working on a farm and being an early follower of Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions", where he learned all about fermentation. David talks about the different fermented products the Brinery offers from sauerkraut to pickles to kimchi. David discusses how The Brinery is expanding with a new facility, some new products, and a wider reach of customers. David also explains what wild fermentation is and how it differs from the other types of fermentation.

Independents Month continues as Aaron Zober interviews Mike Konanyan of Art Is In Bread. Mike has a sourdough bread business called Art Is In Bread. To make the perfect sourdough, it's all about sourcing. Even before using the right ingredients, you need to look at what type of mill you need to grind the grains. From there, it's important to use organic ingredients. Mike talks about how his breads are GMO free and offers some bread made from alternative grains. Aaron and Mike get into why fermenting sourdough makes the bread superior nutrition wise to breads made with baker's yeast. Mike also discusses other foods that can be bakes with sourdough and future plans for Art Is In Bread.

The Appropriate Omnivore kicks off the first show of the July Independents Month by welcoming back Jason Jones, president of Vital Farms. Vital Farms is one of the most successful natural foods businesses. Aaron and Jason discuss how Vital Farms has truly pastured eggs that differ from the ones you'll see labeled as "free range" or "cage free. In addition, Vital Farms avoids using any GMO feed for its chickens. Taking a pledge to avoid GMOs is one of several causes that Vital Farms has taken part in. Vital Farms is also based out of Austin, TX, which is becoming known as the paleo capital. Aaron and Jason talk about how Austin is a great place with several natural product companies and lot of great restaurants that are Weston Price/paleo/primal friendly

Gary Collins is the founder of New American Nutrition and recently released the e-book "Primal Power Method". Gary and Aaron discuss many of the key points of his new book. Gary explains how the primal diet is similar and different to other traditional diets, such as Weston A. Price and paleo. A big part of "Primal Power Method" is never do anything to the extreme, a point which resonates well with Aaron as he's seen many people get too strict with their ways. Gary and Aaron go over what are the important foods to eat and what foods are viewed as treats that you don't need in your diet to be healthy. They talk about everything from meats to fruits and veggies to carbs to sweeteners. Gary also talks about what exercise he sees as the best, since exercise along with nutrition is a very important part of "Primal Power Method".

The Institute of Domestic Technology was founded to teach people many lost arts, learning how to make foods such as sauerkraut, cheese, bread, and even how to cure bacon. Institute founder Joseph Shuldiner talks to Aaron about how his background as an artist has shaped his love for teaching people about cooking and baking and how chefs are now seen as artists. One of the most popular classes of Joseph's include milkcrafting, where Joseph teaches people at the creamery in Altadena about the benefits of raw milk and how to make cheese. The bacon curing course is also one that should be of interest to any appropriate omnivore. Aaron and Joseph discuss that class and get into the nitrate curing controversy. Jospeh also talks about his cookbook and the Altadena Farmers Market that he runs.

As people are realizing the benefits of probiotics and consuming more fermented foods, sauerkraut is one of the most popular ferments. Kathryn Lukas is the founder and chief kraut officer of Farmhouse Cutlure, a sauerkraut which you can find at supermarkets as well as at farmers markets in the Santa Cruz area. Kathryn talks about how she got into sauerkraut making from living in Germany to how she founded Farmhouse Culture. One of the great things about the different kraut varieties of hers is she mixes together sauerkraut with the concepts of other ferments, such as kimchee, dill pickles, horseradish, and jalapenos to create a ferment fusion. Kathryn also discusses what's involved in using organic, locally sourced, and non-GMO ingredients in all her products.

One of most popular trends in the restaurant world is farm-to-table. Of course, at The Appropriate Omnivore, it's not seen as a trend, but as how all restaurants should operate. Ari Weinzwieg, owner of the Zingerman's Restaurant pays a visit to the show. His deli has been serving food directly from farmers since the 80s, before there even was the term farm-to-table. Since then, Ari opened several other businesses, including a bbq joint called Zingerman's Roadhouse, a creamery, a bakehouse, a catering company, a mail order online shop, cooking classes, and even a Camp Bacon. Ari discusses how all of these different operations are sustainable and what's in store for the future.

For the final show of Meaty May, Aaron interviews Liz Wolfe. Liz Wolfe is known for the popular blog Cave Girls and hosting the podcast Balanced Bites with Diane Sanfilippo. Liz talks about her involvements with the Weston A. Price, paleo, and primal communities. Aaron and Liz discuss what it's like living in a society where the vast majority of people aren't invested in the real food movement, even though Liz and Aaron see themselves as people in the norm. They talk about dealing with things such as factory farming, GMOs, and vegangelicals. Liz also gives a little insight into what will be talked about in her upcoming book "Modern Cave Girl: Paleo Living in The Concrete Jungle".

Peggy Sutton, owner and founder of To Your Health Sprouted Flour, makes a return visit to The Appropriate Omnivore. As her company has just released a line of einkorn grains and flour, she brings Jade Koyle to talk about einkorn with her. Jade is the President of Einkorn.com, the supplier of To Your Health's einkorn products. Peggy and Jade talk about how einkorn is the original wheat and its gluten content is different than all other forms of wheat. It's an heirloom grain, meaning it's not hybridized like modern what. Peggy and Jade also mention what their favorite foods are to bake with einkorn flour. They explain how it differs from other flours and what you need to do to bake the tastiest breads and desserts with this wonderful ancient grain.