{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Gardens of Earthly Delight","title":"Cheese Is Not A Human Invention w/ Trevor Warmedahl (Milk Trekker)","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4095,"description":"Cheese Is Not A Human InventionTrevor Warmedahl (Milk Trekker)\n\nTrevor 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.\nRecorded 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.\n\"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.\nThis 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.\nTIMESTAMPS00:00 - Introduction\n 02:21 - Cheese is not a human invention\n 11:58 - The role of microbes in cheese making\n 13:38 - Fears and safety of natural cheese\n 22:02 - Cheese and microbes\n 29:05 - Cheese terroir and its complexity\n 36:36 - Aha moments in cheese making\n 44:38 - Tradition vs. innovation\n 48:18 - Transhumance: the art of seasonal migration\n 57:24 - The essential role of salt\n 1:02:25 - Favorite food memory\n 1:05:33 - Final thoughts\nCONNECT WITH TREVORSubstack: milktrekker.substack.com\nInstagram: @milktrekker\nBook: Pre-order Cheese Trekking (out February 17, 2026) with Chelsea Green Publishing\nFOLLOW...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/9EmmdNPFGH5KAwG2qiPUaQ3rRxt4jbBisODUISWHgaU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jNDNl/MWFjOGI1NTdkZjll/ZTBjOGI5MDEzYWI0/ZjczOC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}