Farmer Eliza Greenman estimates that there may be up to 7,000 different named varieties of apples in the U.S. She cultivates approximately 650 varieties on her Virginia farm. Greenman also serves as the director of biodiversity for the Greenhorns, a non-profit organization of young farmers whose mission is to recruit and support a new generation of farmers.

Greenman is interviewed by Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D., the host of Food Sleuth Radio (the audio is 28 minutes in length). Hemmelgarn is a national award-winning columnist, and the founder and former director of the Nutrition Communications Center at the University of Missouri. She is a member of the Society for Nutrition Education, Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Alliance for a Media Literate America.

Greenman describes her work with heirloom apples as a “wild frontier.” She hopes to protect and promote apple diversity, and teach young farmers how to raise food sustainably.