♪♪ -Arizona... land of infinite diversity With seven distinct bioregions, there's an ever-evolving experience and complexity to our often misunderstood neighbor to the southwest.

-You get to walk through the garden.

You get to visit with the birds.

You get to see how your food is grown.

-With over 300 days of sun per year, Arizona is known as "America's Salad Bowl," but it lacks one key ingredient -- water.

-We receive only 6 to 10 inches of annual rainfall a year.

-In Arizona, agriculture uses 70% to 75% of our water.

-We're on the hunt to dispel myths about Arizona and reintroduce us to the promise and the challenges facing American farmers and food purveyors here.

-We can't just go across the street and buy a package of tepary beans.

If we didn't have them, we -- we wouldn't be here today.

-If we're going to heal our food system, Arizona is going to have to play an integral role.

My name is Kevin Chap, and for me, wild foods aren't just a luxury, they're a way of life.

As an environmentalist, educator, and professional forager, I know the best ingredients are still waiting to be discovered.

You just need to know where to look.

♪♪ -"Wild Foods" is made possible by generous support from the Vermont International Film Foundation, bringing the world to Vermont through film and supporting filmmakers in Vermont and beyond for 40 years, and with support from... ♪♪ -Arizona is the only U.S.

state containing all four of North America's major deserts -- the Mojave, the Chihuahuan, Great Basin, and Sonoran, where I've come to explore today.

These arid landscapes cover roughly 45% of the state and are home to a surprising diversity of flora and fauna.

So, as a Northeasterner here in Arizona for the first time, I had this preconceived notion when I was coming in of Arizona being this desolate landscape of sand and desert and tumbleweeds and cowboys.

What I've come to realize after many visits here is that this is an abundant landscape.

You just need to know where to look.

♪♪ So here's a quintessential scene of Arizona desert community.

So we're standing underneath probably a 150-year-old saguaro cactus.

Now, these cacti grow fruits during the rainy season that would have been harvested by indigenous cultures all over.

But at the same time, we're hearing a pack of coyotes on the hunt here, and they've come across something.

[ Coyotes barking ] There is just an abundance of life here, so it supports so many different mammals, so many different plants, so many medicinals.

And so we're going to continue on and see if we can find some of these wild foods.

♪♪ This is called staghorn cactus.

Though it's not edible right now, this will bear a flower.

And the amazing thing about this flower is that it's super calcium-dense.

But not only is there tons of food out here, there's tons of medicine, as well.

Over here.

This is called the creosote plant.

Now, this isn't necessarily a choice edible, but what this does have is antibacterial and antifungal properties.

So the leaves of this can be pounded into a salve.

And put that right on some of your cuts to make sure that they don't go septic.

[ Hawk screeches ] This is a fun find.

This is called Barrel cactus.

And it's identifiable by its low growth and kind of barrel shape.

It also grows these brilliant fruits that are super high in vitamin C. What this is, is a survival food.

So indigenous folks would have taken this during the dry season and cut around the side of this, and inside of this is holding a tremendous amount of water.

And we know also that it's safe to drink because it's already been filtered by the root structure.

♪♪ Now we finally come to it.

This is Prickly pear cactus, also known as paddle cactus, but probably most well known in culinary circles as nopales.

This is a wild food that's been being eaten for thousands of years here in the desert.

And this will also grow a fruit which is red.

It's called the prickly pear, which is where it gets its name.

And just go ahead and pull that off.

Now, the best way to harvest this is simply to scrape those burrs off.

And we're trying to get those eyes off, as well.

We can see the inside of that is just full of beautiful, edible, and vibrant food.

In fact, that's completely edible right off the cactus.

Got a little bit of a bitterness to it, but it's also got a little bit of sweet, very much like aloe.

And now we're left with something that we can turn into nopales back at camp.

From the northernmost reaches of the Sonoran Desert, we're ascending to the southernmost tip of the Colorado Plateau along the Mogollon Rim just outside of Sedona.

And here, along the banks of Oak Creek, I'm going to create a rustic meal fit for any forager or explorer of the Arizona outback from the ingredients we've just gathered.

Going to be cooking up a wild meal of the nopales that we just harvested, along with a little bit of tomato, onion, and garlic, and then also some black tepary beans, which would be an indigenous food that was used here by the Tohono O'odham and many other tribes for millennia.

One of the reasons this area has become one of my favorite camping spots in Arizona is the access to water, which is so rare throughout the state.

We've just harvested a little bit of water from Oak Creek.

We're going to start the nopales.

We still have a few of the eyes.

So we'll just give this an extra scrape here.

Okay, our water has come to a boil.

Okay, these are going right in now.

You want to bring them up, so about two parts water to one part bean.

You want to bring it back to a boil.

And then we're going to let it simmer.

These dried beans will take a couple of hours to absorb enough water to make them edible.

So cut these into strips.

I'm just going to add a little bit of olive oil and just medium heat.

You know, towards the winter, these will get a little bit more bitter, typically, than you would have in the rain season or even the fall.

But that's going to be okay 'cause we're going to add the sweetness from the tomato.

Now, this would have been a very classic cowboy dish, but also, these would have been used as staple foods in indigenous diets, as well.

You know, instead of onions, they may have had wild onion or -- or ramp or leek.

Kind of get those going there.

[ Sizzling ] Give that a good pop.

And we're going to allow the garlic and onion to all marry up there.

Next we're going to chop up some tomatoes.

We'll chunk these up nice and big, try to get all that juice right into the pan.

[ Sizzling ] Dump these in there and let all those flavors marry together.

Our tepary beans should be done.

Those look beautiful.

Now, I did bring along a little bit of a southwestern treat here.

This is prickly pear syrup.

We're just going to add just a little bit here.

Don't need a lot.

This is super, super sweet.

Mmm!

Well, we're going to do a bed of beans here.

♪♪ And there you have it -- a completely wild meal from Arizona, from the field to your plate.

Enjoy.

♪♪ From the Sedona outback, I'm heading several hours southwest to the San Xavier Cooperative Farm, located just outside of Tucson.

These are the tribal lands of the Tohono O'odham people, traditional stewards of the Santa Cruz River Basin and beyond.

Hey, Duran.

How's it going?

-Hi.

-I'm meeting with Duran Andrews, the farm manager and chief visionary of how his people can reintroduce and re-propagate some of their most important traditional and wild foods back into their own community.

This is the northern range, right, of the Tohono O'odham?

Like, you guys were as widespread as all the way down to the Sonoran Desert in Mexico, right?

-Traditionally, yes.

-Yeah.

-Today we are 11 districts spread out across a number of areas between Tucson and Yuma.

The main reservation is about the size of Connecticut, to give you scale.

And the community of Wa:k, as they call it here, has been farming and existing for generations of over 4,000 years.

So the generations, the heritage, the lineages that are connected to the ground, we want to continue that history, and that's part of our mission here.

-And so what were some of the main staples that you guys were growing or are continuing to grow today, right?

-Of course, it comes to mind the three sisters -- beans, corn, and squash.

Tepary beans, 60-day corn, and a squash that we grow here that's a large variety of squash that's very unique to the area.

-As Duran and I make our way through the farm grounds, the sense of intention, history, and importance become palpable.

-The first year, we actually grew a whole field of these.

-He and his team aren't just raising food.

They're part of an age-old story of indigenous wisdom that may hold some of the keys in reinventing our food system and our relationship to the natural world.

The origin of the three sisters, it's not a myth.

It's actually a deep, deep understanding and wisdom that has been gathered over millennia.

-It's how I like to refer to it, as traditional ecological knowledge, 'cause it's -- it's all science in the end, you know, no matter how you want to look at it.

-Even though they're a summer crop, tepary beans have returned over winter, a perfect example of the seeds constantly adapting to their environment.

-Seed saving is a big, big, crucial component to the staff in our teaching because we can't just go across the street and buy a package of tepary beans.

We don't have the seed, we can't do anything.

If we didn't have them, we -- we wouldn't be here today.

-Yeah.

-People wouldn't exist.

You can definitely hang on to those.

Those are seeds for you.

-Would you mind?

Can I bring them home?

-That's fine.

It's like a gift from here.

-I'm gonna put them in my garden this spring.

-Yeah.

-Tepary beans are a crucial part of the Tohono O'odham diet.

-Tepary beans.

-They slow digestion, increase nutrient absorption, and combat disease.

-This is white tepary beans.

I like to say that these -- these can go good with some short ribs.

These can go good in a soup.

-Tepary beans are just one of the many native foods that Duran and his team are helping to preserve at the co-op.

These are the buds off the... -Staghorn.

-...staghorn cactus.

-We'll dry it out.

We just rehydrate it and use it on a number of different things -- soups, salads, and then tamales.

-You were saying that a teaspoon of these... -Equal to a glass of milk as a source of calcium.

-Unbelievable.

-Our 60-day corn.

The name is what it is.

It grows in 60 days.

-That is incredible, because, you know, we plant Memorial Day weekend in Vermont and you harvest in late September.

So, you know, you're talking about, yeah, four to five months, you know, but here you're two months or less, right?

From the farmland at San Xavier Co-op, I'm heading into the city to visit Dr.

Michael Kotutwa, a Hopi elder and professor at the University of Arizona and a MacArthur Fellow dedicated to the rematriation of ancestral corn.

To date, the project has rematriated 14 different varieties of corn, offering an invaluable solution for growing nutritious foods that are drought-resistant.

We're looking at a whole basket of corn here.

-Mm-hmm.

-And this is all produced in a traditional method of the Hopi people... -Yeah, exactly.

-...called dryland farming.

-Yes, dryland farming.

Yep.

You know, at Hopi, we receive only 6 to 10 inches of annual rainfall a year, right?

And so these particular varieties have adapted to come from depths of anywhere from six inches to two feet deep.

-Wow.

-'Cause we have to plant where the -- where the -- where the soil moisture is at.

-The rematriation project is important for so many reasons.

-You know, we have this health crisis on Indian reservations.

For example, on one of the reservations here, 80% of the population has diabetes.

-I mean, and this goes back to that loss of traditional foods, right?

I mean, these foods that we're looking at right here, they're super nutrient-dense.

-They're about 10 times more mineral-dense and nutrient-dense than anything that we produce on a supermarket.

-But good nutrition is just one way that these corn varieties are positively affecting the Hopi people.

-One of the most important things that comes from rematriation is what I call the reintroduction back into our cultural and religious belief system.

Not only are you planting a seed, but you're planting yourself.

The why we're farming, why we need to do that, why we need to engage with our children -- because it's -- it's that that has allowed us to survive for over 3,000 years in a very semi-arid region up in northern Arizona.

-It's not just a food source for you guys.

-Yes.

It's not just a food source.

We consider it our mother and we treat it as such.

Every kernel that we have here represents a new generation of what I would call people.

-Yeah.

Stewardship of land is synonymous with Hopi culture.

It's called Hopitutskwa.

-It's a communication and direct relationship with what's around you.

Indigenous people right now govern about 80% of biodiversity on only like 5% of the world's globe right now.

What makes those systems so biodiverse, so well-maintained is that relationship that we're talking about.

-One powerful insight from our visit with Dr.

Kotutwa is the need to deepen our relationship with nature and to let it guide our decisions.

In Arizona farming, that means embracing scarce water supply and using natural cycles to heal a strained soil microbiome.

Dane Hague brings this ancient wisdom into modern practice through MyLand, a holistic soil-restoration approach that uses microalgae technology.

-This system will produce probably around 20 trillion to 30 trillion algae cells a day.

The reason we focus on microalgae is it's the base of the food chain in the soil microbiome.

If you took an old vegetable and you threw it out in your garden and you bury it, it's going to get broken down, and now it's compost.

-Right.

-We are doing the exact same thing for the soil microbiome, except it's immediately available when the microalgae dies.

-One of the most inspirational things about the MyLand system is that it's actually using the base elements from the soil, and then you're replicating it in here and pumping it back onto the land.

-Correct.

-You're re-creating these soils in just a matter of months, really, right?

Taking it from dead lands to completely active soils.

-And what we've learned is that if we can just increase microbial activity, increase life in our soil, your yields get better, your quality gets better, you're going to use less to produce.

-Local farmers like Steve and Nick Martori know that healthy soil is the foundation of their success.

-We'll get 700 cartons per acre.

Prior to MyLand, you used to see yields more like 500 or 600 cartons.

-And that's per acre, and we're -- we're looking at more than an acre here, I'm guessing.

-We've got about 200 acres of broccoli out here.

-In addition to increasing the yield, the microalgae system is helping to reduce water consumption, crucial in the desert landscape.

-The healthier the soil is, the more it'll hold the moisture rather than letting it leach out.

-In Arizona, agriculture uses 70% to 75 percent of our water.

-This means that even a small reduction in water usage can have a significant impact on the entire community.

Having learned about regenerating soil at MyLand, I continue my journey to explore the healing of body and mind at The Sanctuary, a rehabilitation center devoted to addiction recovery and mental wellness.

Situated on 22 acres of beautiful land outside Sedona, The Sanctuary offers a unique recovery program that helps people rediscover balance, clarity, and a deeper connection to themselves.

I meet with Dean Taraborelli, who founded the center 20 years ago.

-The Sanctuary, really, our whole model is based on nature.

When we begin to understand the nature around us, we can now better understand the nature within us, right, our inner nature.

And that's something that many people have been disconnected from is their inner nature, their intuition.

You know, you have neurons, brain cells, in your heart.

You have brain cells in your gut.

That's why they say, "You know, Kevin, follow your heart," or, "Trust your gut."

And if my gut's all out of balance, my guidance system is -- is out of whack.

-Victoria Abel, a nutritionist and psychotherapist at The Sanctuary, delves deeper into how the digestive system influences our emotions and behavior.

-I ask clients all the time, "Where do you make serotonin?"

They point to their head.

I'm like, "Well, where do you store serotonin?"

"In your head."

Nope.

-Yeah.

-You store it, you make it in your gut and you make it from your food.

So if your gut is inflamed from poor food, you're not going to be able to make healthy serotonin and dopamine.

One of the -- obviously, the results of that is going to be depression.

-While highly processed foods can negatively affect how we feel and how we behave, wholesome living foods can positively transform our lives.

-For my master's thesis, I wrote on the impact of nutrition on alcoholism and addiction.

And I realized that changing your diet actually increases your chances of staying clean and sober by 38%.

-I mean, that is so staggering to me.

This discovery inspired Victoria to craft the delicious plant-forward meals at The Sanctuary as nourishing medicine for both body and spirit.

-We have no gluten, no processed foods, no artificial sugars.

Most of the time, two, three days in, people are like, "I feel nourished.

My anxiety is less."

-Victoria has observed our attitudes towards food often reflect our beliefs about ourselves.

-"I'm only worth the dollar menu," you know?

"I don't really taste anything.

I wish that I could not have to eat," aka, "I wish that I could not have to live."

So if I change my food and my relationship with food... -Yeah.

-...that changes my life.

-I love the way you just put that.

-When you grow your own tomato, you get to have that connection with your food.

It lights up something in your brain, in your body.

It makes you say, "I feel good.

I'm worthy."

-"I am worth good food."

I think that translates to every single human on the face of -- -It does.

-We are all worth good food.

Perhaps no one appreciates the healing power of food better than the growers and chefs at The Farm at South Mountain outside of Phoenix.

A model of sustainable agriculture since the 1920s, today this farm-to-table space not only grows organic produce for two on-site restaurants year-round, but hosts farmers markets and welcomes local residents to engage directly with their food.

-It's very rare in the city or in the world to have a connection with your food.

You get to walk through the garden.

You get to visit with the birds.

You get to see how your food is grown.

-I mean, this chard is out of control.

Like, I've never seen chard that big.

Wow.

Farm manager Hanita Knudson was able to create this abundance and beauty in a matter of one year using drip irrigation, compost tea, and sourcing additional compost from neighboring worm farms.

The result is a cornucopia of delicious food.

It's enough to feed a family of four for a week.

[ Crunches ] -[ Chuckles ] -I mean, that is just exploding with flavor.

-Yeah.

-Hanita's care for the Earth and for her community originates in a previous career as a social worker.

-I've always been very focused on social justice.

To me, eating well and having good food is like the highest form of social justice.

Still a way to connect with community and engage with people.

But in a way, to me, that's much more, like, healing.

-The fruits of Hanita's labor yield an abundance of fresh seasonal ingredients, inspiring executive chef Dustin Christofolo to craft his signature dishes at the on-site restaurants, Morning Glory and Quiessence.

With this unique fine-dining experience, it feels like you're being welcomed home to an exquisite garden-fresh meal.

You know, so much of fine dining for so many years has been about the paintings on the wall... -Right.

-...to the candlelight to the, you know, the white linens.

But now you guys have inverted that model and really are letting the ingredients do the talking.

-Our secret sauce is we are just going to treat you like a human being that's dining in our household with the utmost respect.

-Part of this welcome is an open-kitchen concept where guests are invited to watch their meals being prepared for them.

-You know, some of my individual cooks will get highlighted, like, "Oh, you made the pasta.

Oh, the pasta was my favorite bite tonight."

And just the response that they get from these diners is absolutely amazing.

-Oh, I think we've got -- got some food coming in here.

Then there's also an accountability on the diner's side to really understanding how much work is going into the food that they're sitting down and consuming... -Absolutely.

-...from the garden to the prep to the cooking to the delivery.

♪♪ What you guys are doing is really, really inspiring.

You know, where we need to continue to make more and more links with diner, eater, grower, purveyor.

Thank you guys so much for -- for having us here this afternoon.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Cheers.

From the indigenous guardians of the land to progressive farmers, from nature-guided technology developers to visionary restaurateurs, I've come to understand Arizona as a diverse and integral part of our food ecosystem.

As the nation's leading source of fresh produce, Arizona's landscape is essential to sustainability and well-being.

But perhaps even more profound is this -- a true cycle of regeneration.

Healthy environments create healthy food.

Healthy food creates healthy bodies and minds, and from this comes resilient communities who can nourish and generate a sustainable future.

And so the whole process begins again.

And it all starts with our food.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -"Wild Foods" is made possible by generous support from the Vermont International Film Foundation, bringing the world to Vermont through film and supporting filmmakers in Vermont and beyond for 40 years, and with support from... ♪♪ ♪♪