The Poor Prole’s Almanac

We're joined by Whitney Johnson, a forager who has focused on highlighting the complex and beautiful cultural history of foraging in Appalachia. Johnson has become known to the internet as the @appalachian_forager on Tiktok & Instagram, which she built by hunting mushrooms – and her passion for Appalachian culture and dedication to authenticity keeps people coming back. Her work highlights the ways in which food, ecology, and community intersect, and point to a way in which foodways can help us navigate our way towards healthier communities and healthier ecosystems.

To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac For more information and updates, visit www.poorproles.com and subscribe to our e-mail list. For the supplemental reader that goes along with the podcast, visit: https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com

The prole boys finally tackle the most divisive of nuts-- the black walnuts. Are they feety? How important have they been historically, anyway? Is juglone actually a problem-- and if so, what can be done about it? Lastly, what about the black walnut industry can we take away for other potential wild tree crops as potential food sources for our communities? This will be the first and (hopefully) last episode you'll ever need to understand the black walnut.

Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information! https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/black-walnuts

To support this podcast, join our patreon for early episode access at https://www.patreon.com/poorprolesalmanac

In this episode, we're joined by Eliza Greenman to discuss two of the most underutilized American crops, acorns and persimmons. While folks are familiar with oak trees, what evidence do we have to better understand how these ubiquitous trees could be used for food production? Persimmons, on the other hand, have remained mostly a fruit known in the southeastern parts of the United States and overseas. What makes these two so special, and what kind of work is going into them today for a better, more resilient future food system?

Check out Eliza's work at https://elizapples.com/ , @elizapples on Instagram, and her work with the Savanna Institute!

https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com

In this episode, we're joined by Zach Elfers to talk about tree crop breeding history, creating marketable products from tree crops, and bridging the present with the past. What is our role in building future food systems that we may never see, and how can we do this while engaging with our beliefs around equitable business models? These questions frame up how the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative operate and build up their business model to showcase what our food system can look like when centered around native tree crops, and offer us a novel way to think about food and industry.

Check out Zach's work with the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative:

https://keystonetreecrops.com/

Find Zach on Instagram at:
@susqu_alum

https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com

In this episode, we're joined by Dan Kittredge to discuss the work his organization the Bionutrient Food Association is doing. The Bionutrient Institute team is a global collection of scientists, technicians, engineers, organizers, and others working toward our collective goal to define nutrient density. We chat at length about the surprising results of their studies, and how their testing allows us to better assess the claims of various farming methods, from permaculture, no-till, broad-forking, organic, all the way to conventional agriculture. How can we take this unique data to grow better food, and what are the implications of making food quality knowledge more democratic to consumers?

To check out Dan's work, visit:

https://www.bionutrientinstitute.org/

https://www.bionutrient.org/

https://www.youtube.com/@Bionutrient

and on instagram:

@Bionutrientfoodassociation

@Bionutrientinstitute