Jim Gale heads up Food Forest Abundance, an organisation centred around helping people set up permaculture ecosystems in and around their homes.
Furthermore, Jim acutally walks the talk by living on an off-grid property with a full food forest.
Basically, he promotes improved well-being through improved health through improved food production.
Over 72% of food sold in the US contains residues of harmful pesticides and poisons, while only 55% of Americans believe pesticide-free food is actually better for you.
Jim Gale
What is permaculture?
I am a strong advocate for healthy living, including physical fitness, mental well-being and diet.
As Tim Noakes has often said on my podcast, everything begins with what’s on the plate in front of you.
Permaculture combines land, resources, people and the environment to create self-sustaining systems that mimic nature. (On a related note, listen to my conversation with Robin Monotti on biourbanism and improving how cities are designed.) It can be applied anywhere, whether in the countryside or the city and includes various fields like agriculture, water management, energy, building and community development.
Coined by Bill Mollison, the term permaculture means permanent agriculture (or permanent culture) and it’s about focusing on designing ecosystems that are diverse, stable and resilient.
It’s essentially both a philosophy and science challenging monoculture, which is typical in commercial farming. Jim argues that single-crop farming—monoculture—is akin to a desert with very little plant and insect diversity.
It’s something I didn’t notice before.
When driving past large farms, I see almost no birds because they are either pushed away or simply die.
Additionally, all the toxins sprayed by farmers ultimately result in huge net losses, something Pat Miletich pointed out in his conversation with me.
Quick tour
I don’t know who this gentleman is, but he shared a great video walkabout of Jim’s ‘farm’ (known as Galt’s Landing, inspired by Atlas Shrugged), where Food Forest Abundance is based.
It appears to have been recorded in early 2023, so a lot has changed (and grown) since then.
Conversation
Jim discussed the importance of food freedom and the benefits of a natural, unprocessed diet.
He emphasised the importance of being self-sufficient and in control of one’s food sources, including the quality of the soil.
Jim talked about his experiences living off-grid and the challenges he has faced, including the government’s attempts to regulate food freedom.
If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.
Milton Friedman
Jim noted the role of industrial agriculture in modern society and the problems it creates, such as pollution and the depletion of both nutrition and natural resources. (On a side note, listen to my conversation with Farmer Angus.)
Self-reliance is the foundation of all true success, in politics, in character, in anything.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
