We thought it would be silly whilst on Gunthorp Farms to not interview Greg's son, Evan, who is not only carrying the torch when it comes to regenerative farming for the next generation, he's driving the fire truck, saving the babies from balconies, and putting out the fires that conventional meat processing (meat arsonists) create every day.
Evan's incredibly smart and I learnt a tonne in this hour. If you want to hear from one of the bright young ranchers thinking clearly on how to sustain & grow a regenerative farming culture in America, and the good bad and the ugly that comes with that mission, I couldn't recommend this pod enough.
Evan Gunthorp is the son of Greg Gunthorp and part of the next generation stewarding the legacy of Gunthorp Farms—an independent, pasture-based livestock operation in Indiana. In this episode, Evan shares his firsthand experience growing up immersed in regenerative agriculture, from raising thousands of chickens as a child to managing their USDA-inspected processing plant and pioneering solar grazing operations. This is a candid look at what it takes to sustain a farm across generations, the realities of small-scale meat production, and the cultural forces shaping our food future.
We cover:
- Growing up on a regenerative farm: chickens, responsibility, and early exposure to death and food
- Running a USDA processing plant and the emotional, ethical, and logistical complexities of meat production
- The labor crisis in farming and processing: challenges, insights, and systemic reflections
- Solar grazing as an ecological and economic solution for land-locked farmers
- What keeps Evan going despite the industrialization of agriculture and cultural disconnection from food
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Growing up Gunthorp: childhood on a working farm
00:04:30 Killing animals young: what that teaches about food and respect
00:10:00 Early responsibility: raising 3,000 chickens at age 7
00:14:30 Running a USDA processing plant as a teenager
00:20:00 Why most Americans shouldn’t be allowed to eat meat
00:25:30 Labor, dignity & depression inside meat processing
00:32:00 The promise and pitfalls of solar grazing
00:39:30 Can pasture-raised pigs scale across the U.S.?
00:45:00 Pork, parasites & why store-bought meat makes people sick
00:50:00 What keeps Evan going in a system stacked against him
