My interview yesterday with Mary Cleaver, was a breath of fresh air. Her passion and commitment to sourcing the freshest, locally grown produce, and humanly raised animal products, is a testament to the difference one person can make. In her 35 years as a New York City chef, Mary has been a trail blazer, leading the way for other chefs to follow. She helped to raise the consciousness of restaurant owners, and create the market for local farmers and ranchers to sell their products at Greenmarkets, in and around the city, as well as directly to restaurants. In 2011, Slow Food NYC named Mary the first ever “Snailblazer,” in recognition for her contributions to creating a better, healthier, food system for all. Mary celebrates the taste of local foods, and recognizes the connection that food has on our environment, on peoples health, and on our local economy. Mary has been an activist throughout her career, beginning with the founding of the Farm to Chef Network, on the board of the Food Systems Network, as well as many other affiliations, including Slow Food NYC and Chefs for the Marsalles, a coalition of chefs against fracking. Mary is an inspiration and my soul sister! Listen to the full interview below.

If you do not see the audio player above, download Adobe Flash Player?here.

Don?t forget, you can catch my show live on the?Progressive Radio Network?every Thursday from 10-11 AM EST. To tune in, navigate to?PRN.fm?and click the ?Listen Live? button on the left. Also try downloading the?PRN mobile app, and take the station with you wherever you go! Also try calling in to listen live by phone 24/7 at (832) 280-0066.

You can also download all my shows on?iTunes, or find the?full archive?on my Radio page!