Rick Nahmias is the founder and CEO of Food Forward, an organization based in L.A. that addresses food waste and food insecurity. In July 2021 they had their biggest month on record with 7 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables recovered, helping to meet the food needs of 150,000 people.

Rick joins the show to talk about the growth of the organization over 9 years, how fresh fruit is recovered on such a large scale, and why Southern California and particularly L.A. is a hub for fresh fruit recovery.

Cuba is known as a beautiful tourist destination with colourful landscapes and beach resorts. But what is it like to live under a communist government? Is it better for the environment?

Daylin Horruitiner of Spanglish Generation is a Cuban American born in Cuba. She creates content that gathers attention to the plight of the Cuban people under such strict governing, and joins the Zero Waste Countdown to discuss what environmentalism looks like under a communist regime.

While the environmental movement in the West seems to insatiably tug further and further to the left, Daylin discusses the dangers in going too far to any side of the political spectrum. She explains environmental issues such as rolling blackouts, why the Cuban government imposed food rations that particularly targeted beef, and how environmental protests in Cuba are often organized by the government themselves in order to get foreign funding.

Lou Corbett works with plants in a cabin in the woods north of Toronto. She founded Northshore Apothecary where she sells her products, all made sustainably. She takes great care to ensure the natural environment around her is healthy, while creating products from the natural world that benefit us and our own health.

Lou joins the Zero Waste Countdown to talk about her processes, scent distillation, sustainable harvesting, and how we can use invasive species to our advantage.

Connecting with plants, whether that be through aromatherapy, food, bath soaks, creams, or even just learning about plants and choosing not to use them, can help us forge relationships with the outdoors and with our own health.

Check out her story on Instragram: @northshore_apothecary and if you'd like to buy one of Lou's wildcraft products for yourself or for a loved one, she gave us this discount code: WILDCRAFT10 to save 10%.