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From Soil to Soul: Growing Health, Justice & Community with Soulful Soil Farms | ANEW Ep 96

Dr. Supatra Tovar Season 1 Episode 96

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In this deeply inspiring episode of the ANEW Insight Podcast, Dr. Supatra Tovar welcomes back Tina Davis, the visionary founder and CEO of Soulful Soil Farms, for an eye-opening conversation about reclaiming health, food security, and community through gardening.

Tina’s journey from a healthcare professional to an urban farmer and community organizer is a masterclass in grassroots transformation. Raised in Compton’s Richland Farms and now rooted in Corona, California, Tina shares how her passion for nutrition and justice led her to create Soulful Soil Farms—a nonprofit dedicated to making gardening accessible, especially in food deserts. Her story is a roadmap for anyone wondering how to start something from scratch, advocate for change, and cultivate wellness from the ground up.

We explore:

  • The difference between commercial agriculture and small-scale gardening
  • Why pesticides, monocropping, and seedless produce are harming public health
  • How to advocate for community gardens and healthier food options in your neighborhood
  • The truth about PLU codes, “organic” labels, and why grocery store produce isn’t always what it seems
  • Simple, actionable ways to start your own garden—even if you don’t think you have a green thumb

Tina also explains how gardening became her medicine—helping to naturally lower her high blood pressure through juicing, herbs, and fresh-grown beets and greens. This episode is packed with empowering insights about food as medicine, soil health, and how to reduce your reliance on an increasingly unsafe industrial food system.

Listeners will learn how to get involved with seed exchanges, how to navigate local politics to push for community gardens, and why teaching children to grow food may be one of the most radical public health interventions we can make.

Whether you're a beginner gardener, a concerned parent, or a health-conscious professional, this conversation will leave you motivated to dig in—literally.

🌿 Learn more about Tina’s work at www.soulfulsoilfarms.net
 📲 Follow her on Instagram @soulful_soil_farms
 📚 Hosted by Dr. Supatra Tovar, clinical psychologist, registered dietitian, fitness expert, and author of the bestselling book Deprogram Diet Culture

🎧 Subscribe to the ANEW Insight Podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite platform.
 📍 Visit anew-insight.com to explore our book, podcast, and our powerful online course “Deprogram Diet Culture.”

#communitygardening, #foodjustice, #soilhealth, #seedexchange, #organicproduce, #plucodes, #healthequity, #fooddeserts, #sustainablenutrition, #urbanfarming, #anewinsight #anewinsightpodcast #drsupatratovar #nutritionalpsychology #gardeningforbeginners, #advocacytips, #healthyeating, #plantbasedhealing, #juicingbenefits, #herbsforhealth, #tinadavis #naturalbloodpressureremedies, #growyourownfood, #farmersmarkets, #industrialagriculture, #foodasmedicine, #pesticidefreeproduce, #foodsystemchange, #nutr

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

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Welcome to the ANEW Insight podcast


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empowering and inspiring your journey
to optimal health.


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Hosted by Doctor
Supatra Tovar, clinical psychologist,


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registered dietitian, fitness expert
and author of Deprogram Diet Culture:


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Rethink Your Relationship with Food,
Heal Your Mind, and Live a Diet Free Life.


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I follow my guests’ journey
to optimal health,


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providing you with the keys
to unlock your own wellness path.


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Tune in and evolve with us.


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Welcome back to the ANEW Insight podcast.


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We are back for the second half
of our interview with founder


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and CEO of Soulful Soil Farms, Tina Davis.


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Welcome back Tina. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.


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Tina gave us some really invaluable
insight into her inspiration


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to move from health care
into more health care, which is gardening.


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I cannot wait to pick her brain some more.


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I know we talked about your inspiration.


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I know we talked about you


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coming from health care.


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But tell us about actually starting
Soulful Soil Farms.


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What were the challenges you faced
and how did you launch it?


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How did you get it on its feet?


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So, so okay.


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I initially, I’m from the city of Compton, I grew up in Richland Farms , so initially


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I wanted to start where I came from.


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There was just a little bit too much red
tape out there, for me.


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So I decided, okay, I live in Corona, and I’ve been out here


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some years now, this is home.


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So let me start where I live.


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My kids, like, you know.


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So I started driving around
looking at vacant lots.


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Understanding that


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okay,


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I did my research on community gardens


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in the city of Corona,
which there was one at a church.


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But again, went back to maintenance, no one maintained it.


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So there are no gardens
in the city of Corona at the moment.


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So then I started to do my research about gardens in the Inland Empire,


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that’s how I came across
Music Changing Lives.


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And so I reached out there,


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just to kind of be able
to put me in a space so that I can,


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you know, do hands on day to day.


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while simultaneously building
my own garden in the backyard.


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So then with regard to Corona,
I started researching, like,


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city council meetings and the,


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the breakfast, you know, meetings
that they do once a month.


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And so when I started my nonprofit, knowing
that's what I wanted to do.


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I just really immersed myself
in that world,


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in the nonprofit world in anything
gardening, anything agricultural.


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I signed up for,


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classes,


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workshops,


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community events, where I could be a vendor.


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The more
I would just kind of put myself out there,


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the more people were drawn to it,
you know, and it just,


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it just went from there.


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And it literally just went.


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When we do, like, say like, farmers


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markets, we’ll do have like a vendor
booth, information booth.


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Also do like an activity where kids can plant.


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You know plant seeds. 


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We’ll have seeds set out for them.


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And I would have an event at one school,


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and then you have, like, a parent from a


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PTA, and she’s like, oh my God, you know,
can you guys do this same thing at this event?


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And then, you know, we're having this event and I would love


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you guys to, and Earth
Day is coming up.


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And you know we have and it just
it would go you know, so.


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The more we put ourselves out there and,
let people know what we do.


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And started, you know,
expressing the education aspect of it.


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People just were drawn to it.


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You know, I think people are really


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thirsty for that knowledge, you know.


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And, a great way, I think


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people are understanding that


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our health is wealth.


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Literally, you know, it sounds kind of cliche,
but it is literally, you know,


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the convenience people,
people pay for convenience, right?


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So you have the drive through McDonald's, and the Burger King’s and Carls Junior’s


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and the salt, salt, salt, salt, salt,
you know,


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and it's just it's complete


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unhealth on every corner.


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So being able to educate people


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like I said people, like
you don't know you're missing it until


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you start to hear it and experience it, and people
are drawn to it like, oh my god,


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I don’t have a green thumb, I get that a lot. 
You don’t need a green thumb.


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You don’t need a green thumb 
to grow your own food.


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I have the least green
thumb on the planet.


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And your garden sounds like it’s thriving.


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I think that's a big misconception.


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But when we, when we started to spread
the aspect of educating the community,


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you know, we really want people
to learn and understand why it's important


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and that we're here to help.


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And again
people were just drawn to it.


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Some more people we reached out to


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and the more spaces
we put ourselves in, the more we grew.


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I think that's so inspiring. Thank you.


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It's, it’s, it’s amazing what you can do,
when you just kind of follow your way down


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a rabbit hole and really what it takes
is intention and passion,


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and you just put yourself everywhere


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that was possible to be able to do this.


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And I think that that's
what stops a lot of people.


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I think that that's the problem,
is that they look at, you know,


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what you have to do to start something
like that, and it becomes overwhelming.


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It can be, yeah.


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And so I think what you're doing is,


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you know,
inspiring a newer generation of people


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who may want to go out
and and create their own enterprise.


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And that's what you've done.


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And so to help people,
maybe to inspire them more,


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especially in areas like food deserts,


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what can people do to advocate


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for more healthful commerce
in their own neighborhood?


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Say that they're already starting
to garden.


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Say that they have
that happening and going on.


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But there's


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they're looking around their neighborhood
and they want to see something different.


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They want to see an actual grocery store.


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They want to see a Whole Foods
or something like that.


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How can they start to advocate to
their government or chamber of commerce?


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I started locally. Exactly. Chamber of commerce.


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I, I started locally, like I said,
I would sign up for the breakfast with the mayor.


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So now the mayor of Corona, 
he doesn’t know me by name, I don’t think,


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but he definitely knows me by face
and maybe tattoos.


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but every time he sees me, he's like, 


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you still owe me that tractor, and 
I’m like, I got you,


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you know, I make it a point.


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I love people,
you know. One, I love talking to people


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and I have no problem putting myself in a space
and talking, not at all.


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So you can't be afraid to face,
the challenges


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that are going to come with this
because there will be challenges.


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You know, you're going to get 100
no's before you get a yes,


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but you cannot let those
100 no’s deter you.


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You know, I use that as fuel.


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I use that as fuel, so as much as I bug


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the Corona mayor now,


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you know, now he knows me.


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He knows when he sees me,
he can identify me 


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he knows me as the garden girl.


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So it's like, kind of slowly just making,


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making a name for myself.


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And I don't care about bugging you, I’m going to continue to bug you


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until, you know, we get a community garden 
in the city of Corona,


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whether we’re building it or not, and so


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persistence is definitely key.


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And again, just not being afraid
to step out and talk to people.


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Go to city council meetings ,start locally.


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You know, you have your,
find out who your supervisors is in your area.


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Ours is Karen Spiegel, I know her by name now, 
she knows me by face.


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I have put myself in these environments
to where they have to see me.


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You have to hear me, You’re gonna to deal with me.


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You know, I'm going to get the point
across and I'm not going to stop


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until I see change.


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Wow, well, what was your biggest obstacle
working in those spaces?


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And probably the 100 knows.


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You get a lot of


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well, we have Parks and Recreation who,
you know does that.


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There's a park
that, is being revitalized right now.


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A beautiful, beautiful, beautiful project in the city of Corona,


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They don't have a community garden.


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And I was kind of late to the ball game


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you know, with that one.


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So that's on me.


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So I still put a bug in their ear,
you know, I went to


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one of the Coronas breakfast
and the mayor was there, you know,


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so at the end of their presentation, and awards, and what 
have you for the event,


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they open the floor up, you know, so
they open the floor up:


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Is there anyone who have
any suggestions, questions?


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I got it, I got up, and got in line.


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And so I told them you know, I think that


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the city of Corona needs a community garden.


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And I said we would be happy to build it.


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And the reaction from, I kid you not,


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almost everybody in that room was like,
oh my God, yes we do.


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Wow. It’s like you don’t know you needed it


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until, it’s now something people think of,


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but once you put that bug in their ear,
and you start giving that information


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and the change and.


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People really start
to listen, and pay attention,


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I'm not


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politics is not, you know, a space


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I'm very familiar with, but I am learning.


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Like I said, I'm learning who the supervisor 


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what district I’m in. Those things are important
because you need to know


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who you need
to reach out to emails, phone calls.


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And it's it sounds like
harassment, and probably in a way it is, but, you know, it’s


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they're going to remember you,


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you know, it’s going to be like, okay, get this girl off my line.


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Whatever she’s asking for, let’s give
her a meeting.


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Let’s hear her out, you have 
to be persistent


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and let them know, you know, we
have a voice


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and ultimately, I'm always gonna use it.


00:10:04:21 - 00:10:06:13
Oh, absolutely.


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Now, give me a picture.


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We touched on this a little in the first
half, but give me a picture of what


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issues and problems
you're seeing come from big agriculture.


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Why is it so important that we empower
ourselves to create these gardens?


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So with big agriculture,


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there's the first word that pops
my head is pesticides.


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When you're growing
on such a massive scale,


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you are treating crops and produce
on a massive scale.


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So pesticides come into play


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and there really is no way around that.


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You know, when


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you're a small farmer, and
your growing small, you have more control


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over your crops.


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If you've ever paid
attention to the stickers


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and like the fruits and vegetables in the grocery stores,


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that PLU number,


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If it starts with a 4 it's
not organic.


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And to be completely honest
a lot of the produce that you see


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that's labeled organic as not organic,
you know, you all you really genuinely


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don't know what's been put on the produce
unless you’re growing it yourself.


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There's like the coating that they're
putting on our fruits now to make it look a certain way.


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I don’t care about presentation,


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You know, I want it to do it’s job.


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So many of the nutrients are taken
out of the produce that we're buying


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in the grocery stores. It's like we’re buying
shells of what it should be.


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You know it looks great on the outside
it’s all green and huge and shiny.


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A lot of that fruit


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those fruits and vegetables


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 aren't supposed to look like that, you know.


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And so when you authentically
taste something that was grown


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truly organically,
you know, in your backyard, it changes.


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It's something


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switches, something clicks and
you can literally taste the difference.


00:12:00:17 - 00:12:03:15
I think you were saying about your cucumbers?


00:12:03:15 - 00:12:05:12
Or your squash, you can taste the difference,


00:12:05:12 - 00:12:07:06
The cilantro.


00:12:07:06 - 00:12:08:23
The cilantro,
you can literally taste the difference.


00:12:08:23 - 00:12:13:08
And once that palate gets a taste
of what it's supposed to be, it just,


00:12:13:10 - 00:12:14:12
it changes it for you.


00:12:14:12 - 00:12:17:02
And you're like, I want. More of it. Yes.


00:12:17:02 - 00:12:18:14
Like my body's calling for that.


00:12:18:14 - 00:12:20:06
I don't know what that is back there,


00:12:20:06 - 00:12:23:05
but I know that's not
what it's supposed to be. Yes.


00:12:23:05 - 00:12:24:21
It's looking the part that's not giving


00:12:24:21 - 00:12:27:00
you what you need. Yes.


00:12:27:00 - 00:12:29:14
So the importance of growing our food
is you know what's in it.


00:12:29:14 - 00:12:33:00
You know what you’re putting into your body 
because you grew it. Exactly.


00:12:33:08 - 00:12:36:07
That's
what's glowing on top of the vegetables.


00:12:36:07 - 00:12:41:11
But let's talk about the soil, too,
because the soil is a big problem.


00:12:41:11 - 00:12:44:15
And that's
where a lot of the nutrients are absorbed.


00:12:44:15 - 00:12:48:00
And that's why, 
certain fruits and vegetables


00:12:48:00 - 00:12:51:12
don't have as high in nutrients
like we used to be able


00:12:51:18 - 00:12:57:00
to get B12 from our soil into our food.


00:12:57:00 - 00:13:02:20
And now we can only really get it either
from supplements or from the meat.


00:13:03:08 - 00:13:05:16
From animal protein.


00:13:05:16 - 00:13:10:06
But talk a little bit about what's going
wrong on the soil level.


00:13:10:11 - 00:13:13:02
It's just really different dynamics
in the environment.


00:13:13:02 - 00:13:16:00
Again pesticides play a big part.


00:13:16:21 - 00:13:18:21
If you have


00:13:19:23 - 00:13:22:23
and say like in your produce,


00:13:25:08 - 00:13:26:18
I can't think of the name of it.


00:13:26:18 - 00:13:28:02
The bugs that.


00:13:28:02 - 00:13:29:04
They grow underneath the


00:13:29:04 - 00:13:32:04
leafy greens, like little gnats or the


00:13:32:04 - 00:13:36:22
There’s a name for them, I’m so sorry,
 I can’t think of the name right, but if you have an infestation of


00:13:36:22 - 00:13:41:16
any type of insect, you know, that affects your crops
and your growing massive scale,


00:13:42:09 - 00:13:44:22
those insecticides and pesticides


00:13:44:22 - 00:13:48:06
are not just going to the crop, they’re going into the soil
and the soil is tilled.


00:13:48:06 - 00:13:52:08
So digging deeper and deeper
and ultimately you have a land


00:13:52:08 - 00:13:53:21
full of unhealthy soil


00:13:53:21 - 00:13:56:20
So soil health
is something that we also teach.


00:13:57:00 - 00:14:00:11
Because you want to understand the soil
that you're using,


00:14:00:21 - 00:14:04:21
that you're growing in so that you can get
the outcome that you want for your fruits and vegetables


00:14:04:21 - 00:14:06:22
but soil health does play a big


00:14:06:22 - 00:14:09:02
part in gardening and growing


00:14:09:02 - 00:14:12:00
Yes. And mono cropping as well.


00:14:12:00 - 00:14:16:23
When they don't change out the crops
and they're using the same crop


00:14:16:23 - 00:14:19:23
on the same land
for years and years and years,


00:14:20:00 - 00:14:23:22
the soil becomes so depleted
that it is so difficult.


00:14:23:22 - 00:14:28:01
That's why they have to use,
you know, copious amounts of fertilizer.


00:14:28:07 - 00:14:32:07
So when you look at the fertilizer
and the pesticides and the runoff,


00:14:32:15 - 00:14:36:11
this is a big reason
why we have a huge dead zone


00:14:36:16 - 00:14:40:05
in the Gulf of Mexico
is because of this runoff.


00:14:40:15 - 00:14:44:12
So the more that we can educate people
and really help them understand


00:14:44:12 - 00:14:47:12
that you do not have to be dependent


00:14:47:16 - 00:14:50:06
on your grocery store, you can.


00:14:50:06 - 00:14:54:09
And seeds are so incredibly cheap to buy.


00:14:54:09 - 00:14:57:18
And their important
A lot of times we recommend to find


00:14:57:18 - 00:15:00:11
where they do seed exchange, libraries do it.


00:15:00:11 - 00:15:03:11
Yes. A lot of people don’t realize that you do
seed exchange at libraries.


00:15:04:13 - 00:15:06:20
But that is definitely


00:15:06:20 - 00:15:10:17
if you look at a lot of the fruits,
fruits are supposed to have seeds, right?


00:15:11:09 - 00:15:14:07
I'm sure probably everybody at
this point has walked into


00:15:14:07 - 00:15:17:10
the grocery store
and has seen seedless watermelons.


00:15:18:00 - 00:15:20:16
Like, what is that, watermelons are supposed to have seeds.


00:15:20:16 - 00:15:22:14
Fruits are supposed to 
have seeds, pits.


00:15:22:14 - 00:15:24:13
And the fact that there's


00:15:24:13 - 00:15:28:02
so many being created now


00:15:28:17 - 00:15:31:21
without seeds, let
you know that they,


00:15:33:14 - 00:15:36:06
the control of our food


00:15:36:06 - 00:15:39:06
is shifting, you know, and


00:15:39:10 - 00:15:42:08
the key part in that is
someone is controlling


00:15:42:08 - 00:15:45:08
or there are entities
controlling our food. Yes.


00:15:45:08 - 00:15:47:10
If we're growing food without seeds,


00:15:47:10 - 00:15:50:00
how are we supposed to regrow that crop?


00:15:50:00 - 00:15:51:10
We need seeds to do that.


00:15:51:10 - 00:15:54:12
So now why are we selling
fruit without seeds?


00:15:54:12 - 00:15:55:15
That's not natural.


00:15:55:15 - 00:16:00:23
The whole point is to grow the fruit, take the seeds, harvest.


00:16:02:09 - 00:16:04:03
You, get your seeds


00:16:04:03 - 00:16:08:02
together, you replant, you regrow,
and you keep that going.


00:16:08:02 - 00:16:11:02
Like, seeds are one of the most
essential parts of that process.


00:16:11:02 - 00:16:15:05
So how are we selling fruit
without the seeds? Yes.


00:16:15:05 - 00:16:19:03
It’s literally mind boggling to me.


00:16:19:03 - 00:16:22:00
But I, soil health, getting back to 


00:16:22:00 - 00:16:25:06
soil health is a very big deal, seeds, seeds exchange


00:16:25:07 - 00:16:28:07
If you guys can find the seeds exchange,
Google is my best friend.


00:16:28:07 - 00:16:31:23
I look for seed exchanges absolutely anywhere.


00:16:31:23 - 00:16:34:23
What I found,
libraries are like one of the biggest,


00:16:35:18 - 00:16:37:05
and most common places where I can go


00:16:37:05 - 00:16:38:15
do seed exchange.


00:16:38:15 - 00:16:41:11
And so I'll save seeds
of what I grow and I'll make sure


00:16:41:11 - 00:16:44:11
that I take some to leave,
and then I'll take seeds


00:16:44:11 - 00:16:46:09
from the library or different places.


00:16:46:09 - 00:16:48:16
I tell you, Tina is amazing.


00:16:48:16 - 00:16:53:15
You guys,
let's also talk about food safety,


00:16:54:04 - 00:16:57:17
because the big reason why I started
my hydroponic


00:16:57:17 - 00:17:01:11
garden is everything was becoming
contaminated with E.coli.


00:17:01:11 - 00:17:04:11
There were so many recalls
on so many vegetables


00:17:04:13 - 00:17:06:06
that I was starting
to freak out a little bit.


00:17:06:06 - 00:17:10:10
And I was like,
I don't know how trustworthy they are.


00:17:10:11 - 00:17:13:07
You know,
agricultural system is right now.


00:17:13:07 - 00:17:17:22
And I think a big reason, and maybe,
you know, a little bit more about this


00:17:17:23 - 00:17:21:19
is because we have, farms right


00:17:21:19 - 00:17:26:16
next to, animal production
in a lot of areas,


00:17:26:22 - 00:17:31:08
and that runoff is going into our farms.


00:17:31:13 - 00:17:36:21
But do you know a little bit about
the recalls, why they've been happening?


00:17:37:02 - 00:17:38:14
What's going on with them?


00:17:40:04 - 00:17:42:00
Not too much.


00:17:42:00 - 00:17:44:16
I do get the notification,
so I, I'm signed up


00:17:44:16 - 00:17:47:16
with, USDA,


00:17:47:18 - 00:17:51:06
and the Department of Agriculture
to get those,


00:17:52:02 - 00:17:56:08
those updates and news alerts just so that
I can make sure that I'm aware


00:17:56:08 - 00:17:59:08
so that I can pay
that information forward.


00:17:59:10 - 00:18:02:14
But because I grow my own


00:18:02:14 - 00:18:06:22
and try to educate as many people as I can
to, I'm sorry, my


00:18:06:22 - 00:18:08:16
information on that is a little limited.


00:18:08:16 - 00:18:11:16
I just, I don't


00:18:12:04 - 00:18:14:11
I don't trust,


00:18:14:11 - 00:18:18:18
you know, massive, produce grown massively.


00:18:19:05 - 00:18:21:07
I don't trust what


00:18:21:07 - 00:18:23:18
is sold in the grocery stores.


00:18:23:18 - 00:18:27:00
I'm not like a vegan or vegetarian,
so I still


00:18:27:00 - 00:18:30:03
have to go to the grocery store
for some items, with regards to produce


00:18:30:03 - 00:18:35:03
my eggs, my vegetables, my fruits, I grow. I grow it, if I can’t grow it, I don’t want it.


00:18:35:03 - 00:18:39:21
I think it's like when you look at it,
the the big factory farming,


00:18:40:06 - 00:18:45:19
we're seeing just so much,
just runoff and pollution,


00:18:46:06 - 00:18:50:11
difficulties, especially with,
you know, the waste that comes


00:18:50:21 - 00:18:55:19
from the big agricultural, CAFO’s
they are called,


00:18:56:07 - 00:18:58:23
that I think is what's,


00:18:58:23 - 00:19:01:23
putting our produce at risk.


00:19:01:23 - 00:19:05:11
So there's a lot of things that we can do
that,


00:19:05:14 - 00:19:09:16
you know, in terms of our choices,
in terms of how we spend our money,


00:19:10:01 - 00:19:16:02
especially, that can shape
and shift commerce in the United States.


00:19:16:02 - 00:19:19:13
And I'm all about empowering that.


00:19:19:13 - 00:19:22:01
And Tina is doing that


00:19:23:15 - 00:19:26:15
amazingly, which I'm so proud of her.


00:19:26:20 - 00:19:29:08
Now back to the issue.


00:19:29:08 - 00:19:32:08
The topic of, you know,


00:19:33:05 - 00:19:37:01
vegetables, fruits, for health.


00:19:38:12 - 00:19:39:22
Give us a picture,


00:19:39:22 - 00:19:44:01
so anybody who doesn't really
fully understand that food is medicine,


00:19:44:10 - 00:19:47:02
give us a little bit of, a picture


00:19:47:02 - 00:19:50:02
of how it's medicine.


00:19:50:10 - 00:19:53:11
So we'll start with beets.


00:19:53:11 - 00:19:56:11
I’ll speak personally, I have high blood pressure,


00:19:56:11 - 00:19:59:20
beets are an amazing, amazing,


00:20:00:19 - 00:20:05:13
food to combat and lower naturally lowers
blood pressure.


00:20:05:20 - 00:20:08:19
So I juice, I juice, I grow my 
beets and juice them


00:20:08:20 - 00:20:11:20
I juice the leaves, I juice the actual beets,


00:20:12:11 - 00:20:15:03
celery,


00:20:15:03 - 00:20:18:06
water, Vegetables and foods that are high


00:20:18:06 - 00:20:19:10
in water content.


00:20:20:23 - 00:20:22:17
Good for skin.


00:20:23:05 - 00:20:25:16
So it really depends on the ailment.


00:20:25:16 - 00:20:29:18
I do, because of the high blood pressure,
you do have to minimize the sodium.


00:20:30:01 - 00:20:33:11
I try to do away salt, I love seasoning, let me just start 


00:20:33:16 - 00:20:37:14
let me just say that, I love my food, 
I don’t like bland food.


00:20:37:18 - 00:20:40:08
So to shift


00:20:40:08 - 00:20:44:13
from the sodium
I learned how to season with herbs.


00:20:45:03 - 00:20:48:02
So I grow rosemary, I grow sage,


00:20:48:12 - 00:20:52:04
I grow thyme. I dry them and I use those.


00:20:53:08 - 00:20:55:09
Parsley, cilantro.


00:20:55:09 - 00:20:58:15
I dry my herbs
and I use those for a seasoning,


00:20:58:15 - 00:21:01:08
then I’ll use like a Mrs. Dash
or maybe like a


00:21:01:08 - 00:21:05:10
dash of maybe sea salt, just to 
give it a little, you know something


00:21:05:11 - 00:21:08:17
But the herbs really kind of
come into play


00:21:08:17 - 00:21:11:17
with the flavoring of the food.


00:21:12:02 - 00:21:15:00
But beets were the first thing that,


00:21:15:00 - 00:21:20:01
with regard to my, my own personal health
condition, that I started to kind of play


00:21:20:01 - 00:21:25:22
with and research, and I check my blood
pressure on a regular basis.


00:21:25:22 - 00:21:28:13
I juice.


00:21:28:13 - 00:21:31:16
I try to juice at least three times
a week, as best I can.


00:21:31:22 - 00:21:34:23
And so my,
I’m about to tell my business
 my blood pressure,


00:21:34:23 - 00:21:36:11
on a regular


00:21:36:11 - 00:21:39:11
I was in like the


00:21:40:23 - 00:21:42:17
like one, mid 150’s


00:21:42:17 - 00:21:44:13
to like over,


00:21:46:02 - 00:21:48:00
Close to always like 100. Wow.


00:21:48:00 - 00:21:48:09
Yeah.


00:21:48:09 - 00:21:52:04
It was, it was
I mean on a regular basis consistently.


00:21:52:09 - 00:21:54:20
I was stage three. Wow.


00:21:54:20 - 00:21:56:11
And now,


00:21:58:01 - 00:22:01:01
my blood pressure is at


00:22:02:07 - 00:22:04:07
I think it’s


00:22:04:07 - 00:22:07:07
it's it's
not even in the hypertension stage


00:22:07:19 - 00:22:10:01
on a regular basis.


00:22:10:15 - 00:22:13:05
I say like 120 over


00:22:13:05 - 00:22:16:05
maybe like 125 on a regular basis over


00:22:16:20 - 00:22:20:21
95. 93 so. Pretty good.


00:22:20:21 - 00:22:24:12
I'm not all the way there,
like, close in the right direction.


00:22:24:12 - 00:22:25:11
Yeah.


00:22:25:11 - 00:22:28:11
And so discipline is, is key.


00:22:28:22 - 00:22:31:17
But when I started to realize


00:22:31:17 - 00:22:36:00
and actually experience
the results of my health shifting,


00:22:36:14 - 00:22:39:14
like, I'm not as tired as I used to be,
you know,


00:22:41:06 - 00:22:44:06
I do a lot of,


00:22:45:23 - 00:22:48:05
I do ginger.


00:22:48:05 - 00:22:51:05
I do ginger. I put in all of my juices. Lets start there.


00:22:52:03 - 00:22:54:19
Ginger is good for inflammation.


00:22:54:19 - 00:22:56:13
I actually have a book


00:22:56:13 - 00:22:59:07
that I reference
when I can to give me different


00:22:59:07 - 00:23:04:13
ideas on juices or recipes,
and that I have now, at this point,


00:23:04:13 - 00:23:09:01
I have family that actually
will reach out to me with regard to


00:23:09:08 - 00:23:12:00
I have a headache,
Is there anything I can do 
for a headache naturally?


00:23:12:00 - 00:23:16:07
Oh , you know, I've been having like chest pain and I, you know, and I'm


00:23:16:07 - 00:23:18:20
by no means, way, shape or form,


00:23:18:20 - 00:23:21:20
you know, am I a doctor, but for
my family is I will absolutely


00:23:22:00 - 00:23:25:10
okay, let me make this some of these shots
or let me make this, some of this


00:23:25:10 - 00:23:29:08
kind of juice, or go to the grocery store
have them check the PLU numbers.


00:23:30:06 - 00:23:32:09
If I can't bring it to them myself.


00:23:32:09 - 00:23:34:22
But then also, farmers markets.


00:23:35:11 - 00:23:36:07
Oh, yeah.


00:23:36:07 - 00:23:39:21
Farmers markets are a gem.


00:23:40:05 - 00:23:44:18
In a lot of community that people don't even realize
if you can’t grow it,


00:23:45:06 - 00:23:48:00
okay cool.
Don't buy it from the grocery store.


00:23:48:00 - 00:23:50:15
Go to your local farmers market.
One, you're supporting


00:23:50:15 - 00:23:52:13
those small businesses.
And two, 


00:23:52:13 - 00:23:55:11
those small, those farmers
that are at farmers markets,


00:23:55:11 - 00:23:57:11
a lot of them grow on a smaller scale.


00:23:57:11 - 00:24:01:18
So you're not having to it's
not a mass production where you're dealing


00:24:01:18 - 00:24:05:09
with insecticides and pesticides,
and they know their soil health


00:24:05:09 - 00:24:07:07
because it's
more of a controlled environment.


00:24:07:07 - 00:24:10:00
So I always, always, always,
if you can't grow it yourself


00:24:10:00 - 00:24:12:16
or don't want to grow it yourself,
don't have the time to grow it yourself,


00:24:12:16 - 00:24:13:23
I love it,


00:24:13:23 - 00:24:14:16
Farmers markets.


00:24:14:16 - 00:24:16:11
I love it.


00:24:16:11 - 00:24:19:00
So, you know, we could call them.


00:24:19:00 - 00:24:20:02
We could spell it


00:24:20:02 - 00:24:25:05
farmers market p-h-a-r-m because they are


00:24:26:05 - 00:24:27:14
I mean, plants are medicinal.


00:24:27:14 - 00:24:31:22
And if you guys just want, 
probably a brief


00:24:31:23 - 00:24:34:23
take away as far as how


00:24:35:10 - 00:24:38:04
plants are actually medicine,


00:24:38:04 - 00:24:41:17
I would recommend you read
How Not to Die by Michael Greger.


00:24:41:17 - 00:24:46:05
Doctor Michael Greger it's a terrible
name of a book, but man, it's quite a book


00:24:46:11 - 00:24:49:18
and it goes through
so many different types of plants.


00:24:50:04 - 00:24:53:14
Vegetables, fruits, grains,


00:24:53:15 - 00:24:56:16
beans, why they are so healthful


00:24:56:16 - 00:25:01:13
and how they actually help reduce
or prevent disease.


00:25:01:22 - 00:25:06:09
So food is medicine and growing your own


00:25:06:09 - 00:25:11:16
or going to farmer's markets
knowing where it's grown is so key.


00:25:11:16 - 00:25:15:00
And it can be so incredibly empowering.


00:25:15:08 - 00:25:19:22
So Tina tell people how they can get
a hold of you, how they can work with you,


00:25:19:22 - 00:25:24:19
or how they can get you out to where they
are to help them build their own garden.


00:25:24:22 - 00:25:28:13
So our website is w w w


00:25:28:17 - 00:25:33:08
dot Soulful Soil Farms dot net.


00:25:33:18 - 00:25:34:21
It's a bit of a tongue twister.


00:25:34:21 - 00:25:36:22
So when I was coming up with that
name, I didn't think that through,


00:25:38:07 - 00:25:40:07
it stuck with me.


00:25:40:07 - 00:25:41:23
We're on Instagram.


00:25:41:23 - 00:25:46:19
That's probably our biggest platform
at soulful underscore soil


00:25:47:06 - 00:25:50:06
underscore farms.


00:25:50:10 - 00:25:52:18
All of our contact
information is on there.


00:25:52:18 - 00:25:54:22
Our website has our calendar,


00:25:54:22 - 00:25:59:02
and  we try to keep both sites up to date
with all of our events,


00:25:59:02 - 00:26:01:01
upcoming events.


00:26:01:01 - 00:26:04:01
So we can always be reached there. You can DM me.


00:26:04:01 - 00:26:06:21
Our contact number is on there,
 mailing address is on there, so.


00:26:06:21 - 00:26:10:00
I’m pretty easy to find. Yes.


00:26:10:05 - 00:26:11:09
And she's amazing.


00:26:11:09 - 00:26:13:04
Complete wealth of information.


00:26:13:04 - 00:26:15:14
She also is a humanitarian.


00:26:15:14 - 00:26:20:06
She is still out there doing donation
drives for Eaton fire survivors.


00:26:20:06 - 00:26:23:06
She's doing lots of community work.


00:26:23:10 - 00:26:27:19
You got to just support this amazing,
incredible human.


00:26:28:03 - 00:26:30:20
Thank you so much, Tina, for joining us.


00:26:30:20 - 00:26:32:13
Thank you for having me.
I super appreciate it.


00:26:32:13 - 00:26:35:13
Yes. And thank you all for joining us.


00:26:35:21 - 00:26:38:04
We're really looking forward
to the next interview.


00:26:38:04 - 00:26:40:08
Hopefully it's as good as this one.


00:26:40:08 - 00:26:42:00
Fingers crossed.


00:26:42:00 - 00:26:44:18
We really hope to see you next time.


00:26:44:18 - 00:26:45:19
And thank you.


00:26:47:06 - 00:26:50:11
Thanks for tuning into 
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