when people imagine a farm, they might not picture it in the heart of a city, next to an auto shop and a car wash. but that’s exactly where you can find hundreds of fresh fruits and vegetables in hartford, conn., bursting from rows and rows of pvc pipe instead of soil.

food insecurity can run rampant in cities, where there is less access to fresh food and less land available to cultivate it. however, one connecticut non-profit is reimagining how people can access healthy food at a better price. 

levo international is using hydroponic farming to create healthier communities, better education, and leaders for the future. crops grow from simple pipes filled with nutrient-rich water, using minimal space and energy. christian heiden, the founder of levo international, talks about the organization and how it’s changing the landscape of the city. 

listen to the full interview to learn more.

israel ceballos stands outside his condo in university village with a tupperware container full of orange peels and a handful of breadcrumbs. his husband, paul matylonek, sits inside, surrounded by eight día de los muertos ofrendas and two leather suitcases from his polish immigrant parents.

“i feed 50 birds right here, and six squirrels,” ceballos says. “when i whistle, they all show up.”

ceballos isn’t exaggerating. with one whistle, dozens of house sparrows creep out from tree branches to snack on ceballos’s offerings. above, a squirrel nest overlooks the couple’s newly completed project, nearly two decades in the making: the morgan street community garden.

a dream takes root

lifelong midwesterners, ceballos and matylonek met at church on father’s day, 28 years ago. ceballos recalls seeing “a handsome man” light a candle for his recently deceased father, and the rest was history. before transforming this patch of land into a thriving space, the pair spent years cultivating life in their own backyard. they planted milkweed to attract and raise monarch butterflies — a quiet practice that would later echo through their larger work, bringing nature and meaning to their neighborhood.

inspiration for the garden came after the pair realized that the land behind their home, owned by the burlington-norfolk and santa fe (bnsf) railway company, had served as a dumping ground for debris for years. after the railway failed to respond to their emails seeking permission to clean up the plot, ceballos and matylonek went ahead on their own in may, enlisting neighbors and friends to help. 

once they had hauled away about 40 industrial trash bags of debris, the pair invested $1,000 of their own funds to build a small, raised garden bed on the plot. they also sent a request to community members asking for donations of pots for the garden, as the soil was likely unsuitable for growth.

this simple community act led to what is now chicago native garden projects, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and maintaining native plant habitats in chicago.

“i just wanted something that the community could enjoy,” ceballos said. “nothing makes me happier than walking by and seeing people sitting here.”

ceballos said that many people wanted to help, but couldn’t deliver equipment, so the pair changed their request and asked for monetary donations. over the past six months, ceballos estimates that over 60 donors have raised around $13,000 in donations and materials for the community garden. the chicago department of streets and sanitation donated paint and a city garbage can to the cause, while 25th ward alderman byron sigcho lopez attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the garden in september.

“it’s opened up my eyes to the community itself, dealing with people who don’t live in my building, but have donated and have helped,” university village resident and volunteer jesus palacios said. “you turn from a neighbor into a friend.”

under ceballos and matylonek’s leadership, what was once a patch of waste transformed into a neighborhood effort that now includes over 300 native plants across 90 species.

community efforts bear fruit

nearly 60% of the world’s population now resides in urban environments, and increased urbanization has caused a substantial loss in native biodiversity. as a result, planting native species offers benefits that extend beyond neighborhood aesthetics, helping to repair some of the ecological damage caused by urban infrastructure. within city landscapes, native species have proven to outperform non-native species, providing critical habitat and food sources for pollinators, arthropods, and other local wildlife. 

in addition to ecological benefits, expanding access to urban green spaces enhances climate resilience while benefiting human wellbeing. a 2016 world health organization report synthesizing multiple studies found, among other things, that urban green spaces may be linked to improved immune system function, enhanced mental health and cognitive performance, reduced exposure to air pollution, and an increase in pro-environmental behaviors. together, these benefits illustrate how small-scale urban gardening efforts can connect people to the planet. 

for ceballos and matylonek, however, they see that growth less as an achievement in horticulture and more as proof of what trust, kindness, and transparency can build.

“you don’t know until you put yourself out there,” ceballos said. “what i’ve learned is you’ve got to let the fear go.”

although ceballos and matylonek seem stunned at the community’s outpouring of support, secretary of cgnp danielle orihuela said that it isn’t surprising at all.

“[israel] has always been the person to be able to talk to anybody. he’s captivating,” orihuela said. “i think those are the most important things that make a leader: do you actually care about the people sitting next to you? do you want to get to know them? you level with them as an equal, and i think both of them are like that.”

their approach to fundraising reflects that same ethos. instead of chasing publicity, they invite people to participate through dedicated containers, which often honor loved ones.

one pilsen resident dedicated her garden container to her recently deceased brother and stops by once a month to honor his memory. nearby, another container holds soil mixed with the ashes of a neighbor’s son. to ceballos and matylonek, these aren’t just plants: they’re reminders that what they’ve cultivated goes beyond the garden boundaries.

“it was these two that i realized, we’re really doing something right,” ceballos said. “people want to memorialize; they want to remember their loved ones. they don’t know how or where, so people found solace in that. it goes to show that you just don’t know how you’re going to impact people.”

this fall, ceballos and matylonek opened their home during día de los muertos as part of their expanded fundraising efforts. in exchange for a small donation, ceballos guided visitors through their many ofrendas – traditional memorials for dia de los muertos, or the day of the dead — and explained the holiday’s history. monarchs, once fluttering through their backyard, reappeared as symbols of the season, woven throughout the altars to represent the souls of ancestors returning home.

matylonek also offered visitors insight into his family history, explaining how his parents immigrated to the united states from eastern poland.

with the end of the gardening season, volunteers will continue to maintain the grounds and prepare for spring.

“i think we’re living in a society where it’s a little dark,” palacios said. “working together and seeing the different colors and shapes and sizes of people helps so much and brings the community together.”

palacios said he’s come to understand why the garden keeps growing, not just with plants, but with people.

“[israel and paul] have such a beautiful view … they’re so kind, i think that’s also why people want to help,” he said. “you just become one, and i think they are the glue to everything.”

tulsi basil, “wizard of oz” dahlias, cherry tomatoes, antoinette tulips, “jessica’s sweet pear” mint – the list goes on. the roof crop urban agriculture initiative supports farms yielding a vast range of eclectic flowers, produce, and apothecary crop varieties across chicago.

the roof crop promotes sustainability, ecological engagement, and community development through its support of 14 rooftop farms across the chicagoland area.

“the goal of sustainability and increasing green spaces in chicago and using those spaces in productive ways means a lot to me,” said elise anhorn, operations manager of the roof crop.

at the roof crop’s home base in chicago’s west side, several independent enterprises work in tandem under the same roof. the ground floor houses the restaurant maxwells trading, third season, an apothecary and design studio, and a coffee shop. flashpoint innovation, a food and beverage consulting firm, occupies the second floor. and on the roof you will find the roof crop’s green roof featuring two greenhouses and a small event space.

the roof crop launched in 2013. it began as a marketing initiative and evolved into a partnership with a company that installs green roofs, according to anhorn. 

anhorn said the company began with the question: “how can we market more installations through this lens of [roofs] being growing space?” 

“that kind of took off, and now it is its own stand alone company,” anhorn said.

the green roofs the roof crop support serve a range of purposes. some are urban farms yielding produce and flowers, while others are simply green spaces that contribute to natural ecosystems in chicago. 

the roof crop foundation, a non-profit affiliated with the roof crop, manages apiaries on green roofs across the city. the apiaries serve the dual purpose of rejuvenating the region’s pollinator populations and producing honey.

the roof crop has helped green roof development at a variety of types of spaces throughout the city, including the mcdonald’s headquarters, google’s midwest headquarters at 1k fulton and many residential buildings. 

third season, which opened in 2023, hosts events and workshops and sells various apothecary and local products such as homemade soaps and honey, supporting the local sustainability needs met by rooftop gardens.

mickey cao, design and store manager at third season, said the organization recently hosted a midwestern minimalist design workshop that promoted the beauty and simplicity of nature. it has run a monsoon pottery workshop with a local artisan as well, as it aims to involve local artists from the community in its work.

“i think it’s been really positive to have a space in a fairly industrial area where people can come and have community and learn and do creative things together,” cao said.

third season also hosts sustainable farming programs for chicagoland teens and young people, according to cao.

anhorn said a goal of the organization is to educate urban farmers.

“the end goal isn’t to farm on every green roof around the city, but to make green roof farming more accessible and possible and to share what we’ve learned along the way,” anhorn said.

american farmers have long relied on china’s massive demand for soybean meal, a high-protein animal feed. now, as china turns to brazil and argentina to meet its soybean needs, u.s. farmers are left scrambling to sell their crops. 

“let’s be clear, this is a man-made disaster caused by donald trump and his administration,” soybean farmer john bartman said at a press call hosted by the democratic national committee in october. “why? because there’s nearly 1 billion bushels of soybeans that don’t have a home right now.” 

the scale of the disaster

u.s. farmers will lose roughly $100 per acre this year, according to the university of illinois urbana-champaign. for adam phelon, who planted over 1,000 acres of soybeans on his family farm in melvern, kan., that could mean a $100,000 loss in gross income. 

“it’s been 40 years of market development that’s taken place to get it to where we are, and so having that just eroded away, we can’t just replace that overnight,” phelon said in an interview. “we’re going to see lasting effects for years to come.”

grain market economist ed usset said he’s concerned about the long-term implications of losing china’s business, specifically if china learns it no longer needs the united states to fulfill its soybean needs. 

minnesota gov. tim walz expressed similar sentiments, calling on trump to end the “ridiculous trade war” and recognize the long-lasting damage china’s boycott will have on rural america. 

“the thing we need to keep in mind is it took decades to establish these markets,” walz said during the press call. “china didn’t just sign one-year contracts with argentina. they signed some of them up to a decade long, and it’s going to take us years to get these markets back.” 

in september, argentina temporarily suspended its 26% soybean export tax in an attempt to boost sales. china then purchased 7 million metric tons of argentine soybeans, to the dismay of american farmers. phelon was further angered to see president trump finalize a $20 billion bailout to stimulate argentina’s economy, calling the move “a kick in the pants to farmers.”

soybean oil as a solution

as the united states searches for other export markets for american soybeans, the expanding biofuels market offers a promising opportunity to drive domestic demand — specifically, for soybean oil. 

historically, soybean meal has contributed much more to driving the value of a bushel, according to scott irwin, an agricultural marketing professor at the university of illinois urbana-champaign.

“a rule of thumb was that around two-thirds of the value of a bushel of soybeans could be traced to soybean meal,” irwin said. “that has dropped to 50–55% with the boom in biodiesel and renewable diesel production, particularly the latter.” 

soybean oil can be processed into renewable diesel, a sustainable fuel made from plants or animal fats that is chemically identical to petroleum, but much better for the environment because, like all plants, soybeans absorb carbon dioxide as they grow rather than raising greenhouse gas emissions. 

in june, the environmental protection agency proposed raising minimum volume mandates for the use of different biofuels under the renewable fuel standard (rfs) for 2026 and 2027. the proposal would increase the amount of renewable fuel required to be blended into u.s. transportation fuel, like the diesel fuel truckers use to fill their tanks. 

if the epa proposal becomes a final regulation, it will mandate the highest renewable fuel blending standards in american history. the development would heavily benefit soybean farmers by driving the demand for soybean oil to fulfill the epa’s regulations, irwin said. 

greenhouse gases produced by advanced biofuels stay in the atmosphere for half as long as gases generated from petroleum, irwin said. 

“on that front, surprisingly, the trump administration is encouraging something that’s positive from a greenhouse gas climate perspective,” irwin said.

renewable diesel is considered a “drop-in” substitute for petroleum diesel, said scott gerlt, the chief economist of the american soybean association. from an engineering perspective, that means renewable diesel can be used as a replacement for petroleum diesel without worrying about changing infrastructure or blending levels.

soybean oil’s potential doesn’t stop at the fuel pump. researchers eric cochran and chris williams from iowa state university are taking soybean oil to the roads: their soybean-based asphalt polymer can replace petroleum additives, making pavement both longer lasting and more sustainable. 

the traditional polymer additive used in asphalt is sps, a purely petroleum-based polymer that is rarely manufactured domestically nowadays. a key component of sps called butadiene can also be hazardous to handle, cochran said. soybean oil, on the other hand, reduces reliance on petroleum products while supporting the domestic soybean market.

“making your pavements last longer means less raw material, less energy, less fuel needed for all that construction, and then the materials that are going into the pavements become increasingly u.s. agriculturally sourced,” cochran said.

cochran said the product is currently being manufactured across the united states and sold to county engineers, contractors, asphalt terminals, and oil refineries. over the next year, homeowners can look out for do-it-yourself products for roofing and driveway maintenance.

in the meantime, the trump administration is expected to announce a relief plan of at least $10 billion for farmers hurt by tariffs. still, farmers have said the temporary fix doesn’t provide what they actually want, and what soybean oil might give them a chance to do: to compete fairly in the global marketplace. 

“this is our livelihood. we need to make sure that we have a place to go with our soybeans,” phelon said. “that’s the number one goal. we want to feed and fuel the world, and without trade around the world, we’re not able to do that.”

in the dry fields of sankoyo, a village of less than 200 people where land cruisers speed by on their way to the okavango delta’s hippo-dotted lagoons, thekiso bayei, a petite mother of five, is in a battle against a 15,000-pound herbivore. 

she says she saw it yesterday, waiting just outside her fence. 

“we used to harvest crops to feed our children,” thekiso said, holding a handful of seeds. she’s not planting today, but she still likes to hold them. now, every harvest season, thekiso awakens one morning to a broken fence and a field picked clean of crops: “they only leave footprints and dung.”

it’s hard to farm when you live next to the world’s largest population of african elephants. sankoyo is one of a few dozen villages in botswana stuck between over 130,000 elephants and the kalahari desert. the delta’s rising elephant population — often celebrated as a conservation success — has taken a devastating toll on the indigenous villagers who have farmed its riverbanks since the 18th century. 

as the world debates what to do with botswana’s elephants, some farmers in sankoyo have made up their minds. 

“i want elephants to be killed,” thekiso said.

the farmers and the elephants

“long ago, we used to harvest so much food we even left some crops in the field,” qumokaake, an 81-year-old grandmother, said. “today, we die of hunger because you have to buy food to survive.” 

like most farmers in northwest botswana, qumokaake said it’s been years since elephants left her crops alone. the southern african nation’s elephant population spiked from about 80,000 in 1996 to over 130,000 by 2023. that’s over one third of africa’s elephants, mostly concentrated in a region smaller than ireland where no fences separate wildlife from villages.

“we don’t stop plowing, even if we know the elephants will come,” qumokaake said, pulling weeds from her maize. “farming is our life.”

a few hundred yards from qumokaake’s garden, a safari truck kicks up dust. 

inside the open-air truck, safari-goers and their african guide risk the bumpy dirt road that skirts sankoyo. most foreign tourists to the okavango fly over the village on chartered flights that land at luxury safari lodges. they likely never know sankoyo exists, let alone that the village just seven miles from moremi game reserve is among the poorest in a nation with one of the world’s highest rates of wealth inequality.

botswana, known as a sanctuary for southern africa’s wildlife, has done so well conserving its elephants with strict anti-poaching policies that some scientists say the population is now overpopulated. researchers largely attribute this rise to thousands of elephants migrating into botswana to escape poaching and conflict in surrounding nations.

the notion of too many majestic elephants may be lost on westerners, but it’s not a hard concept to grasp for locals who live in daily fear of attacks by hungry giants.

“they killed two people,” kobamelo simalumba, a 78-year-old farmer in sankoyo, said. “one called sangwana shalenshando and one called fwafwa.”

since 2018, injuries and deaths from wildlife have increased by about 80% in the okavango delta. botswana reported 60 people killed by wildlife, mostly elephants, between 2018 and 2023. 

in the forests around sankoyo, trees are stripped of leaves and stunted at elephant-trunk height. while the african elephant is still very much endangered on the continent as a whole, it’s more complicated in botswana specifically. 

“we have so many elephants,” said monty montshiwa, an ecologist who leads human-wildlife conflict mitigation programs at wildentrust, a botswana non-governmental organization (ngo). “the population is so high, and it ravages the whole ecosystem.”

as the mammals step on trees, lift thatched roofs off houses, and rip up water pipes, locals are desperate for solutions. 

“where is the balance?” montshiwa asks. “what is it that can be done for co-existence?”

a trophy hunting debate

timex moalassi, chief of sankoyo, thinks trophy hunting is part of the solution.

“we don’t say, ‘let’s just kill elephants for the sake of killing,’” said moalassi, who traveled to london last spring to argue against a proposed trophy hunting ban. “we say, ‘let’s hunt a certain number of elephants per year for a fee so that we can manage the environment and make developments in our settlement.’”

the village’s community trust recently approved the auction of 83 wild animals — including 15 elephants — to a trophy hunting operator for an estimated $326,618. the sale will add nearly double the income the village gets from leasing land to safari lodges to its annual budget. 

sankoyo is one of many villages electing to bring back trophy hunters after botswana lifted its hunting ban in 2019. the return of trophy hunters sparked backlash from western animal rights groups. locals see it as a lifeline, however.

“people outside our country don’t want us to kill our animals because they are rich,” galefete kettwaeletswe, sankoyo’s deputy chief, said. “us here, we are poor.”

botswana issued a quota of 400 elephant hunting licenses in 2025. every year, sankoyo’s trust will now receive a certain portion of those licenses to sell. residents hope trophy hunters will solve their elephant problem and “push the animals far away from us,” as lesego ntaashuma said, but it’s not that simple.

according to joseph mbaiwa, a scientist at the okavango research institute, killing 400 elephants — about 0.003% of botswana’s total population — will have minimal impact.

“have you ever seen somebody hitting a wall? it will remain as it is,” mbaiwa said. “it doesn’t do a dent to the elephant population. it will keep on going up.” 

if people want to keep farming alongside the elephants, they’ll need more than cash. mbaiwa said communities also need mitigation strategies like electric fences and lights over their fields.

but these ideas rarely get implemented. dikatholo kedikilwe said his neighbors are more familiar with the idea of shooting pesky elephants. he’s trying to show them a different way.

dikatholo is mixing chili peppers with elephant dung and letting the mixture burn in his fields. elephants dislike the spicy smoke and stay away. dikatholo said he hopes a donor will fund his chili pepper project so he can grow enough peppers for all of sankoyo.

“it’s really promising, but the main challenge is funds,” dikatholo said. “we need water for the chili peppers. it’s a struggle.”

under the shade of a giant raintree near the middle of the village, dikatholo and his neighbors gather for a budget meeting. they have to decide how to spend the estimated $326,618 of hunting revenue. still no funding for his peppers, but the village does settle on items like school scholarships, village electrification, and payments to the elderly.

as the sun sets over the raintree, the village votes to accept the budget funded by the sale of 15 elephants. people are quick to get home.

the lions come out after dark.

“maybe the elephants won’t come”

thekiso’s knee aches as she pulls tufts of fingergrass from the side of the road. like many elderly women in sankoyo, she spends her mornings pulling weeds for ipelegeng, botswana’s unemployment program, for 620 pula or $44 a month. 

most of her children and grandchildren left sankoyo years ago. there are few jobs in the village besides pulling weeds for the government. most young people gave up on farming after a childhood of elephant-raids, but the women in patterned dresses still go out into their fields, every day after ipelegeng, to tend to their crops. the rains have been good this year, and their crops are growing well.  

when thekiso gets home from ipelegeng, she sets down her cane and watches her garden. her beloved maize, watermelon, and pumpkins are safe, for now.

“maybe i have a chance to harvest,” thekiso said. “maybe the elephants won’t come.” out in the mopane forest, an elephant trumpets.

several experts on a panel from rural and urban communities discussed their progress and challenges of being a farmer. the panel was hosted by mya o. price, an assistant professor at the global food institute, with panelists dion dawson, chief dreamer of dion’s chicago dream; cicely garrett, co-executive director of the national black food and justice alliance; qiana mickie, new york city’s inaugural executive director of the office of urban agriculture within the mayor’s office; and ashley c. smith, executive director of black soil ky.

before the panel began, opening remarks were shared by tambra raye stevenson, the founder and ceo of women advancing nutrition, dietetics, and agriculture (wanda). she discussed her heritage as a fifth-generation oklahoman and the historical significance of black farming communities.

she also highlighted the erasure of black cultural contributions and the need for policy changes. addressing the audience, she asked them to “plant hope,” meaning attendees should support black food sovereignty through community and policy efforts.

“by planting hope, we will not just simply survive: we will thrive,” stevenson said.

ashley c. smith of black soil ky, an organization promoting agriculture to black kentuckians, said a major challenge for black farmers in a rural area is balancing the finances. she said rural farmers know no one, like national funders, are coming to “save them.”

according to the economic research service, a part of the department of agriculture researching agriculture, the environment, and rural development, 86% of all united states counties with “high and persistent levels” of poverty in 2019 were rural.

“we can’t have our farmers standing in the food bank or food pantry lines,” smith said. “they have to be fully supported.”

cicely garrett of the national black food and justice alliance, an organization representing rural and urban black farmers, said she saw some successes amid the challenges. she specifically pointed to a growing number of people who are more open to collaboration. she said more people have space to breathe, they have the time to dream of certain ideas, and they want to collaborate to make their ideas possible.

“having more encouragement around people doing this, like organic, genuine relationships in which they have shared values and vision, is something we are seeing more of,” garrett said.

qiana mickie of the new york city mayor’s office said there are some innovations and strategies giving her hope today. one example was people creatively using spaces, especially in urban areas. she said she wants to use underutilized spaces, like by expanding community and school gardens.

“there is the opportunity of leveraging smaller micro-contracts, or meeting them where they’re at, at their scale and still creating contracts that can create food,” mickie said.

but she also added there is not much sustainability and upkeep in places like community or school gardens, as they require maintenance.

in terms of black communities responding to climate change, organizations are finding some success, dion dawson said. dawson runs dion’s chicago dream, an organization working to improve health outcomes and equity while addressing food security in chicago. according to dawson, the organization produces around a quarter of million pounds annually and does not waste anything.

while working towards a solution, dawson added, he hopes everyone does not have a doomsday plan; rather, he challenges everyone to think about a future they can hope for. he also said “resiliency” is necessary, but in some cases it is not needed. 

for dawson, the goal of building a sustainable future is a group effort. “i think everyone should look at themselves like a lego,” dawson said.

the ground at vermejo reserve in new mexico contains a rich source of knowledge: valuable information that can explain how healthy soils are vital to the biodiverse plants and animals that survive off of it. 

the conservationists who manage and maintain the property are looking to nourish the land, but they say that they are also looking to share their findings. their next frontier is sharing what they learn on the reserve.

“i have learned that education is paramount,” said jason ladjevic, vermejo’s director of activities. “being able to convey that to our guests, i think, is very vital and very important so that they can hopefully be inspired to go home or wherever they are and inspire change within their communities.”

a well (and range) of knowledge

vermejo, owned by cnn founder ted turner, encompasses 550,000 acres and seven ecosystems in northern new mexico. the expanse of prairie, snow capped peaks and flowing streams are unique, and so are the regenerative and restorative livestock practices that the reserve is developing. 

one practice is range monitoring, a process where ranch and land management staff discover what’s growing and track changes in the edible plant life within an area of land. 

“you can get a lot of information on the landscape’s health based off of range monitoring,” said lance bernal, vermejo’s natural resource manager. the process “gives us an idea of how much production occurred during the growing season. and therefore, if we have high production, then we can actually support more animals. if we have low production, then we have to reduce our animal numbers.”

in 2009, a two year carrying capacity study monitored 61 locations across vermejo. the researchers were trying to understand what food sources were available to grazers. 

now, range monitoring happens annually. geographic information systems specialist sara holm and other vermejo team members keep tabs on 32 transects across the property.

following a call to conserve

the vermejo mantra for their land is ‘eat a third, trample a third and leave a third.’ if the animals leave a third of each ecosystem untouched, the land they walk through and graze on is able to regenerate instead of die off from over use, holm said. 

the staff attributes the health of their animals and broader ecosystems, and their local reputation as ecologically minded, with their attention to detail when it comes to all things soil-related.

“this is a special place,” said ladjevic. “people can say, ‘wow, look how lush this is.’ and i think that’s because we’re taking care of it… because we do that, you look out at these beautiful landscapes and these beautiful places, and that is essentially the fruits of our labor.”

many of vermejo’s staff treat ted turner’s mantra of “save everything” as a mandate, stating that they believe sharing their findings and techniques will only benefit their operation. 

“our work cannot stop at the fence line. there’s no trade secrets,” said ted turner reserves president jade mcbride. embedded in vermejo is a culture of belief that humans can live harmoniously with the ecosystems that surround us. 

how cooperation and knowledge-sharing is key

the reserve’s team members are deepening their connection to the turner institute of ecoagriculture, an agricultural research and education organization focused on sustainable ranching. 

vermejo staff say they want to continue to share their findings, branching into “research, programs, projects, and education that encourage the preservation, conservation, and restoration of sensitive and imperiled species and their habitats.”

“part of our mission in the coming years is to share what is working,” said tor holm, sara holm’s son and a geology intern at vermejo.

kate asmus, a wildlife ecologist, published “spatial ecology of north american bison on vermejo park ranch, new mexico ” with turner institute of ecoagriculture and the nebraska school of natural resources. asumus recently defended her thesis which focused on how and why animal populations, like the vermejo bison, move the way they do.  

asmus feels her paper is essential to the field of wildlife ecology and credits vermejo’s vastness, access and strong community as essential reasons she was able to complete her work. 

“i think it’s really important that [my thesis work]  is published in [established journals] so that other ecologists can gain knowledge and information from what we learned,” asmus said. she later reflected on how these learning outcomes be applied more broadly to help other kinds of researchers with their work. 

asmus’s takeaway from vermejo is larger than academics, it is also about community and person-to-person information sharing.  

“they’re giving us opportunities to be able to come on to these landscapes and to be able to study these animals, which would benefit them, but it’s also benefiting other ecologists,” said asmus. “these are things that i can continue to take with me as i go.”

many of the conservationists at vermejo describe walking the vast acreage of the reserve for work or for pleasure as filling them with awe and an inspiration. 

“why do i do this?” said tor holm, “i see things everyday that a lot of people don’t see in a lifetime.”

editor’s note: this series was made possible with the generous support of turner reserves and contributions by the turner family. all editorial content is published independently. 

planet forward’s environmental media lab led this expedition to teach the power of visual storytelling in wild spaces to convey the beauty and bounty of our planet.

for vermejo, a 550,000 acre property of ted turner reserves, the soil grounds the operation. the conservation-focused staff monitor the seven ecosystems across the property, ranging from short-grass prairie to pinyon-juniper woodlands to alpine and more. their experts being the range monitoring process every fall to understand the diversity of the plant life, the amount of wildlife that can be sustained, and the health of areas frequently visited by humans and animals. 

this process of grass surveillance is called range monitoring and it’s been happening at vermejo for a little less than two decades. 

director of activities jason ladjevic and natural resources manager lance bernal explore how central the soil is to the success of vermejo and why the conservationists heading the project are excited to share what they find. 

editor’s note: this series was made possible with the generous support of turner reserves and contributions by the turner family. all editorial content is published independently.

planet forward’s environmental media lab led this expedition to teach the power of visual storytelling in wild spaces to convey the beauty and bounty of our planet.

more than 30% of crops and livestock produced in the u.s. come from the ogallala region, according to the ogallala aquifer coordinated agriculture project. this puts a large burden on the region’s freshwater supply. watch this video to find out how some farmers like steve norman in graza county, tx, are implementing new irrigation technology to protect this valuable natural resource and make growing cotton more sustainable.

editor’s note: coverage of water stories is made possible, in part, by the walton family foundation.  the editorial content is determined by planet forward staff and students. we thank the walton family foundation for their continued support.

despite its villainous talon and fierce claws, a delectable meat, laden with protein and nutrients lies beneath the scorpion’s segmented shell. the scorpion isn’t the villain of desert nightmares but potentially a hero in our agricultural future.

the path to sustainable food production in an increasingly resource-constrained world appears unpopular but revolutionary: insects and arachnids, eight-legged creatures such as scorpions and spiders. while just about everyone calls spiders, “insects,” this idea isn’t exactly correct. insects and arachnids are both arthropods, but insects have six legs and three body parts, while arachnids have eight legs and two body parts, with no antennae or wings.

the problem “at steak”

our current agricultural system, particularly the meat industry, is facing a crisis of sustainability. according to the food and agriculture organization, livestock production and grazing occupies approximately 30% of the earth’s ice-free land surface and accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. a single pound of beef requires up to 1,800 gallons of water to produce — a staggering figure when compared to other protein sources.

“we’ve been raising cattle for thousands of years, and (edible) insects for only the past decade commercially,” said nathan laurenz, an entomologist and edible insect enthusiast based in singapore. “there’s a lot of learning left to do.”

the uncomfortable truth is that our appetite for traditional meat is putting immense pressure on planetary resources. as the global population rises toward 10 billion by 2050, our current agricultural model simply cannot scale without devastating environmental consequences. deforestation, water scarcity, and climate change are already accelerating due to conventional livestock farming.

according to the un’s food and agriculture organization, meat production is expected to double by 2050, growing from 258 million tons in 2006 to around 455 million tons. this projected growth comes at a time when we desperately need to reduce, not increase, our environmental footprint.

“in time, we’re going to run out of land for cattle, and we’re going to have to replace that protein with something. insects are a good replacement,” said jim louderman, assistant collector at the field museum and a beetle enthusiast with over 70 years of experience studying insects.

insects: a historical delicacy

what many westerners don’t realize is that insect consumption, known as entomophagy, has been a normal part of human diets throughout history and across cultures.

“all sorts of indigenous cultures around the world have been eating insects for as long as humans have been around. it’s probably one of our first meat sources as a species,” laurenz said. the selection is wide and diverse. in thailand, grasshoppers, giant water bugs, and bamboo worms are a common street food. for mexico, it’s aphids and beetles. in china, silkworms are the traditional rage. 

cultural norms have a lot to do with what we label a good meal. consider the lobster, now a luxury seafood. in colonial america, lobsters were so abundant they were considered “poor man’s food,” often fed to prisoners and servants. massachusetts servants famously complained about being eating lobster too frequently. today, we pay premium prices for the same crustacean.

the 2021 emergence of brood x cicadas in the eastern united states provided a recent glimpse into the potential for insect cuisine in western contexts. restaurants and home cooks experimented with cicada tacos, tempura, and even desserts – demonstrating that with the right preparation, insects can appeal to modern palates.

the cultural hurdle

the “yuck factor” remains the biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of insect protein in western diets. this aversion is entirely cultural, not biological: a learned response rather than an innate rejection.

“people in big cities tend not to be fans,” laurenz said about insect consumption in southeast asia. “there’s some stigma attached to it that it’s like a poor person’s food or a village food.”

louderman echoed this sentiment. “how do you convince people who are scared of insects or think insects are nasty to eat, something they don’t even want to touch?”

the challenge becomes as much about marketing as it is about production. companies like cricket energy bars target specific demographics, from environmentally conscious consumers to fitness enthusiasts seeking alternative proteins. by segmenting the market and addressing specific communities, these products can gradually normalize insect consumption.

interestingly, most people already consume insects unknowingly. the fda allows certain levels of insect fragments in common foods. chocolate, for instance, can legally contain up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams.

the average person consumes about one to two pounds of insects annually through these trace amounts, according to the fda’s food defect levels handbook. it doesn’t stop there. for the regular grocer, insects are consumed through daily necessities: canned tomatoes (up to 10 fly eggs per 500g), ground cinnamon (up to 400 insect fragments per 50g), or wheat flour (up to 75 insect fragments per 50g), also per the fda handbook.

the production challenge

beyond cultural acceptance, the practical challenge of scaling insect production remains significant. the industry has gone through several boom-and-bust cycles, starting with crickets, then mealworms, and now black soldier flies. laurenz works at the core of the industry, at the startup named karang foodie. their mission is to raise black soldier flies for aquaculture feed. 

“you need to be importing tens or hundreds of tons of raw material every day and then exporting tens or dozens of tons of insect protein every day,” laurenz said, highlighting the scale required to compete with conventional agriculture.

louderman adds that crickets and mealworms are currently the most viable insect protein sources because they can be dried and ground into protein powder, making them more palatable to western consumers. when cooked, he explains, insects congeal to a texture similar to lobster or shrimp and usually have a nutty flavor. larger insects and arachnids such as  scorpions, tarantulas, and beetles are often peeled like shrimp in cultures where entomophagy is common.

“it’s so expensive because most people in the united states won’t do it. it’s not being done on a big enough scale to bring the price down,” louderman said, highlighting the chicken-and-egg problem of cost and adoption.

environmental benefits: the advantage of insects

despite these challenges, insects offer remarkable advantages as protein sources. black soldier flies, for instance, can convert food waste into protein with noteworthy efficiency, growing to harvestable size in just two to three weeks while consuming “whatever slop you have lying around,” laurenz said.

their environmental footprint is minimal compared to traditional livestock according to agronomy for sustainable development:

• insects require significantly less land and water.
• they produce fewer greenhouse gases.
• they can convert feed to protein much more efficiently.
• select species can be raised on monitored organic waste streams, creating circular economic opportunities while adhering to strict food safety protocols.

“without insects, our food wouldn’t get pollinated. when things die in the forest, they don’t decompose, and the soil becomes infertile. without insects, the trees die, we run out of oxygen, and we run out of food,” louderman said, highlighting insects’ crucial role in our ecosystems beyond just being a food source themselves.

the path forward

however, louderman cautions that there are some health considerations. people allergic to shellfish may also be allergic to insects and arachnids that have exoskeletons or shells (arthropods). he also emphasizes the importance of consuming farm-raised rather than wild-caught insects to avoid potential contamination issues.

the best chance for mainstream acceptance in western countries, according to louderman, is through products like cricket flour in familiar foods such as cookies, chips, and protein bars, rather than whole insects. this gradual introduction of insects, which would have to be included on product labels, could help overcome the cultural barriers while delivering the environmental benefits of insect protein.

even committed vegans like northwestern sophomore mia el-yafi offer nuanced views on insect consumption. “if there was bug powder in something, that would bother me less than if there was lard or gelatin,” she said, suggesting insects occupy a different ethical category for some plant-based eaters. 

non-vegetarians like casey bond exhibit cautious curiosity about insect protein. “i would support it, but i’ve never eaten insects… if they were made like a bug burger, maybe i’d eat it,” he said, drawing a comparison to more familiar food presentations: “it’s like eating fish versus when fish is served whole with the head on.” in the future, presentation may be crucial for mainstream adoption.

as we face the dual challenges of feeding a growing population and mitigating climate change, entomophagy offers a solution that’s been hiding in plain sight, buzzing and crawling around us all along. the question is not whether insects will become part of our dietary future but when and how we’ll embrace this sustainable  and substantial protein source.