Bonus episode! I was recently invited as a guest on the Slow Food podcast. Slow Food is a global movement dedicated to preserving food biodiversity, supporting small-scale farmers, and connecting people to their food traditions. Being asked to join their conversation was truly an honor.

In this episode with Valentina, I share my journey through 20 years of working on farms and gardens around the world, the spiritual and physical connection we have with soil, and those transformative wow moments that happen when we open ourselves to nature.

We also discuss ancient practices like holding seeds in your mouth before planting - something I dive deeper into with my next guest, Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a 250th generation Hopi farmer and University of Arizona professor. That episode comes out next week on January 30th - stay tuned!

TIMESTAMPS

02:58 - First memory: pulling a carrot at age 4
04:30 - Light bulb moment in the pea field
06:20 - Building community through food
08:36 - Hare Krishna farm in Hawaii
10:30 - Spraying pesticides: the moment that changed everything
12:15 - Wow moments and spiritual connection to nature
20:05 - The chemical connection between body and soil
23:00 - Holding seeds in your mouth before planting
25:47 - Practical gardening tips for beginners
28:53 - Why I started Gardens of Earthly Delight
31:00 - How local farmers led to Italian citizenship

RESOURCES MENTIONED

WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms): Volunteering on organic farms around the world

Slow Food Farms: Find farms near you dedicated to agroecological practices and biodiversity
Wonderful Escapes: The farm I am living on this winter (with the miniature donkeys!)

FOLLOW & SUPPORT SLOW FOOD
Slow Food Communities
Make a Donation to Slow Food
Follow on Instagram

FOLLOW & SUPPORT GARDENS OF EARTHLY DELIGHT

Substack: gardensofearthlydelight.substack.com
Instagram: @gardensofearthlydelightpod
Podcast: gardensofearthlydelight.com/subscribe
Donate: buymeacoffee.com/gardens

Photo of Trevor credit: Alexander Pomper
Music by Constant Smiles
Logo design by Hunky Kitty

Cheese Is Not A Human Invention

Trevor Warmedahl (Milk Trekker)

Trevor Warmedahl, also known as Milk Trekker, is a nomadic cheesemaker, teacher, and author who travels the world documenting endangered cheese-making practices from rural pastoral communities. He won the Daphne Zepos Teaching Award in 2022 and teaches through his Sour Milk School. His book, Cheese Trekking: How Microbes, Landscapes, Livestock, and Human Cultures Shape Terroir, comes out February 17th, 2026 with Chelsea Green Publishing.

Recorded in Bra, Italy during the Slow Food cheese festival, Trevor and I explore why cheese is milk's natural destiny, not a human invention. We dive into the ethical realities of dairy, the influence of David Asher's book, how industrial starter cultures are like buying seeds from Monsanto, the profound practice of transhumance, raw milk safety debates, microbial diversity, terroir, and what the future holds for American cheesemakers.

"Cheese is really milk fulfilling its destiny." Trevor challenges the industrial model and shows us there's another way—one rooted in traditional wisdom, seasonal rhythms, and the infinite potential hidden in a pail of raw milk.

This has been condensed from a two-hour conversation. For the full unedited version with more stories from Trevor's travels, subscribe to my Substack at gardensofearthlydelight.substack.com.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Introduction
02:21 - Cheese is not a human invention
11:58 - The role of microbes in cheese making
13:38 - Fears and safety of natural cheese
22:02 - Cheese and microbes
29:05 - Cheese terroir and its complexity
36:36 - Aha moments in cheese making
44:38 - Tradition vs. innovation
48:18 - Transhumance: the art of seasonal migration
57:24 - The essential role of salt
1:02:25 - Favorite food memory
1:05:33 - Final thoughts

CONNECT WITH TREVOR

Substack: milktrekker.substack.com
Instagram: @milktrekker
Book: Pre-order Cheese Trekking (out February 17, 2026) with Chelsea Green Publishing

FOLLOW GARDENS OF EARTHLY DELIGHT

Substack: gardensofearthlydelight.substack.com
Instagram: @gardensofearthlydelightpod
Podcast: gardensofearthlydelight.com/subscribe

Photo of Trevor credit: Alexander Pomper
Music by Constant Smiles
Logo design by Hunky Kitty

Welcome to Garden of Earthly Delights. Here, we will be exploring our connection to earth through conversations with experts and celebrities who all have their own profound relationships with the natural world.
If you feel like you've lost your connection to the earth, if you're looking to form a new connection, or if you're simply curious to hear some amazing stories, this podcast aims to inspire you to get outside and discover or rekindle your own unique connection with our living planet.