Regenerative Gets Hijacked by Corn

On June 25th, President Trump signed an executive order advancing regenerative agriculture. The same afternoon, the USDA quietly finalized a Regenerative Feedstock Rule that lets industrial corn claim the regenerative label to sell more ethanol. Sixty-eight percent of corn farmers already qualify, which means almost nothing has to change in the field. The word is doing the work.In this solo episode, Dana traces how a term that small farmers built with cover crops and real soil work got picked up and handed to industrial corn. Then she goes back fifty years to explain how we got here, starting at the gas pump. How ethanol is made, why we grow so much corn, the dead zone the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico, the war in Iran driving it all forward, and who actually pays the price. It's never just about food.One Bite is EverythingFrom your plate to the rest of the world, One Bite is Everything explores the connections between food, health, community, the environment, and the economy. Through conversations with farmers, chefs, researchers, advocates, and food system leaders, host Dana DiPrima examines how food touches every aspect of our lives and why understanding our food system has never mattered more.OBIE FactsTop 3% of all podcasts globallyTop 100 food podcasts (22)Top 100 agriculture podcasts (87)More engagement than more than 88% of all podcasts on SpotifyFive-star rating averagePart of Heritage Radio Network, home of the top voices in foodConnectFollow Dana at @xoxofarmgirl and learn more about the For Farmers Movement at forfarmersmovement.com.Co-production by Sonia Dhillon. Sound design and original music by Russell Chapa.