Sustainable Meat, Regenerative Agriculture, and Seasonal Rituals with Steve Sabicer

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Sustainable Meat, Regenerative Agriculture, and Seasonal Rituals

with Steve Sabicer

Nicki Sizemore

Nov 12, 2025

New here? In the MBSF podcast we explore how food connects us to our minds, bodies, spirits, the earth, and our communities. This is a space dedicated to bringing more presence, intention, ease, and joy into the process of feeding ourselves. Check out past episodes with Julia Turshen, Alexis deBoschnek, Jasmine Nnenna, Dr. Hillary McBride, Zaynab Issa, Hetty McKinnon, Elise Loehnen, and more.

Hello my friends,

Today’s episode weaves together two different threads: how we can eat meat more sustainably (and joyfully) and how we can live in a way that feels more sustainable to our nervous systems.

I’m joined by butcher-turned-writer Steve Sabicer, publisher of the Enlightened Omnivore newsletter and podcast, whose path winds from being a latchkey kid watching PBS cooking shows in a military family, to working in healthcare public relations, to running an artisanal whole-animal butcher shop, to sharing grounded wisdom about regenerative agriculture and everyday rituals in his newsletter.

We talk about what “better meat” actually means in practice. (As a side note, this is a non-dogmatic space—if you’re not a meat eater I think you’ll still learn something from the conversation, but it you’d rather, skip ahead to about 35 minutes in, when we switch courses to talk about ritual and the cycles that sustain us.)

Steve points out that it’s not so much whether we eat meat but how it’s raised. He shares insights into grass-finished and pasture-raised systems, how regenerative agriculture can help rebuild soil, and simple, budget-friendly ways to stretch higher quality meat and reduce food waste at home.

We also get into life-sustainability—the seasonal rhythms and small rituals that help us find balance. Steve shares how he uses the Medicine Wheel as a kind of compass, a way to check in with mind, body, spirit, and heart. He talks about the simple traditions he’s created with his family, and how he’s learned to bring these ideas into daily life “without freaking my wife and kids out, or getting too many eye rolls at the dinner table.”

What you’ll hear in this episode:
• What makes meat “responsibly raised”
• Grass-finished beef, pasture-raised chicken, and carbon sequestration
• How to stretch a high-quality cut across multiple meals
• Simple ways to reduce food waste at home
• The Medicine Wheel as a tool for balance
• Seasonal rituals Steve practices with his family

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