What if your next meal could be a tool for climate action?

In this episode of Nutrition Without Compromise, shared here with the permission of ORLO Nutrition, Corinna Bellizzi welcomes ecologist and greenhouse gas accountant Mark J. Easter to explore the connection between the foods we eat and the fight against climate chaos. Mark shares insights from his new book, The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos (Patagonia Press), offering a hopeful path forward through regenerative agriculture, plant-forward diets, and nature-based solutions like shellfish farming and soil restoration.

Together, they examine:
- The personal legacy of farming on the Great Plains and carbon loss
- Why shrimp farming is far worse for the environment than you might think
- How regenerative practices restore soil health and human nutrition
- The surprising role of mussels and oysters in carbon drawdown
- What we can learn from indigenous practices and planetary perspective

🌱 Tune in and learn how your daily choices at the dinner table can help build a healthier, more resilient planet.

Resources & Mentions:
- The Blue Plate: A Food Lover's Guide to Climate Chaos by Mark J. Easter
- Patagonia Books: https://www.patagonia.com/shop/books

Learn more about Orlo Nutrition: https://OrloNutrition.com (Use code NWC for 10% off)00:00 –

Timestamp Chapters
01:00 – Meet Mark J. Easter: Ecologist and Greenhouse Gas Expert
02:00 – What Does "Nutrition Without Compromise" Mean to Mark?
03:00 – Why “Climate Chaos”? The Story Behind The Blue Plate Title
05:00 – Farming Legacies, The Dust Bowl, and Carbon Emissions
07:30 – From Destructive to Regenerative: A Personal Farming Pivot
09:30 – Soil Restoration and Human Nutrition: The Connection
10:30 – Grains, Animals, and the Bigger Food System Picture
12:00 – The Blue Plate as a Planetary Perspective
13:00 – Solutions We Can Agree On: Climate and Food
14:00 – Eating for Climate: Mostly Plants, Not Perfection
15:00 – Shellfish Farming: The Unsung Climate Hero
16:30 – Mussels, Oysters, and Making Rock From Air
17:30 – Declining Wild Seafood and the Rise of Aquaculture
18:30 – Carbon Cost of Fish Feed and Farming Practices
19:30 – Salmon, Soy, and the Myth of “Healthy” Fish
21:00 – Sustainable Omega-3s: Algae as an Alternative
22:30 – Shrimp Farming’s Shocking Environmental Cost
24:00 – Mangrove Destruction and Hidden Carbon Emissions
26:00 – Regeneration = Resilience: Stories from the Field
27:00 – Farmers Restoring Soil and Growing Nutrient-Rich Food
29:00 – No-Regrets Strategy: Lower Emissions and Healthier Food
30:30 – CSAs and Eating Local: The Simple Blue Plate Shift
31:30 – Final Reflections: Food, Climate, and Real Hope
32:00 – Where to Find The Blue Plate + Final Thanks

Mark J. Easter (Fort Collins, CO) is an ecologist who has conducted research in academia and private industry since 1988. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1982 and a M.S. in Botany from the University of Vermont in 1991.

Easter authored and co-authored more than fifty scientific papers and reports related to carbon cycling and the carbon footprint of agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. He contributed analyses to multiple reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In 2018 he was named a fellow of the Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability. Besides his scientific work, Easter co-founded the organization Save The Poudre and is a founding board member of the organization “Save the Colorado.”

He works with these organizations to help restore rivers to healthy conditions and protect rivers from water development. He loves to read, cook from his garden, hike and ski in wild places, and spend time with his wife, Leslie Brown and their dog, Bonny.

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