Farms & Frontlines – Episode 23: Reimagining Agriculture in the Wake of American Wars

In this episode, hosts Max Terzano and Jessica Rudo unpack their latest project, a paper titled Farms & Frontlines: Reimagining Agriculture in the Wake of American Wars. They explore how successive U.S. conflicts from World War I to today have profoundly shaped farming practices, food policy, and global agriculture.

• World War I innovations: The military's early use of motorized tractors and tracked vehicles led to mechanized farming, while conservation efforts began after the Dust Bowl and Great Depression.

• The New Deal & Farm Bills: Jessica and Max trace how FDR’s Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 and the 1938 Farm Bill introduced soil conservation programs and targeted subsidies—planting soy, reducing erosion, and stabilizing prices.

• World War II mobilization: War sparked mass food production for troops, innovations in canning, transportation, and even deliberately flavorless emergency rations.

• Military-industrial spillovers: Post-war, chemical agents—from Nazi Zyklon B to Bayer‑Monsanto pesticides like Agent Orange and Roundup—found a new home in U.S. agriculture.

• Cold War soft power: With surplus production, the U.S. used agricultural aid (Public Law 480, “Food for Peace”) and the Green Revolution to influence developing nations and counter communist appeal.

• Looking ahead: Building on past tools, the hosts suggest a “new green revolution” or even a “green devolution” that combines stewardship of soil and climate resilience with innovative tech and Indigenous and Black agrarian traditions.

Max and Jessica close by teasing the rest of their paper, including “The Great Grain Robbery”. America’s massive grain shipments to Russia in the 1970s and its geopolitical and economic fallout.

Join them as they trace the battlefield-to-backyard pipeline, from military needs to modern food policy, and reimagine how we can turn agricultural innovation toward regenerative, climate‑friendly futures.

We're back from our siesta and diving straight into the dirt, literally. In this episode of Farms & Frontlines, we break down the documentary Common Ground and explore the regenerative farming practices it champions. What does regenerative agriculture actually mean? Why are farmers, activists, and even celebrities rallying behind it? And why is Big Ag feeling the pressure?

We trace the roots of regenerative farming through Indigenous land stewardship and Black agrarian traditions, spotlighting figures like George Washington Carver and movements like Soul Fire Farm. We also examine how regenerative methods contrast with industrial agriculture, from no-till planting to rotational grazing, and what this means for soil health, climate resilience, and food security.

And yes, we talk about the farm lobby’s surprising reactions, the tangled relationship between chemical companies and government, and the deeply interconnected systems that shape the way we grow our food. Plus: pirates, Ellis Island hangings, and the first recorded guacamole recipe from 1697...because why not?

Whether you're soil-curious or farm-bill fluent, this is an episode that digs deep.

In this episode of Farms & Frontlines, Max and Jess dive into the world of government cheese, the shadowy influence of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), and how big dairy bailed out Domino’s—ultimately making fast food cheesier than ever. From surplus milk turning into mountains of processed cheese to behind-the-scenes marketing deals that pushed extra dairy into fast food menus, we break down how corporate and government forces shaped what’s on your plate.

Is it a dairy industry success story, or just another example of corporate welfare? Tune in as we pull back the curtain on the cheesiest scheme in food history.

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