The Global Grit Experience

Today we're talking about factory farms. What are they, what kind of havoc are they wreaking, and what can we do about it to help the environment, humane treatment of animals, rural communities, small-scale farmers, and our health. My guest today offers a first-hand experience living near and trying to stop factory farms, or officially called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Sonja Trom Eayrs is the author of Dodge County INC. Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America. She’s a farmer’s daughter, rural advocate, and attorney. Sonja is involved in several rural advocacy organizations, including the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, Farm Action, Land Stewardship Project, and Dodge County Concerned Citizens.

RESOURCES

• Order Sonja Trom Eayrs' Book- Dodge County INC. Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America
• Socially Responsible Agriculture Project
• Farm Action
• Land Stewardship Project
• Dodge County Concerned Citizens
• Farm Direct Minnesota
• Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
• Minnesota Farmers Union
• Izaak Walton League of America
• Iowa Environmental Council / Harkin Institute report: New Report Finds Ties Between the Most Common Cancers in Iowa and Environmental Risk Factors
• 2023 petition to EPA regarding nitrate in Minnesota. Minnesota IWLA signed on. 42423-emergency-sdwa-petition-to-epa-with-exhibits.pdf
• Iowa’s Rep. Austin Baeth, MD. He is also a Nitrate Watch participant and advised us on our recent briefing. Austin Baeth (@austinbaeth) • Instagram photos and videos
• Some thoughts on CAFOs from NRDC: CAFOs: What We Don’t Know Is Hurting Us
• SRAP data on Minnesota: Minnesota CAFO Database and Mapping Guide - Socially Responsible Agriculture Project
• Article: Health disparities associated with exposure to animal feeding operations, including concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, USA - PMC
• ETHICALLY RAISED MEAT CERTIFICATIONS. Not all package labels carry legal or strict definitions. Rely on independently audited standards rather than vague terms like "natural" or "farm-raised". Some options:
• Animal Welfare Approved (AWA): Focuses on true pasture-based management, continuous outdoor access, and strict annual on-site audits.
• Certified Humane: Guarantees specific space to roam, anti-abuse handling rules, and no antibiotics or hormones (though pasture-raising isn't universally mandated for every tier).
• Global Animal Partnership (GAP): Uses a tiered step-rating system to grade animal comfort, environment, and welfare guidelines.
• American Grassfed Association (AGA): Ensures 100% grass-fed diets, open family-farm pastures, and no confinement feedlots.
• USDA Organic: Verifies 100% organic feed, outdoor access, and the absence of added antibiotics or synthetic hormones (though it does not strictly guarantee 100% grass diets unless specified).

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This episode is all about BATS and just in time for Bat Appreciation Week!

My guest today, Melissa Donnelly, loves bats and has dedicated her life to understanding and protecting them. She said she has an especially soft spot for the really ugly ones. I love that. Melissa Donnelly is a Science Specialist at Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation in Austin Texas whose mission is to inspire bat conservation worldwide. Melissa provides assistance on conservation projects and research and has been lucky enough to travel to various places around the world to help participate in bat surveys and conservation. She enjoys helping people help bats and bringing attention to the many individuals and groups doing fantastic work for bat conservation worldwide.

Resources

Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation (MTCB)

Become a member https://www.merlintuttle.org/i-want-to-help/

Photo collection https://merlintuttle.smugmug.com/

Blog posts, events, and resources https://www.merlintuttle.org/

Enjoy and explore Resources, Videos, and find them online at Facebook and Instagram.

Video by MTBC about the largest mammal migration- the straw-coloured fruit bat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD2DwmGFko0

More videos: https://www.youtube.com/@merlintuttlesbatconservation

Books by Merlin Tuttle:

America’s Neighborhood Bats

The Secret Lives of Bats

Melissa Donnelly

How Melissa got to where she is:

https://www.merlintuttle.org/livin-the-dream-introducing-melissa-donnelly/

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Erika talks with Dr. Mark Seeley about climate change happening in our own backyard and what we can do about it. Is there hope? Mark says yes. But, we each need to participate.

Dr. Mark Seeley retired in February of 2018 after nearly 40 years in his role as Extension Climatologist and Meteorologist at the University of Minnesota. Since then he’s continued to provide presentations to communities throughout Minnesota and beyond on climate change and its effects on our natural resources and societal infrastructure. He’s the author of Minnesota Weather Almanac and has done a weekly commentary on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992.

Upcoming Presentation: For those living in MN, Dr. Mark Seeley will be speaking on Wednesday, Oct 21 at M State- Fergus Falls Legacy Hall at 7:00 pm on the state of our state- the impacts of climate change in MN and what we can do about it.

Resources:

The Climate Action Handbook by Dr. Heidi A. Roop:

https://www.heidiroop.com/climate-action-handbook.html

Minnesota Weather Almanac by Dr. Mark Seeley

Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership program MCAP: https://climate.umn.edu/

Project DrawDown: https://drawdown.org/

Citizen’s Climate Lobby: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/

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What is sustainable tourism and how can we be better travelers? And, equally important, how can we protect our own natural, cultural and historical places where we live from overtourism? It's a balance but more and more destinations are making it happen. That's good news.

Jonathan B. Tourtellot, a National Geographic Explorer, is a journalist, editor, speaker, and consultant specializing in the intersection between tourism and care for places. While at National Geographic, he introduced the concept of destination stewardship and launched the “Places Rated” surveys reported annually as National Geographic Traveler cover stories. He now runs the nonprofit Destination Stewardship Center (DSC), including an online e-magazine, the Destination Stewardship Report. He was a contributing author in the book Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future (Island Press, 2021) and is featured prominently in the just-published book Destination Stewardship by Tonya Fitzpatrick (KoganPage, 2026). In his new Substack, The Fragile Map, he reveals how the taxes travelers pay for lodging can promote overtourism. Look for his story entitled “The Mystery Tax.”

Resources:

http://www.destinationcenter.org/

Destination Stewardship Report

The Fragile Map

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Erika talks with guest, Bridget Guiza from the White Earth Tribal and Community College. Bridget talks about the challenges of our time being at the nexus of food, water, and energy sovereignty and being allies with Indigenous and rural communities.

Bridget is the Customized Education Coordinator at the White Earth Tribal and Community College. She has a background in Environmental Systems and Planning and has experience in philanthropy, environmental justice, energy development, food sovereignty, and workforce development. Her current work focuses on building career pathways with and for the people of White Earth and adjacent communities.

CLARIFICATION in EPISODE: MTERA stands for the Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association.

Resources

White Earth Tribal and Community College

https://www.wetcc.edu/

Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association - Empowering tribes to manage tribal energy resources through collective action.

https://www.mtera.org/

https://www.mtera.org/

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In this episode, Dr. Joel Powell shares his perspective on expanding acceptance of people as an absolute necessity to the preservation of the environment. And, that political organization and cooperation is the ticket out of the mess we're in.

Dr. Joel Powell whose been a professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Minnesota State University Moorhead for almost forty years.

Resources

Book by Douglas Rushkoff about consulting tech billionaires on surviving the apocalypse.

https://rushkoff.com/books/survival-of-the-richest.html

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In this episode, Dr. Judi Roux shares about the environmental impacts of fast fashion and clothing waste and how she's embraced creative upcycling to make a difference.

Judi Roux, Ed.D has been an educator for over 30 years. As the founder of tROUXly treasures, she's combining her experience and enthusiasm for environmental sustainability with her passion for yarn crafting. She does this by repurposing clothing memories and sharing those skills with other crafters. She teaches t-shirt yarn cutting and crocheting classes at various educational venues around Duluth and the north shore of Lake Superior.

RESOURCES

Swagcycle: https://www.swagcycle.net/thinking-about-the-life-of-a-t-shirt/

Clothing Mountain Visible from Space:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/the-clothing-mountain-visible-from-space-how-60000-tonnes-of-discarded-clothes-ended-up-in-chiles-atacama-desert/articleshow/132689467.cms

Impacts from Modern Purchases

https://northshorejournal.co/editorial/impacts-of-modern-purchases/

Life Cycle of a T-Shirt

The life cycle of a t-shirt - Angel Chang

Statistics About Fast Fashion Waste

https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/

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Guest Cedar Walters talks about the harms of plastics in our bodies and the environment in this episode and shares tactics to reduce plastic use.

Cedar Walters is Senior Director of Community Programs at West Central Initiative (WCI), where she leads community initiatives and connects people and communities with resources that support sustainability and resilience. In 2025 and 2026 she organized and supported eight community screenings of the Plastic People documentary, which led to the formation of a Beyond Plastics local chapter in west central Minnesota. Prior to joining WCI, Cedar worked at a county recycling facility for six years and became obsessed with waste reduction – specifically for plastics and food waste.

Cedar holds an MS in Biology and Environmental Education from North Dakota State University and has experience in distributed solar development, composting and recycling program development, sustainable food systems, and native prairie restoration projects. In her free time she can be found in her pollinator garden, spending time with family, reading, camping, knitting, and organizing for more inclusive and equitable communities.

RESOURCES

Beyond Plastics: trainings, resources, studies, fact sheets, map of local groups, speaker bureau, and more! https://www.beyondplastics.org/

Reasons to Say No to Plastics: https://files.captivate.fm/library/d7963bca-c38f-4d72-ae91-8cdf07543597/Reasons-to-Say-No-to-Plastics-Beyond-Plastics.pdf

Sustainable Closet Basics: https://files.captivate.fm/library/c83f24bf-6b68-4ec2-8d0a-0f95f0cd47fc/Sustainable-Closet-Basics.pdf

Thrift Tips and Gifts: https://files.captivate.fm/library/891f05db-1ed3-4c39-91e4-8e59fa005d3a/Thrift-Tips-and-Gifts.pdf

Compostable Products Purchasing Guid: https://files.captivate.fm/library/c0e48e78-f7dc-4692-aecc-8dacec5406d6/Compostable-Products-Purchasing-Guide.pdf

Reducing health impacts from plastics - Blog: https://www.beyondplastics.org/ask-a-scientist/avoid-plastic-toxic-chemicals

For West Central MN Specifically:

Quarterly Advocacy Trainings coming up in November – free on Zoom, pick a date that works for you:

• Saturday, 11/7 at 1:00 PM ET US
• Tuesday, 11/10 at 7:00 PM ET US
• Thursday, 11/12 at 7:00 PM ET US

Screening of Plastic People -coming up on September 26th at 6:30 pm at the Becker Co Museum in Detroit Lakes, MN https://www.facebook.com/share/1LUpEdwQFH/

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I SO appreciate you!

Erika

What does voting for the environment mean? How can we find our way through political hype? How do we listen to candidates more critically?

My guest today is Dave Homans. Dave is a retired physician who serves as Citizen Climate Lobby’s Co-Coordinator for the state of Minnesota. He is active in lobbying our elected representatives to promote policies that will mitigate climate warming.

Resources

• Open Secrets https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=elizabeth+manson&order=desc&sort=D
• Govtrack.com https://www.govtrack.us/
• Billtrack50 https://www.billtrack50.com/info/
• The Cook Political Report https://www.cookpolitical.com/
• League of Women voters https://www.lwvmn.org/2026-candidate-forums
• Environmental Voter Project https://www.environmentalvoter.org/
• Citizens Climate Lobby https://citizensclimatelobby.org/

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In this episode I give a little background of how I got into video, capturing stories around the world, and eventually, here, as a podcaster and host of The Global Grit Experience.

Examples of videos mentioned in the podcast

Volkswagen ID.4 Road Trip - What Fuels You- Ep.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ85tn5HDJ0

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - Soul Pursuits Ep.1 - https://youtu.be/mlRZ-lckRWs?si=_CAeZTq5fLGZhxHd

Soul of of the Western Balkans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahpRDIo87n0&list=PLbXm1PcDvCSe_PjQUF6v1F51amDjI4cq7&index=24&t=2s

Woodland League - Ireland: https://youtu.be/MUT6miz2Kys

How do we as humans balance our self-interest drive with environmental sustainability. There’s no easy answer but it’s definitely worth pondering, talking about, and hopefully acting on for the future of our natural world (and us). My guest today is Dr. Dennis Jacobs, retired physics professor, pilot, aeronautical engineer, sustainability educator, and author of multiple books.

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How do you make stuff happen - like saving a beautiful area from development and creating instead an amazing nature-based park that the locals, wildlife, and tourists love? Let’s find out in this episode with guest, Polly Andersen. Polly’s love of nature led her to champion the Wannigan Regional Park in her hometown of Frazee, MN.

Resources

https://wanniganpark.com/

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Honey bees! In this episode I chat with Sawyer Gilsdorf, professional beekeeper with Björn’s Colorado Honey in Boulder, Colorado (and my awesome nephew) to learn what’s involved with beekeeping year round in colder winter climates. And, of course, learn some amazing honey bee fun facts and their intricate matriarchal society.

Resources:

Björns Colorado Honey

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Emilia Skogen fell in love with birds at a young age and has been working with them ever since. In today's episode, I talk with her about why she's specifically working with three bird species in Minnesota and what conservation for them looks like through forestry management. Emilia is a Minnesota Public Lands Conservation Forester with the American Bird Conservancy.

RESOURCES

https://abcbirds.org/

https://abcbirds.org/ways-to-give/

https://abcbirds.org/get-involved/

Outdoor Heritage Fund work - Details about the three bird species Emilia works with, where the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) works, and how many acres of habitat ABC has worked with partner agencies to manage for birds so far.

https://abcbirds.org/where-we-work/north-america/great-lakes-ohf-grants/

FREE FORESTRY FOR MINNESOTA BIRDS GUIDE

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/landtrust/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ForestryForMNBirdsGuidebook.pdf

EMILIA SKOGEN CONTACT INFORMATION

Fee free to email or call Emilia if they'd like more information on any topics, or want to connect with ABC's private lands foresters on managing their land for birds and other wildlife: eskogen@abcbirds.org / (612) 439-2011

Contact Emilia for any information about ball cactus.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

WI DNR MOSS (managed old-growth silvicultural study)

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/research/moss

Audubon MN secretive marsh bird surveys

https://www.audubon.org/umr/projects/monitoring-secretive-marsh-birds-minnesota

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In this episode I hit the North Country Trail with Matt Davis, the Regional Trail Coordinator for MN, ND and WI for the nonprofit, North Country Trail Association. We talk about this beautiful 5,000 mile trail, why public lands are important (in SO many ways), how they’re being taken away, sold, and at risk, and what we can do to stop this attack.

Matt also shares a few summer tips to keep us safe and comfy hiking.

Resources

North Country Trail Association: http://northcountrytrail.org

Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/issues/environment/public-lands

Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org

League of Conservation Voters: https://www.lcv.org

5 Calls - An easy place to call your legislators to protect public lands: https://5calls.org/

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Minnesota's AQI hit record highs recently during the wildfires making it feel apocalyptic with smoky, brown skies, evacuated homes, and air quality that made it dangerous and painful to breathe.

Erika sits down in the midst of it with guest Julia Frost Nerbonne, Executive Director of Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light to talk about what it was like experiencing climate chaos firsthand and what diverse faiths are doing together to move forward with climate solutions. This conversation is real, inspiring, and hopeful.

Resources:

www.mnipl.org

Julia@mnipl.org

651.301.8195

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Erika sits down and talks with farmer Cody Kurowski at his Sower’s Harvest Farm in Fergus Falls, MN to find out what got him into farming, why he’s going the chemical-free route, and how you farm year-round in a frigid winter state like Minnesota.

Resources:

Sower’s Harvest Farm

https://www.sowersharvestfarm.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sowersharvestfarm/

https://www.instagram.com/sowersharvestfarm/

Summer Veggie Recipes:

https://pinchofyum.com/summer-produce-recipes

https://www.bakedbymelissa.com/blogs/recipes/farm-stand-salad

https://www.homechef.com/meals/farmstand-salad

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What's different with a food co-op and can we really trust the organic food label? Erika talks with farmer and Manna Food Co-op General Manager, Ryan Pesch. Ryan started Lida Farm near Pelican Rapids, MN in 2004 and brings unique perspectives as a farmer, business person, and healthy foods advocate that is relevant wherever you live. Ryan refers to it as the good food movement in today's episode.

Resources:

https://mannafoodcoop.com/

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Love frogs? Toads? Kelly sure does and shares with us why.

In today’s episode, Erika talks with Interpretive Park Ranger of 30 years, Kelly Blackledge to learn some fun facts about frogs, their sounds, how they survive in winter, and how they're doing out there.

Resources:

Frog & Toad Opera

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/reptiles_amphibians/frogs_toads/opera.html

Record your sightings on HerpMapper

https://www.herpmapper.org/

Minnesota Frog Watch

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/frogtoad_survey/index.html

FrogWatch USA

https://www.akronzoo.org/frogwatch-usa-volunteers

Malformed Frogs Found in MN

https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-043-01/

Book:

Peril in the Ponds: Deformed Frogs, Politics, and a Biologist's Quest

by Judy Helgen (Author)

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It's crazy how many toxic and hazardous 'cleaning' supplies we use in our homes. There's a better way.

In today’s episode, Erika sits down with former Household Hazardous Waste Coordinator, Sandy Gunderson to talk about alternative cleaning supplies that are easy to make, better for us and the environment, and will save us lots of money. Cha-Ching!

DIY Ways-TO-Clean-Green Resources:

https://greenamerica.org/ways-to-clean-green

https://homesteadingfamily.com/homemade-cleaning-recipes/

https://dakotavalleyrecyclingmn.gov/green-cleaners

https://islandgreenliving.org/non-toxic-cleaning/

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