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Maude Bauschard sells local and sustainably produced groceries and runs a weekly community-supported agriculture (CSA) box from a small store she calls Maude’s Market.

This wouldn’t sound like much if she were living in a city on one of the coasts, but Bauschard lives in St. Louis, Mo., or what she calls “the heart of Monsanto country.” Literally: The city is home to the world headquarters of Monsanto, one of the world’s leading producers of both herbicide and genetically engineered (GE) seeds.

“So any sort of action — even just using organic feed — anything along those lines,” she says, can feel subversive. Especially lately, as Bauschard says the company has been running a campaign to promote their prominent role in the city.

“It’s called STL Grown. They’re advertising that they support change projects and the city itself, and agriculture in the area; and it’s true. They put money into the botanical garden, public art, etc. and they employ a lot of St. Louisans,” she says.

When Bauschard was laid off from a progressive nonprofit in Washington, D.C. a few years ago, it was no accident that she chose to return to the city where she was raised — even if it meant the work she wanted to do would be going against the grain.