Meeting Dorothee & Mark from OrganicNation.tv

Dorothee & me (Mark was holding the camera)

While in Chicago, one of the things I was looking forward to was meeting the brilliant minds behind OrganicNation.tv. Dorothee Royal-Hedinger and Mark Boyer have put together a great site, dedicated to furthering the cause of organics in America. My friend TRUE (aka Jennifer Palmer) had put us in touch, and I was excited to talk to them about their project.

We’re exploring such fundamental questions as: What does “organic” mean and how are products certified? What do scientists say about the risks of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on human health? What are the costs of switching to organic production and is it affordable for farmers and consumers? Is organic better than local or vice-versa? Can organic food production feed the nation and is it truly sustainable?

- About OrganicNation

OrganicNation is an excellent combination of journalism and idealism. Much like me, Dorothee and Mark want to experience change firsthand, meet the changemakers and share their good works online. They’ve got a more specific mission than mine, focusing on organic food in the United States. They visit organic food producers, learn about the process and issues of food production, and report back with insight and enthusiasm.

Dorothee stars in a video series that has her beer-tasting, interviewing, and getting her hands dirty at farms across the country; Mark takes beautiful photos and video, and maintains a daily blog of organic issues, news and events. The whole thing is done with an intelligent, observant and lighthearted attitude that even makes some otherwise dry issues interesting to consider.

As young, underfunded and overmotivated green bloggers, we had a few issues in common. One of them, unsurprisingly, was the challenge of taking those dry issues and whipping up interest. How do you take dirt and leaves and make them fascinating to casual readers and viewers? How do you avoid preaching only to the choir, and appeal to new visitors as well as old?

For Dorothee and Mark, the answer lies in fresh content, well-made videos, and a lot of hard work. Their dedication to OrganicNation.tv is impressive, and the results even more so.

And honestly, we all agreed that there’s more going on in the world of sustainability and organics than we can possibly cover. Responsible agriculture is undergoing a major boom, both physically and ideologically, and we’re all swept up in the movement; it’s a great place to be, and though we bloggers and videographers can’t change the world on our own, we’re glad to be a part of something we believe in.