Regenerative farming and plant-based living might seem like separate pursuits. For Jason DeSalvo and his wife Deborah, they turned out to be the same journey.

In their mid-fifties, with no farming experience whatsoever, Jason and Deb bought a 43-acre farm in Western New Jersey and began learning how to bring dead soil back to life. Today, Cold Brook Farm is a regenerative certified organic operation whose heirloom grains have been selected by Dan Barber and served at Michelin-starred restaurants. Jason and Deb are also completely WFPB SOS-free, a transformation that happened in 2022 under the care of Dr. Ron Weiss of Ethos Primary Care.

In this episode of NHA Today, Dr. Stephan Esser sits down with Jason to explore what six years of caring for the land has taught him about food, health, and the surprising truth about grains.

ABOUT JASON DESALVO AND COLD BROOK FARM

Jason DeSalvo and his wife Deborah run Cold Brook Farm, a regenerative certified organic farm in Western New Jersey. They began farming in 2020 in their mid-fifties and converted to a WFPB SOS-free lifestyle in July 2022. Their grains have been selected by Dan Barber for outstanding quality and served at Michelin-starred restaurants. They now manage nearly 120 acres of organically grown grains after three neighboring farms asked them to transition from GMO corn and soy. Jason and Deborah will be presenting Whole Grains: Myths vs. Reality at the NHA Annual Conference, June 25 to 28, 2026.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What regenerative farming actually means and the honest story behind a buzzword
• How Cold Brook Farm took less than 1% organic soil material to 11% in six years
• Why food grown in healthy regenerative soil tastes and performs differently
• The truth about ancient and heirloom grains versus modern wheat
• Why store-bought oats are already processed before you open the bag
• How grains with 13 to 14% protein challenge the carbs-are-bad narrative
• Jason and Deb’s WFPB SOS-free transformation in their mid-fifties
• How to start growing your own food with nothing but an apartment balcony

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
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What Does Regenerative Farming Actually Mean?

Jason is careful to acknowledge that regenerative is a buzzword at risk of being co-opted by corporations looking to charge a premium. In its genuine form, he says, it simply means farming in a way that leaves the land in better condition each year than when you started working it.

When he and Deb bought their farm, it had been used for GMO corn and soy – chemical agriculture that left the soil with less than 1% organic material. It was hard as rock. No worms. No mycorrhizal fungi. Dead.

Six years later, Cold Brook Farm has 11% organic material in the soil. It is loaded with worms, pollinators, insects, and bird life. The ecosystem has regenerated. And that transformation shows up directly in the quality and taste of what they grow. Dan Barber’s team at Blue Hill Stone Barns started buying their grain in just their second harvest, not because it was organic, but because it tasted exceptional.

Are Grains Actually Healthy? What Regenerative Farming Reveals

Grains have taken a beating in popular nutrition culture. Lumped in with processed carbohydrates and blamed for everything from inflammation to weight gain, many people in the plant-based world have quietly stopped eating them.

Jason pushes back on this firmly. The grains getting the bad rap are modern, highly processed, often GMO varieties bred for yield rather than nutrition or digestibility. The heirloom and ancient varieties he grows – Rouge de Bordeaux wheat from 1800s France, einkorn (the oldest cultivated wheat), hulless oats — are a different food.

His specific grains run between 13 and 14% protein. Hulless oats, which he grows in varieties called Streaker and Gale, have never been subjected to the steaming or boiling process required to remove the hull from commercial oats. By the time you buy rolled or steel cut oats at the store, they have already been processed, regardless of whether the label says organic. Cold Brook Farm oats are stone-milled and delivered unprocessed, and NHA members who buy them consistently report they taste like nothing they have had before.

The grain-versus-protein argument, Jason says, is the same as the where-do-you-get-your-protein argument. It is based on assumptions about industrial food rather than the actual nutritional profile of food grown in healthy regenerative soil.

How to Grow Your Own Food on an Apartment Balcony

When Dr. Esser challenged Jason with the toughest possible scenario, someone in a Midwest apartment with only a small balcony, his advice was practical and encouraging.

Start with sprouts. You can grow them indoors in jars year-round. They are fast – from planting to eating in three to four days. They are dense in nutrients. And they are completely accessible regardless of where you live or what season it is.

Once the weather warms, move onto the balcony. A small pot of basil, thyme, and oregano is achievable for almost anyone. Fresh herbs replace the flavoring role that salt used to play, useful for anyone eating SOS-free. A tomato trellis or a small lettuce bed can follow from there.

Jason’s core message: start easy. Start with one thing. If you kill it, try again. The goal is not a perfect harvest, it is getting hooked on growing your own food. That is the beginning of a different relationship with what you eat.

Join Jason and Deborah at the NHA Conference

Jason and Deborah DeSalvo will be presenting Whole Grains: Myths vs. Reality at the NHA Annual Conference, June 25 to 28, 2026 – a full hour deep dive into the science, the stories, and the practical realities of whole grain nutrition. If the grain conversation in this episode opened questions for you, their talk is the place to go for the full picture.

Learn more and register: https://checkout.healthscience.org/2026-nha-conference

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LINKS AND RESOURCES
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Cold Brook Farm website: https://www.coldbrookfarmnj.com
Cold Brook Farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coldbrookfarm/
NHA Annual Conference (June 25 to 28, 2026): https://checkout.healthscience.org/2026-nha-conference
Follow Dr. Esser on Instagram: @esserhealth
NHA Today on YouTube: NHA | Season 2 Playlist

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ABOUT NHA TODAY
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NHA Today is the official podcast of the National Health Association, one of the oldest health science organizations in the world, founded in the 1940s. Hosted by Dr. Stephan Esser, MD, a fourth-generation plant-based eater and grandson of NHA co-founder Dr. William L. Esser, the show delivers science-based, practical conversations to help you live your most vital life. New episodes every Tuesday.