Greenhero (Rikard Bjorkdahl)

The Greenhero podcast empowers people to switch into and maintain a plant-based lifestyle. Each week we will be digging into the inspiring journeys of people who live a plant-based lifestyle to tease out ways to make plant-based living easy, fun and welcoming to everyone.

Thanks for tuning into the Greenhero Podcast with your host, Rikard Björkdahl. Each week we'll be digging into the inspiring journeys of people who live a plant-based lifestyle to tease out the most effective and fun ways to add more plants to your life. 

Today, we’re sitting down with Dotsie Bausch, seven-time track cycling US national champion, former world record holder, Pan American Gold medal winner, and silver medalist in Team Pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics. Dotsie founded the non-profit Switch4Good in early 2018 with a television commercial featuring six Olympians from four different countries and proves that cow’s milk is not part of a high-performance diet. 

Dotsie’s transition to eating green seemed to happen overnight. She started a deep dive into the foods she was eating, and what she found left her shocked, horrified, and sad. After seeing behind the curtain and witnessing some of the terrible things that happen, she made the choice to not be a part of it. Mind you, this is coming from the context as a Kentucky native only months away from Olympic qualifiers. Ultimately, though, she recognized that what she was doing was for the good of other beings—anything short of that felt selfish. 

The transition was fast, but it wasn’t always easy. Replacing eggs and cream was the most difficult step, but with the advancement in technology, plant-based milk is just as great and a tofu scramble is a wonderful way to start your day. 

As an athlete, Dotsie is very aware of how her body started to feel after transitioning to a plant-based diet. At her age, recovery is crucial. After switching to eating green, she felt like she woke up feeling better, her joints were less enflamed, and she was ready to go sooner. Additionally, while she was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to build muscle mass on her diet, she actually found it easier and faster, in that because her recovery time was so low, she was able to train harder, more often, and feel better doing it. 

The content of her diet was important, in that she needs to make sure she’s supporting an Olympic athlete-level lifestyle. Finding high-protein plant-based sources like rice, hemp, or soy, and including them in shakes with legumes and high-calorie foods like cashew butter sustain her through her training. 

Now that she’s retired, Dotsie has shifted to helping others transition into a green diet. At heart, she says, she’s an activist. And as a vegan Olympic athlete, the fact that Milk is a title sponsor simply wasn’t okay. So, she presented the facts: cow’s milk is not a health food. 

Beyond that, Dotsie helps push policy change on the corporate and governmental levels, directing Starbucks to drop their plant-based milk upcharge, and bringing forth the idea of dietary racism, as BIPOCs are more frequently affected by lactose intolerance. Part of being a Green Hero, for Dotsie, is championing food injustice. 

Things You’ll Learn

-You can sustain an Olympic level of training with a green diet

-Transitioning to a green diet can be at your own pace. It can be overnight or gradually over time. 

-Being a Green Hero means looking at the impact of food on society, not just our individual bodies. 

Websites

https://switch4good.org/

https://dotsiebauschusa.com/

Social Tags

@Switch4Good

Thanks for tuning into the GreenHero Podcast with your host, Rikard Björkdahl. Today’s guest is Yannis Kavounis, a marketer, health coach, and activist. 

Yannis has spent his career between New York and London advising some of the world's biggest corporations. His highest-paid career eventually led to struggles with stress, depression, IBS, and unhealthy eating. To turn his life around, he spent several years researching plant-based eating and mindfulness, slowly implementing his findings into his own life. The journey was transformational and completely changed his life for the better. Now, he uses his experience to help others as a health coach, supporting leaders at work and in life to realize long-lasting lifestyle changes. 

It wasn’t an overnight change, Yannis points out. It was a gradual shift away from meat and processed products and a transition into bolstering his diet with plant-based products. That can be tough in a world of instant gratification, but putting goals into small, reachable moments can help give that boost to keep going towards your bigger perspective. By focusing only on the massive benefits–I want to lose XX pounds, I want to be 100% plant-based—it creates stress and more obstacles. 

Failing is certainly part of the process, but just like any other fall, it isn’t the fall itself, it’s how you pick yourself back up. There comes a moment of self-realization where that failure becomes part of the progress. Yannis treats it almost as a game–when he fails, it turns into how he can approach the challenge differently. 

Awareness and mindfulness are a big part of this journey. You have to be aware of the changes you’re making, how you’re implementing them, your goals, and your ‘why’. That reason can be buried deeper than the surface. Often, these shifts are rooted in a more emotion-based place. Repetition doesn’t create habit, emotion does. Accepting the emotions that come with each step of the way are part of what creates the change. 

The way you track your progress impacts these moments as well. For some, it’s motivational to see the steps forward. For others, it’s a good reminder to push forward. Using an app like GreenHero helps keep the momentum going that can help make fundamental behavioral changes. 

Things you’ll learn

-Fundamental behavioral changes come from emotion.

-Awareness and mindfulness are key aspects of any transition.

-Failing is part of the journey through progress. 

Links

https://macro-wellness.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanniskavounis/

Thanks for tuning into the GreenHero Podcast with your host, Rikard Björkdahl! We’re sitting down with Therese Elgquist, Swedish cookbook creator, three-time cookbook author, and TV chef.

Her plant-based journey started when she realized her love of food and pickiness intersected at her creative spirit. It happened suddenly—she woke up one day and just felt that she wanted all the vegetables in the world. And what she found in the plant-based world was opportunity. The ingredients and aspects of every dish could be shaped and formed into completely different dishes. Then, when she made the transition to communications in the plant-based space, she realized how many opportunities there really were. Just like there are chefs who specialize in beef recipes, fish recipes, and others. Why not plant-based? She found her niche early and ran with it. 

The cultural shift has been monumental, with dozens of brands for different plant-based products—quite the shift from only a few years ago. Large companies have realized this movement is real and they have to keep up. Now, they know how to communicate the products and avoid outdated terms. 

This shift to plant-based is global but certainly varies by culture. Northern Europe, they discuss, has fewer cultural ties to its foods than southern countries like Spain and France. In many places, words like “plant-based” don’t even exist, and the meaning of “vegan” gets convoluted in other practices. There are other challenges, like the barrier between access to tools to cook plant-based foods and access to the ingredients, but regardless, in Sweden where Therese is from, folks seem to be proud when they eat less meat. 

The solution, Thess mentions, could lie in how plant-based food is presented. It doesn’t have to be an every-meal-7-days-a-week change. Even for Thess, the change came by eliminating meat every so often. It can be about liking good food and wanting to cook delicious dishes. Even changing an ingredient or two can bring a whole new experience to the plate. 

Things You’ll Learn

-Transitioning to Plant-based doesn’t have to be an every-meal-7-days-a-week change.

-This shift to plant-based is global but certainly varies by culture.

-It doesn’t have to be about the transition itself. It can be about liking good food and wanting to cook delicious dishes. 

Links

@plantbasedbythess on Instagram

https://plantbasedbythess.com/

Welcome back to the Greenhero podcast with your host, Rikard Björkdahl! Joining the show today is Erik Admundson, co-founder and managing director of Vevolution, a global network and investment marketplace with a mission to accelerate the growth of the plant-based and the cell-based economy. After years of managing networks in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, Erik's passion for entrepreneurship and the future of food led him to Vevolution.

Vevolution was founded after the collapse of the in-person event industry due to COVID-19. With the fundamental goal to cultivate and accelerate the plant-based economy, the company shifted to become the first and only plant-based-ag investment marketplace. They make it easy for start-ups to find mission-aligned investors, and investors to find those start-ups. 

Erik is seeing a lot of growth and movement in western Europe and the US regarding plant-based investments. Some serious up-and-coming places like Singapore, Tel Aviv, and parts of Australia have put themselves on the map. There are always the usual suspects, he says, but it’s incredible and surprising how and where innovation happens. 

The drivers of the innovation depend on where you are. In Europe, sustainability is a primary motivator for many people and companies to go plant-based. In some places, the government has made it part of their long-term plan, whereas individuals and companies take on the responsibility in other places. At the same time, there needs to be support at all levels.

Erik’s passion for change and his own plant-based journey when he became more and more involved with sustainability while in college. As he is from the midwest US, there weren’t many plant-based options. But, when he traveled to Australia, he really committed himself to being an environmentalist and became a vegetarian. When he began working in the nonprofit space, he would see these prominent figures in the plant-based economy downing burgers, and it felt like a misalignment of mission. And so began his journey.

The problem, he feels, is that the effort has to come from the individual. When typical problems are presented with a solution from the top-down (a mayor, leader, etc.) change happens much more easily. Things like subsidization, capital projects and investments, and other ways can have a big impact on the growth of Ag. On the grassroots side of things, it’s about the action to take when you buy plant-based. 

Perfection is the enemy of good, Erik says when it comes to transitioning to plant-based. A huge stopper on many people going plant-based is the shaming that happens when they have meat. It can be graduation and circumstantial at first. But when you’re alone shopping for yourself, that’s where the action happens. It won’t happen overnight, especially because of locational challenges, but when chains like Chipotle start offering plant-based options, it suddenly becomes more accessible and approachable. 

Things you’ll learn

• The drivers of the innovation depend on where you are. In some places, the government has made it part of their long-term plan, whereas individuals and companies take on the responsibility in other places. At the same time, there needs to be support at all levels.
• Things like subsidization, capital projects and investments, and other ways can have a big impact on the growth of Ag.
• Perfection is the enemy of good, when it comes to transitioning to plant-based. A huge stopper on many people going plant-based is the shaming that happens when they have meat. 

Links

https://www.vevolution.com/

@vevolution

This week on the Greenhero Podcast, Rikard is with Jessica Taccone, founder of The Complete Burger and private chef to Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and other stars. Jess has created a locally produced vegan and gluten-free burger that has taken the East End by storm. Through her work, she’s supporting her community while feeding them delicious, organic food.

We hear a lot about the big players in the vegan and gluten-free food industry; Beyond Meat, Oatly, and more. But Jess is doing what many people have no idea exists: locally produced, organic plant-based products. 

She got her start working on an organic mushroom farm in Bridgehampton, New York, called Open Minded Organics. When they found themselves with a bumper crop of Shiitake Mushrooms, Jess developed a burger recipe as a way to creatively utilize the product during its shelf-life. After some tweaks, her burger gained a cult following in the Hamptons, as it provided a local plant-based option outside of large name brands. When she left the farm, she opened a pop-up restaurant, where her burger found a natural home on the menu. Since then, her burger is found in local retailers and restaurants. 

The biggest difference between Jessica’s burger and Beyond Meat (and other large brands) is that her recipe isn’t trying to replicate a meat burger. When she began the process of creating her burger, she wanted to provide the same satisfaction a traditional burger would give through mouthfeel, texture, and savoriness. On top of that, it’s called “The Complete Burger” because it’s a complete protein with the addition of quinoa and lentils to the mushrooms.

The community response to her burger has been overwhelmingly positive. The definitive authority, Jess says, is kids. They’re 100% honest, so when they’re happy, she knows she’s hit the mark (spoiler: they’re very happy). While many mass-produced veggie burgers fall just short of a hockey puck, her community feels that The Complete Burger retains that “juiciness” that is so closely tied to a great patty.

Through her community engagement and work as a private chef, Jess has seen firsthand the transition many people are making toward plant-based diets. People are looking for fresh, seasonal ingredients, organically grown by local farmers. 

On the business side of things, all brands grow, but Jess is careful to remain true to her mission. She and her company don’t want to source their product from one location and ship nationally. In doing so, it becomes harder to replicate and retain the original, local feel of the burger. Right now, all their products are sourced locally and backed by a strong connection to their community. 

The evolution of plant-based eating and the nation’s transition to it is helped by education, Jess says. Learning the reasons for eating plant-based diets can start at an early or any age. However, it’s important to remember that everyone will ultimately make their own decision. No one likes to be told what to do, but if you can equip people with information, you can keep it neutral. 

In the end, Jess has built a Long Island Empire through authentic community building, good food, and an even better goal: helping those around her. 

Links and Socials

https://thecompleteburger.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thecompleteburger

@thecompleteburger

@completeburger

Locations:

https://thecompleteburger.com/find-us

info@thecompleteburger.com

https://www.southforkbakery.org/

On today’s episode of the Greenhero podcast, Rikard is sitting down with Timo Kramp. a Dutch designer and founder of kindly made studio, a design agency focused solely on plant-based brands. After bouncing around as a freelance designer at major design firms in Amsterdam, Timo felt that he wanted to use his skill for a purpose that he aligned with. After he and his family transitioned to veganism, kindly made studio was born. Now, Timo has created branding visual identities packaging advertising for plant-based brands like Willie Croft and others.

Timo’s journey through veganism was sparked by his father, who introduced him to the film “Cowspiracy.” The movie, while disturbing and deeply horrifying in its elucidation of the meat industry, brought motivation for Timo and his family. The same shock caused by the movie introduced him, his father, mother, and sister to veganism. 

The process of transitioning for Timo and his family was certainly eased by their support of each other. But mentally, they were already vegan. So even as they worked their way through learning what veganism was, their minds, hearts, and actions all pointed towards the same goal: making the world a better place. By changing their environment, they were able to make it fun. 

Timo’s creative agency, where he helps vegan brands find their voice, was born from the conviction Timo had to align his work with his values. Simply put, it didn’t feel right to not share and amplify what meant most to him. So, he changed the people he worked with. Now with his extensive knowledge of both marketing, branding, and veganism, he can work at the intersection of his passions. By doing so, he is helping accelerate the market to challenge the comparatively large meat and dairy brands. 

The strategy Timo implements is based on the product, the target goals, and the audience. By understanding who it is the brand needs to speak to, where they are, and what they’re buying, Timo brings new brands into the game. Right now, things are trendy, bright, bold, and feel fun. Timo mentions that a huge part of this marketing is capturing those who aren’t yet vegan but are looking to transition. 

Whereas in the US, branding for vegan options has to tackle awareness, education, plus marketing, Europe is slightly ahead of the curve. There, the environment plays a big part in why folks are transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle. In the US, it’s about the taste and understanding that it can replace meat and still give the customer what they are looking for from a meat product, but plant-based. 

Links and Socials:

https://kindlymade.studio/

@kindlymade.studio

LinkedIn: Timo Kramp

Today on the Greenhero Podcast, we’re talking with London-based plant-based health coach, Vanessa Sturman. She’s an educator and speaker who helps people get high energy and healthy weight with delicious plant-based food. She is also a co-founder of the recipe website The Vegan Larder.

Throughout her career, Vanessa has been involved with plant-based foods. Though her personal journey began nearly a decade ago, she realized early on that many people simply weren’t sure how to build a balanced meal and how to do that without being in the kitchen, doing loads of prep, and cooking three or four times a day. 

Vanessa’s mentality when it comes to working with her clients is to meet them where they are. Some are just starting their own plant-based journey and aren’t sure where to begin, while others have been plant-based for years, but simply don’t know how to cook a plant-based diet efficiently. In any case, these people have an understanding that something needs to change. Either they are feeling the effects physically and mentally, or they are looking to build a foundation for a healthy rest of their lives. Some people aren’t starting 100% plant-based, while others do it overnight. It’s often not about a lack of willpower, it’s a lack of understanding and education on what delicious plant-based food can be. She works with people at their own pace, eventually graduating them into more complex dishes once a fundamental understanding of what variety and nutrients are needed for a healthy diet. By the time they’re comfortable with their diet, experimenting happens, and shortcuts for more efficient prep become easier to achieve. 

The biggest realization Vanessa’s clients have is just how filling a plant-based diet can be. There’s a common misconception that “plant-based” means you’ll be left wanting more. This isn’t the case, and it is often pointed to the perception that “plant-based” means lettuce, tomato, and cucumber in a bowl. Once there’s a breakdown of everything that is included in this diet, the opportunities open up. 

The words “Vegan” and “plant-based” are similar in some cases, but the distinction is that “plant-based” is referring to (mostly) food. In addition, it’s a bit of a softer, more approachable word describing food, while “veganism” is rooted in activism. 

For some folks, the barrier to a plant-based diet is the food preparation. The truth is that we already know how to prepare and cook many plant-based dishes without knowing we do. You don’t need new tools (a sharp knife helps) or techniques, but your ingredients will have more variety and more nutrients. Starting out with a dish that is already mostly plant-based and playing on the recipe is a great way to introduce a plant-based meal to your day. 

In the UK where Vanessa coaches, the awareness that a plant-based diet is an incredible way to improve your health is starting to surface. But still, it could go further. There are small shifts, like ordering a vegan option at a restaurant, that can introduce people to the idea that plant-based food really is good, and will leave you satisfied. 

Things you’ll learn

Plant-based foods really can be filling, satisfying, and healthy (all at the same time).

Cooking plant-based meals doesn’t mean re-learning how to cook, it’s applying what you know to different ingredients.

You can transition to a plant-based diet preventatively or to help with existing challenges. 

Links and Socials

@energiseandthriveplantbased

https://www.subscribepage.com/energiseandthriveplantbased

https://theveganlarder.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/howtogoplantbased

This week’s guest on the Greenhero Podcast is the CEO of 1% for the Planet, Kate Williams. 1% for the Planet is a global movement of businesses, individuals, and nonprofit organizations that inspire action and commitment so that our planet and future generations thrive. 

Kate’s plant-based journey started as a child when she would spend her evenings before dinner running around the yard. But it was more than just playtime, it was about building a connection to the outdoors. More intentionally, when she graduated high school, she spent time in the Western US, where she realized her genuine care for the environment and the desire to protect it. Then just before 1% for the Planet, Kate started as an outdoor educator, connecting people with nature. 

The model of 1% for the Planet is that businesses, corporations, or individuals can become members by committing 1% of what they can offer–profits, volunteer time, or income. They believe that this is a commitment that anyone can, and should make, so it’s as accessible as possible. They then certify that each of these entities give to vetted environmental non-profits. But more than that, they build a community around supporting the environment through virtual and in-person events and summits. The community itself varies globally and includes individuals, start-ups, millionaires, and companies with billions of dollars in revenue, totaling more than 5,500 members. 

The result? A certified $50 million in giving. With a truly democratic model like this, everyone who participates is a member at the same level–everyone contributes 1%, no matter the size. Given the diversity in community members, there will always be variability in where they stand with their environmentally positive journey. Perfection isn’t possible–it’s about the growth that happens.

1% is expanding their scope of environmental philanthropy, delving into sustainable foods, regenerative agriculture, school gardens, and other plant-based diet non-profits. There’s strong interest in building practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions during food production.

Greenwashing isn’t a problem for 1%, as its structure demands transparency and accountability through a clear certification process. There is real value there, in that no matter what’s happening in the economy, you’re still committed to the health of the planet. 

Individuals are a new, and important part of the 1% community. Their contribution can be flexible, either through volunteer time, giving circles, or annual donations. In the end, individuals will be given resources and access to a large community of people committed to change.

Things you’ll learn:

The model of 1% for the Planet is that businesses, corporations, or individuals can become members by committing 1% of what they can offer–profits, volunteer time, or income.

No matter the size of the organization, even one person, a commitment to the planet through giving adds up. 

There will always be variability in where they stand with your environmentally positive journey. Perfection isn’t possible–it’s about the growth that happens.

Links and Socials

https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katewilliams87

@1percentftp 

Our guest on today’s episode of the Greenhero Podcast with Rikard Björkdahl, we’re chatting with Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza. Joe and his father Mike run One Planet Pizza, a plant-based frozen pizza company in the UK. They’re on a mission to get everyone eating epic-tasting plant-based pizzas and save the planet one slice at a time. 

Joe’s plant-based journey started with his father, who was far ahead of the curve, transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle in the mid-80s to help him better train for sports. When Joe and his siblings were born, they were raised liberally, exposing them to a plant-based lifestyle from a very early age. In addition, Joe’s mother was raised traditionally on an animal farm, where Joe made the decision to not be responsible for the animals’ deaths. An accidental benefit to growing up vegetarian, despite the challenges it presented through school lunches, restaurants, and generally not having as many options, was that it allowed their at-home meals to be more intentional, creative, and conscious of what they consumed. This is to say, that if Joe’s mom could make it work in the 90s, moms today certainly can. 

 Fast forward to 2014, and Joe decided to go completely vegan. Two years in, veganism exploded. New brands, tech, and perspectives began to pop up more often than ever before. There was a serious market opportunity and a lot of spaces to fill. Included in what was missing, was a vegan pizza that was tasty, widely available, affordable, and didn't compromise on taste or nutrition. So One Planet Pizza was born. 

The development process was simple, as much of a pizza is vegan already. It was just about taking already tasty products and veganizing them. They took the top-selling frozen pizzas in the UK, stripped them down to as few ingredients as possible, and found the best options. The cheese was essential, as it’s a definitive part of a pizza. They tested hundreds of products before sourcing from the UK that was as close to authentic cheese as possible. 

Getting into stores was a journey in itself, starting from a garage and moving to a local restaurant, Planet One Pizza scaled quickly into more than a hobby. By the time they were ready to explode, they were the only crowdfunded vegan company in Europe, which ignited more growth. 

Getting into retail was tough, as they were operating everything themselves without a marketing manager of any kind and a limited budget. Starting in vegan health shops, they saw the product begin talking for itself, and a community was built around the pizza on social media. Now that the groundwork is done, they’re launching in major stores.

Their brand has evolved almost every year, as has their customer base. They’re keeping up with their messaging and position. At first, it was just a healthier option for pizza lovers. Now as they enter the mainstream, their branding is about being open, inclusive, and aimed at people looking to become more plant-based in their diets either for their health or the climate.  

Things you’ll learn

• Pizza is already mostly vegan and serves as a great entryway for flexitarians and those looking to increase their plant-based diets.
• Building a vegan brand early on can be difficult, but with community, growth can happen exponentially.
• Vegan foods can be a healthier option for your favorite foods as well. It’s all about terminology. 

LINKS

@oneplanetpizza

https://www.oneplanetpizza.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemakesveganpizzas

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hill-5b617916/

Thanks for joining us on today’s episode of the Greenhero Podcast! This week, we’re with Juliet Gellatley, a British author of several reports, guides, and books on veganism, an animal rights activist, and founder and director of Viva! She’s the former director of the Vegetarian Society and winner of the Linda McCarthy award for animal welfare and the P.E.A award.

Juliet’s journey to a vegan lifestyle started at a young age. Even then, her mother would describe her as someone rooting for the underdog. She first demonstrated her activism by petitioning against snaring in the UK. From there, she was impassioned by leaflets and flyers on animal cruelty and factory farming, eventually leading her to become vegan. Growing up, this was isolating, but her drive pushed her through. She witnessed first-hand the horrors of industrial animal farming during that time, further hammering home her passion for helping animals. Once she made the decision to go vegetarian and eventually vegan, there was no going back, even though the options were slim and the support virtually non-existent. 

From there, Juliet went to university and studied a combination of psychology and zoology so she could pick the parts of each degree that served her best in understanding the holistic view of an animal's life. When she graduated, she felt that a job in the field studying animals was too slow and wouldn’t have the impact she was looking for. So, she transitioned in media as an editor of a magazine and became the first Youth Education Officer for the Vegetarian Society. This was faced with media backlash, but she knew her heart was in the right place. Viva! came to being after Juliet became the Director of Campaigns, but felt the Vegetarian Society was more of a food body and less of an actionable, campaigning organization. 

A combination of a generous donation, support from her then-husband producing content for the organization, and a team of passionate people got Viva! off the ground. At that moment, not only was it about educating the cruelty inflicted upon animals, but the fact that veganism was the solution. At the time, no one was making that claim, which resulted in some hesitancy from folks outside the organization. 

From Juliet’s perspective, the words ‘plant-based’ were certainly more accessible for a time, but in recent years and in working with big brands like Tesco, the word ‘vegan’ has exploded. It went from a dirty word, she says, to a lifestyle to aspire to. Her take? Simple. Whatever works. Sell vegan food so people stop eating animals. 

Juliet is seeing an emerging trend in reasons why people are going vegan. Whereas animal wellbeing has always been at the top, environmental reasons have recently surpassed health as the second most popular reasoning to go plant-based. The proof is in the media. Brands are making it easier to go vegan under a campaign of helping the environment and people are seeing it. 

Juliet’s view on accepting people who are still eating meat is based on empathy. She calls it a road of compassion–a journey everyone goes on that is driven by the desire to improve. No one is perfect and gatekeeping a vegan lifestyle is only going to turn people away. The path is different for everyone. Everything should revolve around kindness; to animals, to yourself, others, and the earth. 

Things you’ll learn

The vegan movement has only just recently exploded, and the market is ready to support the lifestyle

Environmental reasons for going vegan are on the rise, but animal wellbeing is at the top

Becoming vegan is a road of compassion. No one is perfect, and the journey will look different for everyone

Links and Socials

Viva.org.uk

@vivacharity on Instagram

@vivacampaigns on Twitter

Today on the Greenhero podcast, Rikard is with Amy Quichiz, speaker, activist, and founder of Veggie Mijas, a community for vegans and people interested in plant-based eating that have marginalized identities and or experience with food insecurity and food apartheid, working primarily with vegans of color and people from the LGBT community.

Amy grew up in Queens where access to healthy food options was virtually non-existent. In reality, the only choices were fast-food or other non-nutritious foods. When she went to college and started to learn about Women and Gender studies, she began to open her eyes to veganism, its accessibility to people of color, and the shared experience of people like herself. 

When Amy tried to enter vegan spaces, she found that they were extremely white, both in race and in consciousness, which is and was very problematic. Many people who grew up in a privileged environment have had constant access to vegan-friendly food options and have developed a gatekeeping, near policing mentality towards veganism, spending more time in judgment than not. In addition, they weren’t able to see how versions of protests, such as locking themselves in cages, were triggering to many communities. The intersectionalities of what is considered ethical consumption, what is a ‘choice,’ and the foods available around communities that are predominantly people of color aren’t acknowledged in these spaces. 

Accessibility missing from major panels and other platforms is now a major driver of Vegie Mijas’ mission. Originally started as a page to collect affordable, easy vegan recipes, Veggie Mijas grew into a way to share recipes from all over the world, developing a family of vegans, who Amy noticed were from marginalized communities. After a massively successful pot-luck attended by more than 35 Veggie Mijas group members, people across the country did the same, opening chapters in Oakland, Chicago, LA, and more. 

There are a variety of reasons people join the Veggie Mijas collective, especially when members come from such a wide span of experiences. Yes, food accessibility is a big part of everyone’s mindset, but environmental reasons, as well as providing a judgment-free space to transition to veganism make Veggie Mijas home for so many people. It’s about being comfortable, understanding cultural and ancestral foods, and honoring them. 

Giving people language is important in veganism, Amy says. It’s about educating people on the foods they already eat and giving people ownership of what they’re eating. 

Things you’ll learn

Vegan food options are not accessible to all communities in the same way. Marginalized communities often have little to no access to healthy food options. 

Vegan spaces can be dominated by a judgemental mentality and can become problematic in their ignorance of others’ lived experiences. 

It’s important to provide people with language to describe what they may already be doing. Many cultural foods are already plant-based. 

Links and Social

@veggiemijas

https://www.veggiemijas.com/

On the Greenhero Podcast today, Rikard is joined by Simon Hill, founder and host of the massively popular podcast and blog, The Proof. There, he deciphers scientific studies to figure out how you can fuel your body to promote longevity while simultaneously achieving your fitness goals. He’s also an author, nutritionist, and physiotherapist, all while running a plant-based restaurant in Bondi Beach, Australia. 

Simon transitioned to a fully plant-based diet over the course of 9 months, a huge shift from his previous eating habits. The impetus for this change was his brother bringing him new information, his own experience in reviewing and writing scientific papers, and a frightening moment when his father suffered a heart attack at just 41 years old. These factors compelled him to research a plant-based diet and it became clear that there were some changes he could make to his diet that would significantly reduce his risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Over years of accumulating more through his graduate degree in nutrition science, he was inspired to develop a hub and resource for his community to tap into to feel more empowered in transitioning to a plant-based diet. Any shift away from the ‘norm’ can be daunting, so much of what Simon does is offer confidence through science. 

Simon feels that most people know that they should include more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains into their diets. It’s about being better at doing what we already know. The implementation of all the information out there is the real hurdle. 

His tactics when working with people transitioning to a plant-based diet starts with breaking down a large goal into a small one.  In doing so, you’ll naturally push other things out of your diet, because it’s not just about what you add, it’s about what you replace as well. It’s important to understand the lesser density of calories in plant-based foods. While this is beneficial to some, if you’re not looking to lose weight, keep an eye on the caloric intake. Finally, treat plant-based foods the same way you would animal-based proteins. You wouldn’t cook a chicken plain and expect it to taste like anything. Just like any food, adding spices, herbs, or marinades will make a world of difference. Variety is the spice of life.

There is evidence that for some individuals who have a severely disrupted microbiome, meaning the bacteria in their gut is out of balance, a sharp increase in fiber can cause inflammation and bloating. For these folks, as well as others who cannot eat fiber, there are alternatives to diversity your microbiome through fermented foods and polyphenols (antioxidants found in blueberries). For some, it may just be a slower introduction to fiber. It’s about the gradual return to health, not a band-aid. 

Over the last five years, Simon has seen real growth in the plant-based industry in Australia and New Zealand. The consumer acceptance is there, he says, but there is still a long way to go. With the help of a new government, there can be a bigger focus on the environment. As we’ve now converted much of the planet into a farm, reducing our land usage by switching to a plant-based diet and relying less on animal agriculture, we can re-wild the land that plays such an important role in the regulation of the climate. 

Things you’ll learn

Most people know that they should include more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains into their diets. The implementation is the real hurdle. 

Start small. Focusing on one meal a day is a good place to start transitioning into a plant-based diet.

Finding simple swaps, like plant-based milk over cow’s milk, is an easy way to start making a change.

Links and Socials

@SimonHill

@theproof

https://theproof.com/

Joining Rikard today on the Greenhero Podcast is CEO of cell-based food company, TurtleTree, Kara Leong. She’s here to break down the complex topic of cell-based food, something not plant-based, but not animal-based either. Lab grown food will certainly be part of our future, but how can we get comfortable eating it? With her extensive scientific background, Kara will try to make these complex topics simple.

Cell-based food, or cellular agriculture, is another way of producing food outside the traditional methods of raising crops or keeping land and raising livestock. Cell-based food is taking a sample of cells from an animal, whether that's fish, chicken, pig, or cow, and growing them in a temperature bioreactor. Once a large amount of cells has grown, they can be harvested and turned into a food product without the animal’s involvement. 

At the crux of cell-based food is understanding the cell-line and making sure the animal the food is being developed from lives a long, happy, and healthy life. It can take a decade to characterize the line and understand how they work, what they do, and what they're capable of. This isn’t a new science, as CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cells have been well studied and haven’t been near an animal for quite some time. 

We’re at the point now where the science is there, but to commodify and sell a food product is an entirely different set of challenges. It still has to be commercialized and to appeal to people and still needs to taste great. 

While the ultimate goal is to have a completely cell-based structured product, the more feasible path is a hybrid product of cell-based and plant-based products. Filamentous fungus (think mushrooms) are a good candidate for a hybrid product, as they’re easy and fast growing and already possess an umami profile. By including just 10% cell-based food to the product, you can really replicate the meat-eating experience. 

To get to that goal, it’ll take development of equipment, lowering cost, and other aspects like FDA approval. “Flat” products like bacon are the next possible products, but eventually the goal will be products with differentiated structures like bone and fat. 

The dairy space is also one that is being explored by Kara and her team. As it stands, companies can produce casein and whey, two primary proteins found in milk. However, lactation biology is a very complex science, as milk is vast amounts of molecules interacting with each other. 

At TurtleTree, they’re working to produce high-value bioactive dairy protein that's found in both human milk and bovine milk–bovine lactoferrin. It’s found in early breast milk, providing dense nutrients and immunity to nursing infants. But, in typical milk, it’s .1% of the product, meaning you’ll have to drink a massive amount of milk to get the protein. It’s VERY difficult and expensive to extract the protein and typically used in premium formula, but only for a small percentage of those brands. TurtleTree is aiming to make this high-value protein available and feasible to use in all infant formula. 

Things you’ll learn

Cell-based food, or cellular agriculture, is another way of producing food outside the traditional methods of raising crops or keeping land and raising livestock.

While the ultimate goal is to have a completely cell-based structured product, the more feasible path is a hybrid product of cell-based and plant-based products.

TurtleTree is working to produce high-value bioactive dairy protein that's found in both human milk and bovine milk with the ultimate goal of making the protein more widely available in infant formulas.

LINKS

https://turtletree.com/

@TurtleTree 

Kara Leong on LinkedIn

Today on the Greenhero Podcast, Rikard is talking with T.K. Pillian, Founder and Chairman of the plant-based restaurant chain, Veggie Grill. T.K. is on a mission to help people eat more plant-based food by making it more accessible and delicious. Veggie Grill has grown to more than 34 locations and expanded into Stand-Up Burgers and Mas Veggies Vegan Taqueria.

T.K. was not a restaurateur by trade. In fact, he got his degree in engineering from MIT and picked up an MBA along the way. After growing and exiting a company he started in the tech space, he was ready to consider what the rest of his professional career would look like. Driven by his passion for health and wellness and to combat our dependency on pharmaceuticals, obesity, and heart disease, T.K. wanted to help make a difference. Having experienced personal health benefits after going completely vegan, he asked the question “how can we get people to eat better? And how can we make it convenient, delicious and healthy?” He found that with the right products, the right techniques, and the right branding, vegan and plant-based foods could do what Starbucks did for coffee, what Whole Foods did for organic food–bring it to the mainstream. 

To do just that and to maximize impact, Veggie Grill was designed to be a chain from the onset as opposed to being chef-based. From there, it was developing the right strategy, utilizing the plethora of newest and best products that were then becoming more and more available, and scaling. 

In today’s media, T.K. feels it’s a lot less about educating the population about plant-based food, and more about breaking habits, making healthy food available, and helping people start and progress on their plant-based journey. The proof is in Veggie Grill’s customers, who vary from those who are trying their first vegan meal, people who are looking for a healthier option, to people who have been vegan most of their lives. 

As far as branding goes, Veggie Grill’s concept started with the experience. They wanted to take a top-down view of what it was like to eat at the restaurant before they moved on to anything else. The goal was for the experience to be fun, friendly, and approachable, as well as clean, crisp and contemporary. This was to help encourage people who may be skeptical of a vegan restaurant, or those who have other perceptions of what it might be like, try out a healthier food choice. During the pandemic, Veggie Grill pivoted to expand into two smaller, more flexible brands, focused on burgers and tacos, respectively. 

T.K. primarily sees the plant-based food boom in larger metropolitan areas with a higher density of college-educated people, whose reasons for eating plant-based varies from animal protection, environmental impact, and health. T.K. sees the future of plant-based eating as an opportunity to include in today’s market, not to compete with meat products. As an investor, he can see the next generation working on the form factor of these plant-based foods, which gives him hope for the industry.  

Things you’ll learn

The key to maximizing the impact of plant-based foods is making them accessible. 

Introducing plant-based foods starts with the experience of eating at a plant-based restaurant. 

The next step in the plant-based food industry is the form factor.

Links

https://veggiegrill.com/

Today on the Greenhero Podcast, Rikard is chatting with Michelle Adelman, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Foods. She has 30 years of business experience as a former Global Managing Director for Accenture, CEO of a US-based home health services company, and Group Strategy Executive for the pan-African Econet Group.  In 2017, Michelle was named by CEO Global as Africa’s Most Influential Woman – Business & Professional Services and in 2019, Michelle was named to the Forbes Africa “20 New Wealth Creators” list.

While working at Accenture, Michelle visited Africa, where she spoke with local members of the community she was visiting. There, she began to visit orphanages and schools and saw the impact people could have on the children’s lives. The work she did through The Impact Fund and her business experience brought jobs to women and children in southern Africa. 

The work she does now surrounds agriculture and food systems, spawned from the idea of breaking into new areas of income for the area. In Botswana, a mostly desert country, she disrupted the food chain and brought hydroponics to the consumers. It’s a local-to-local business model where they grow locally for local consumption. Michelle’s work around plant-based products is centered on the productivity of agricultural land and its beneficiaries.

In Africa, it’s not so much about overconsumption of meat and dairy products, it’s about getting quality, affordable protein to people. Plant-based products can change the food system in Africa and allows small farmers to increase their economic impact. By leapfrogging industrialized production, they are able to build a sustainable system. 

The first step to changing the food system is changing people’s thinking about plant-based food. If we're going to convince people that as they start consuming more meat and dairy, and more protein, they should be doing it from plant-based sources, rather than animal-based sources, we have to interrupt their thinking about what this kind of food is all about. The second step is scalability–looking at local brands and incubating them, as well as introducing international, recognizable brands to the market. 

Meat is indeed a central part of African culture. And it’s important, Michelle reminds us, to not undo that culture. Nobody is passing judgment when they eat meat, especially at celebrations. But when they aren’t, what are the plant-based alternatives? 

Growth of this market is certainly centered in the US, Michelle says, but it’s important that we understand it’s still a tiny fraction of the market, and even in rural US towns, plant-based foods aren’t an option. In Africa, they are promoting primarily the health benefits of plant-based eating, as the climate impact and changes to combat it is still being adopted.

Things you’ll learn

There have been major strides in changing the food system in Africa through protein found in plant-based foods.

It’s important to consider the grassroots growth of local plant-based businesses and incubate them as they enter the market.

Introducing recognizable brands to the market helps scale the overall impact of plant-based foods. 

LINKS

https://www.infinitefoods.com/

On today’s episode of the Greenhero Podcast, Rikard is chatting with Chloe Sweden, founder and CEO of PLANTS + PERKS, the world's first benefit app that empowers employees to live healthier and more sustainable lives. Chloe and her team are taking plant-based eating to the workplace to inform, incentivize, and inspire people to be part of the Green Revolution.

PLANTS + PERKS is about supporting employees in reducing their meat and dairy consumption for personal and planetary health. With a background as Head of Talent and Culture at multiple corporations, Chloe has extensive experience in motivating and encouraging staff. And right now, sustainability is at the forefront of many companies’ minds. They’re asking “How can we keep our employees healthy?” and “How do we engage our employees?” Both are valuable and important questions regardless of industry. 

Companies’ reasons for utilizing PLANTS + PERKS vary. Some are looking to attract younger generations of talent, and being a green, sustainable company is an attractive trait to have when potential employees are in search of an ethical place to work. Some aren’t able to increase wages, so they’re looking to cut the cost of living for their employees. And for others, it’s to genuinely improve the health and lives of those who work for them. 

By giving discounts on body and planet-friendly products, employee engagement in benefits will see a rise, especially when compared to a typical pension scheme. Companies typically do a bad job of bringing their employees along with them on their sustainability journey. Setting large goals with no buy-in can lead to frustrating working conditions. With PLANTS + PERKS, employees are informed and brought along through healthy options as a benefit. 

Where Chloe is in the UK, she doesn’t see the traditional delivery of information sticking. The products are available, and the cost of living has gone up, causing people to opt for cheaper meats and dairy products. People have the knowledge in the back of their minds, but it isn’t ingrained in their culture. It’s about making it desirable. Everyone comes at sustainability and plant-based eating from a different angle–it’s about incentivizing change regardless of their circumstance. A personalized path for each person can lead to a real impact. 

Freebies and samples can help people get over an ideological hurdle. For some people, a small change can feel much bigger. PLANTS + PERKS helps reduce barriers and free the route towards plant-based eating. 

Measuring the impact PLANTS + PERKS can make on a company’s sustainability is important to reach overall goals. But right now, it’s important to do something, because any shift makes a difference. User feedback has been brilliant, both on the information end and the product end. Now, it’s time to double down on what people like most. 

Things You’ll Learn

PLANTS + PERKS is about supporting employees in reducing their meat and dairy consumption for personal and planetary health.

Incentivizing a healthy and sustainable lifestyle can help employees feel on board with overall company goals. 

Freebies and samples can help people get over an ideological hurdle. For some people, a small change can feel much bigger. PLANTS + PERKS helps reduce barriers and free the route towards plant-based eating. 

LINKS

https://www.plantsandperks.com/

Thanks for joining us on the Greenhero Podcast with your host, Rikard Bjorkdahl! On the show today is Nikita Michelsen, founder and CEO of cell-based company Pearlita Foods.  Driven by her passion for human health and reversing climate change, Nikita decided to launch her company to build the future of seafood. Nikita and her team are on a mission to grow the universally loved oyster in a lab environment. In this way, we can keep more oysters in the ocean as nature's own filtration system to clean water.

Pearlita Foods was founded through a passion for maintaining important cultural traditions, flavors, and experiences without harm to the environment. Delicacies are becoming harder to get and more expensive, and Nikita feels that cell-based alternatives are the most authentic replacement. By using cell-based technology, Pearlita Foods can build the same flavor profile with the same nutritional value. With a background in marketing at SynBioBeta, a leading synthetic biology company, Nikita intersected her love for food with science for the better of the future of food. 

Cell-based technology is complicated, but with a small biopsy for the type of tissue you’re trying to grow, you can attach it to a ‘scaffolding’ to develop into a product you can consume the same way you would in any other capacity. By targeting desired flavors and textures, you can build a flavor profile that matches the original. No shell, but the product will be packaged in a biodegradable, bright covering. 

Oysters are ecosystem warriors to help filter water and carbon sequestration. Therefore, harvesting them after a year or two of development cuts short the impact their 20-year lifespan could have. By eventually immortalizing the line of tissue, this problem can be overcome. 

Pearlita Foods has seen success partnering with restaurants, as it helps educate consumers and build interest and intrigue around the product. At the same time, it provides valuable feedback from consumers and chefs to build from. Eventually, they will shift to an online format, shipped directly. 

As far as scaling, at present, it’s about bringing down costs to get the product to the public. Beyond that, accelerating the production process will help the growth of the company. 

Consumer perception is top priority in getting an acceptance into the market. It’s not Frankenstein food–food grown in a lab is much cleaner and safer, it's sterile from start to finish, you will know immediately if there's contamination, and you won't get any contaminated food from a lab.

Comparatively, lab-grown oysters are absolutely less impactful on the ecosystem, but harm to the oceans is a complex problem. Farming can cause harm to the space around it, so bad eliminating that need, the impact is great.

Things you’ll learn

By using cell-based technology, Pearlita Foods can build the same flavor profile of oysters with the same nutritional value.

Oysters are ecosystem warriors to help filter water and carbon sequestration. Therefore, harvesting them after a year or two of development cuts short the impact their 20-year lifespan could have. By eventually immortalizing the line of tissue, this problem can be overcome. 

Food grown in a lab is much cleaner and safer, it's sterile from start to finish, you will know immediately if there's contamination, and you won't get any contaminated food from a lab.

LINKS AND SOCIAL

https://www.pearlitafoods.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-michelsen-a575b511a/

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Greenhero Podcast! Today’s guest is Nil Zacharias, a leading expert on food systems change, with a focus on the growing plant-based foods industry. He is the Founder and CEO of Plantega, a startup on a mission to make plant-based food more accessible and equitable. He also hosts the Eat For The Planet Podcast and co-authored the Eat For The Planet books. 

Nil’s journey to plant-based eating started when he traveled from his home in India to New York City for law school. While he was there, he discovered a love for food but wasn’t clear on the source of all the meat he was consuming. After doing his research and understanding that industrial animal agriculture and food production was a major global issue, he opted out of a meat-based diet entirely. He shifted career paths and began sharing information through his social media, books he authored, and founding Plantega, a plant-based bodega line. 

His transition to veganism was a process of working out beef and red meat, then to pescetarianism, then to being vegan. While his choice was sparked by environmental reasons, understanding the interconnectivity of issues stemming from the industry began a primary engine for change. It was an easy decision for him, so finding new foods to enjoy and new ways to enjoy the same foods was an exciting process. It starts from a personal need.

Plantega came about as Nil began to realize that while informing consumers about food production industries, keeping the media up to speed, and other education was important, it’s vital that we understand that choice is a privilege not available to everyone. Launching Plantega was a way to bring these goods to the consumer in an accessible, affordable way. It’s about meeting demand even on the small business level. Bodegas are in-and-out style shopping, and it was about creating a menu that was familiar given the setting of the Bodega, starting with basic sandwiches and growing to a 14-item menu. With integration on GrubHub, their items are much more accessible to a broader audience. 

The three stakeholders in Plantega’s growth were the brands providing vegan products, the bodegas they’d work with, and the consumers. Brands were surprisingly open to the pitch. Bodegas were on board once they saw the options they’d be able to provide to meet customer demands and broaden their menu. Customers were primarily non-vegan, but were happy to finally have access to the products they’ve heard about and at a reasonable price. 

A benefit of bodegas is the inbuilt customer base that long-standing stores have. That, when coupled with the marketing and branding of what Plantega offers, brings in new and returning customers. These stop and shop locations are perfect for a quick bite, providing more people with fast, vegan options without going to a sit-down restaurant. 

Having governmental leadership in support of plant-based eating has certainly helped growth. But it isn’t about changing bodegas, it’s about empowering them. They serve their communities, and Nil values that and wants to help them make money. 

Things You’ll Learn

Transition to a plant-based lifestyle starts with a personal drive and personal need.

Launching Plantega was a way to bring these goods to the consumer in an accessible, affordable way. It’s about meeting demand even on the small business level.

It isn’t about changing bodegas, it’s about empowering them. 

LINKS, SOCIALS, PEOPLE TO CHECK OUT

https://eatplantega.com/

https://eftp.co/

https://twitter.com/nilzach

Rachel Dreskin, CEO of the Plant Based Foods Association.

Today's guest on the Greenhero Podcast is Audrey Lawson-Sanchez, Founder and Executive Director of Balanced. After years of working as a teacher and seeing the devastating impacts of nutrition insecurity and diet-related disease in children, Audrey decided she wanted to do something about it. So she founded Balanced, a nutrition security and public health advocacy organization with a mission to improve the menus in schools, hospitals, and other community institutions to help people and communities around the world balance, build, launch, and run campaigns focused on replacing at least 20% of the known disease-causing foods on institutional menus with health-promoting plant rich alternatives. 

Most people are familiar with food security–ensuring that everyone has enough food so they don't go hungry. Nutrition security takes that concept and elevates it, making sure the food that is available is high-quality and nutritious. Typically, folks who are food insecure also have very limited access to fruits and vegetables, especially in institutional locations like schools and hospitals. 

At these locations, there is often a food director who is tasked with building a menu within guidelines set by the government. The trick is, the food becomes a profitable source of income, or at the very least, doesn’t lose the school money if kids eat the food provided. With 30 million children depending on school lunch at a free or reduced cost, it’s important that this be nutritious food, but it isn’t. At the same time, if the child doesn’t eat the food, the school loses money. 

There is often an argument that “this is what they eat at home”. While partially true, Audrey reminds us that at school, there is someone whose job is to prepare the food the students eat, and they should be exposed to new foods at school. It takes 15 exposures to acquire a taste, she says. It’s better to include them through ‘stealth health’ by not announcing huge and massive changes to the menu, as that could prevent kids from trying the food. Simply changing to a different nugget or burrito can be better accepted by offering it. There is an opportunity on the curriculum side as well. Students are constantly taught “this is what you should eat” or “these nutrients are good for you.” But those options aren’t available even in their own cafeteria. 

The structure of Balanced is a sort of nesting doll. At the center is their grassroots advocacy program, where they train individuals in their communities to launch healthy menu campaigns, providing everything they need to put pressure on institutions to look to make a change. Balanced helps these advocates build positive momentum through a real stakeholder in the community. On top of that ‘doll’ is their institutional outreach program. This is where Balanced reaches out to these institutions and communicates what they’re about, what they can provide, and how it operates. From there, it’s all about policy work on a state level to get these changes implemented. 

Things You’ll Learn

Most people are familiar with food security–ensuring that everyone has enough food so they don't go hungry. Nutrition security takes that concept and elevates it, making sure the food that is available is high-quality and nutritious. 

Typically, folks who are food insecure also have very limited access to fruits and vegetables, especially in institutional locations like schools and hospitals. 

Combating nutrient-deficient menus can be difficult, as companies will find ways to maneuver around guidelines to fit within the specifications presented, leaving students with huge holes in their diets. 

LINKS AND SOCIAL

https://www.balanced.org/

@thebalancedorg

Today’s guest on the Greenhero Podcast is Alexandr Samocha, Senior Scientist at Wildtype, a cell-based company. There, Alexandr works at the intersection of novel cell line development, molecular biology, and large-scale cultivation to build toward the future of food. His current focus is to cultivate the most sustainable salmon on Earth.

Cell-based food can be a ‘wild’ concept to wrap our heads around, but Alexandr explains it plainly as a process of taking a sample of tissue (in this case, salmon) and isolating cells, working to help those cells grow faster and cheaper with the same nutrients as a traditional salmon cell. In doing so, these cells can grow forever in tank-like cultivators, completely outside of the animal. From there, they can mix those cells with scaffolding from plant cells to produce a 3D tissue structure. A tissue sample of a juvenile salmon the size of a pinky could (and does) produce 100’s of thousands of pounds of salmon.

These cells create cell-lines, which are immortalized through the same nutrient feeds of fats, sugars, minerals, and everything else that an animal would need. They go through a process of determining the health of the cells to push the limits of each line. 

Developing the texture and structure of salmon is something Alexandr and his colleagues take pride in. Their cultivated salmon utilizes the plant-cell scaffolding as a guide in how to grow. The cells divide and multiply and mature the same way a conventional salmon would. It's the same fat content. It's the same proteins, it's the same nutritional profile, and it gives the same texture.

Building a vocabulary presents an interesting challenge for cell-based food providers like Wildtype. Understanding the public’s perception requires careful attention to how the product is marketed. “Cultivate” indicates and demonstrates that they’ve put intentional effort and attention into building and growing something for consumption. In the end, the cultivated salmon IS salmon, and can provide a product that is easier to track and is a cleaner, healthier option. 

Both farmed and commercially fished salmon are not sustainable and present a huge environmental impact. In cultivating salmon, the footprint is shrunk. In large fermenters (much like a beer tank), ranging from 50 to 1000’s of liters, cells are grown with nutrient feed, then condensed into smaller vessels where they incubate. 

Things You’ll Learn

 A tissue sample of a juvenile salmon the size of a pinky could (and does) produce 100’s of thousands of pounds of salmon.

Wildtype’s cultivated salmon utilizes the plant-cell scaffolding as a guide in how to grow. The cells divide and multiply and mature the same way a conventional salmon would.

 In the end, the cultivated salmon IS salmon, and can provide a product that is easier to track and is a cleaner, healthier option.

LINKS

Join the waitlist to try Wildtypes cultivated salmon:

https://www.wildtypefoods.com/

@WildtypeFoods

Today’s guest on the Greenhero Podcast is Dr. Zubaida Qamar. Dr Qamar has spent years researching the behavioral aspects of nutrition and social and cultural aspects of health in various communities. She is currently leading many projects aimed at improving food insecurity and literacy. 

Dr Qamar’s email signature signs off with the quote “Maslow before Bloom” which speaks to her attitude towards basic needs, specifically food insecurity. Maslow came up with a psychological theory of motivation, which basically says that people’s basic needs must be met before they can achieve higher needs. Bloom developed educational theories and practices. Since Dr Qamar conducts her food insecurity research primarily with college students, she sees how if their basic needs aren’t met, they cannot perform well.

The field of nutrition science is very much still evolving and information and messages can come across to consumers as confusing or changing. The messaging and social media content around nutrition can be misleading or sensationalized when not coming from a registered dietician who is working and studying the science. 

Dr Qamar defines food security as: access to adequate, nutritious food for an active, healthy life at all times. Globally, 1 in 10 people suffer from food insecurity currently and there are many things we can address to help lower that number. Addressing food waste, food literacy, and access to security are her main focus. 

Recently there has been a shift to “nutrition security” rather than just “food security” so the focus is shifting to the quality of the food rather than just the quantity and availability. Dr Qamar says that’s where the concept of “food literacy” comes in. Food literacy is the set of skills and knowledge to buy, plant, prepare, and eat food to provide adequate nutrition. Knowledge and behavior changes are a long process but both start with education. People are starting to understand the importance of quality in their food, the impact on their health, and the connection between nutrition and preventing disease. Now the challenge is in helping people to change behavior.

Currently, much of the US population is not getting enough fruits and vegetables and a plant-based or plant-forward diet is often less feasible for those who are already facing some sort of food insecurity. A lot of education work and resource development needs to be done to help people meet those milestones of nutrition. 

Research shows that reducing food waste is the number one way to help climate change. The average person currently creates one pound of food waste every day so finding even small ways to reduce the amount you are throwing away can be a monumental help. Focusing on whole foods, reducing waste, eating out in sustainable ways, are all ways you can make behavior changes. Also consider everyone’s needs: access, knowledge, do they have a kitchen and instructions they can understand and use, which all affect the ability to make these healthier choices.

Things You’ll Learn

What people are getting wrong in nutrition science and what to focus on

Food security vs insecurity, Food literacy, and what small steps nutrition academics and dieticians and others are doing to affect change

What types of resources are available to help with food security and literacy.

LINKS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zubaidaqamar/
https://twitter.com/zubaida_qamar

Today’s guest on the Greenhero Podcast is co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at No Evil Foods, Sadrah Schadel. She guided her company's growth from farmer's markets to a national brand fueled by her commitment to animal welfare, social good, and creating killer culinary experiences through simple ingredients. She utilizes the visibility and success of her company as a vehicle to drive transformative impact on social and systemic inequalities, leading No Evil Foods to become the world’s first Certified Plastic Negative plant-based meat brand and a Certified Fair Chance Business. Sadrah provides thought leadership as a Board Member of the Plant Based Foods Association and serves on the Advisory Committee of Inclusive Hiring Partners. She inspires others by telling the authentic story of what it takes to craft a revolution at speaking engagements and summits around the country.

Sadrah and her siblings were all raised vegetarian–something uncommon (to say the least) in the 80s. She’s followed that lifestyle now for 40 years, being vegan for the last 8 consecutive years. As far as transitioning that lifestyle into something that supported her, it came down to aligning her values with her work. Her partner and co-founder, Mike, while working in restaurants, realized that they wanted to make a bigger impact with what they were doing on their homestead by becoming as sustainable and self-sufficient as possible. What they found was that they still purchased much of their plant-based meats, which left them with little flexibility, variability, and versatility in what they ate. So, they sought to create a product that would serve them personally. Ultimately, though, they knew they loved connecting people around food and saw opportunities to help make their community healthier. 

Their goal is to preserve cultural culinary traditions and retain that meaty texture that is found in traditional products. Food is how we communicate, she says, and making sure that isn’t lost in their work is key. 

A major cause for people to turn away from plant-based eating happens when consumers get down to the nuts and bolts of the plant-based products they are eating. When they see that these products really aren’t that much healthier, they tend to revert to what they know. No Evil Foods fits into the space of consumers who are looking for a healthier product with a meat experience. The challenge there is the stigma around plant-based foods being over-processed and having massive ingredient lists. These items are an indulgence, Sadrah says, like something you’d eat out at a restaurant. No Evil Foods brings plant-based eating home. It’s about creating diversity—there are plenty of burgers and nuggets, but that isn’t an everyday meal. This leaves room for category management, differentiating different plant-based products to help consumers understand the foods better. 

Things you’ll learn

Plant-based eating is not new. There are cultures that have been eating plant-based for thousands of years.

A major cause for people to turn away from plant-based eating happens when consumers get down to the nuts and bolts of the plant-based products they are eating. When they see that these products really aren’t that much healthier, they tend to revert to what they know.

The philosophy at No Evil Foods is to create clean ingredients that are high protein and nutrient-dense, texturally rich, enjoyable, versatile, and reflect the way that people are cooking in their kitchens so that they have an opportunity to eat more healthfully to eat in a way that's more sustainable.

LINKS

https://www.noevilfoods.com/

@noevilfoods

Welcome back to the Greenhero Podcast! Today’s guest is Brian Kateman, co-founder and executive director of the Reducetarian Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing meat consumption with the aim of creating a more healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world. He’s the author of “Meat Me Halfway” and lead producer of the documentary under the same name. 

As a child, Brian always had an affinity for the natural world and the animals that inhabit the wild. As he grew into a young adult, he became somewhat of an environmentalist in his undergraduate studies. While in school, he was given his first window into factory farming and the horrors that occur in the process. So, he decided to become a vegetarian. The problem, though, would be “falling off the tofu train” when he would be coaxed into a piece of turkey at Thanksgiving and be given a hard time for “not being a vegetarian” despite taking an active role in improving what he consumed. After enough of those experiences, he discovered that what he really wanted to do was cut back. It wasn’t about being perfect. He realized that there were many people in his life that were unlikely to go full vegetarian, but in aggregate, a lot of people making a small change has a significant impact. From that mission came the term “Reducetarian” or someone who's made a commitment to cut back on the number of animal products that they consume, regardless of the degree of reduction or their motivation.

There's no monolith in terms of this movement. There are many different kinds of vegans and vegetarians with their own different philosophies. There is certainly a small percentage of vegetarians that absolutely loathe the idea of creating a movement that's built around accepting that people are flawed. However, the vast majority of vegans and vegetarians understand that it's not always reasonable to expect that most people are going to go vegan or vegetarian without fault, and it’s better to cut back than do nothing at all. 

Everyone is going to have a different entry point to Reducetarian lifestyles. Sometimes it’s climate change, for others it’s animal well-being, and even workers’ rights in factory farms come into play. There's also a major barrier with respect to how people perceive vegan food. If you can present a vegan meal to someone and it actually tastes good, that can actually lower some of the hurdles. Many people also feel the struggle of imperfection–not wanting to make a change because it isn’t perfect. Reframing the space is crucial. You can have those animal products and still have an impact by reducing their consumption of them overall. 

The average person eats over 200 pounds of meat a year. Reducing that by some small percentage–10, 15, 20 percent–is a huge win. It’s about educating people that making an effort is the point of being a Reducetarian. That education is two-fold–the general public and the decision-makers. The vast majority of people choose food based on taste, price, and convenience. It’s about educating the public to put pressure on those who can implement policy change. 

On the horizon for the Reducetarian movement is a fellowship, mentoring students who will hopefully have an impact in the space, as well as more conferences, and exploring food tech.  

Things You’ll Learn

“Reducetarian” is someone who's made a commitment to cut back on the number of animal products that they consume, regardless of the degree of reduction or their motivation

In aggregate, a lot of people making a small change and reducing the amount of meat they consume has a significant impact

The average person eats over 200 pounds of meat a year. Reducing that by some small percentage–10, 15, 20 percent–is a huge win. Having unrealistic expectations are not always the best move

Today on the Greenhero Podcast, Rikard is with the Founder and CEO of Kelewele, Rachel Laryea. Kelewele is a food service and cultural lifestyle brand reimagining plantains and is on a mission to connect with the African diaspora through food, culture, and innovation.

As a child growing up in a traditional Ghanaian home, Rachel eagerly watched her mother fry plantains in the family’s old cast iron, black pot. She quickly grew a love for the fruit for its sweet taste, often paired with savory and spicy flavors. The first plantain dish she ever had was Kelewele, a popular Ghanaian street food consisting of fried plantains marinated in spices and served with groundnuts.

Equipped with a culinary curiosity after years of assisting her mother cook Ghanaian dishes, Rachel embarked college as a broke undergraduate who could always rely on plantains for cheap eats. Additionally, in her transition to a healthier, vegetarian lifestyle, plantains became her go-to ingredient as a nutritionally rich, vegan food. It was during this time that she first began to experiment with plantains by exploring their versatility and pairing them with bold flavors from across the globe. 

Kelewele was built with a desire to see more culturally influenced and culturally framed products in an American context. At the center of it all is the importance and impact being vegan has, and the versatility, accessibility, and cultural significance plantains have. A major part of that was the education surrounding plant-based eating without losing the history and meaning behind the meals.

We’re in a dynamic time, Rachel says, where retailers and corporations are looking to uplift marginalized communities and voices. On top of that, people are looking to have a more meaningful, experienced-based food option. 

The conversation surrounding plant-based foods is present, but not at scale, Rachel points out. It also isn’t at a place that can rival cultural desires just yet. In an African context, for many, meat is a sign of privilege, success, and that you have an elevated social and economic status. It’s something to be proud of. This conversation challenges that.

Things you’ll learn

 At the center of it all is the importance and impact being vegan has, and the versatility, accessibility, and cultural significance plantains have.

 A major part of that was the education surrounding plant-based eating without losing the history and meaning behind the meals.

We’re in a dynamic time, Rachel says, where retailers and corporations are looking to uplift marginalized communities and voices. On top of that, people are looking to have a more meaningful, experienced-based food option. 

LINKS

https://www.kelewelenyc.com/

@kelewelenyc

On this episode, Rikard is talking with Liz Ross, Founder and Executive Director of Rethink Your Food Inc., a nonprofit focused on change towards a plant-based diet primarily among Caribbean people in the Caribbean region and the diaspora. She is a recipe developer who has created over 90 recipes for the Vegan Caribbean Kickstart project and has worked with catering/food service companies interested in adding plant-based options to their menu. 

Liz was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, where her family owns land and grows crops. With that background, Liz then went on to spend more time in the agriculture space when she completed the regenerative farming and food systems farmer apprenticeship program at the University of California Santa Cruz, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, on their 30-acre organic farm and intentional community, later getting her Bachelor in Science degree from James Madison University and studying permaculture at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. 

With so many significant sources of influence, including her own experience with health changes, Liz continued her trend by making an impact through Rethink Your Food Inc. She also founded conferences where she truly saw the diversity within the plant-based community. She also saw a lack of initiatives and available resources of information. From those three pillars, she found the mission of Rethink Your Food Inc., acting as a way in which people can get reference information to help promote policy change and institutional change. In addition, she founded the project Vegan Caribbean Kickstart, a tool that enables people to make better food choices and help build a movement, while celebrating Caribbean and Caribbean-Latin American plant-based food culture. It provides a space in which people can experience going to the market, picking their food in the backyard, which is common in the Caribbean, and the experience of cooking and the experience of communicating with others throughout that process.

The experience for Caribbean people living in the US and those in the Caribbean is different, but shares a lot of the same trends. As the diets are primarily higher in meat products, it comes down to ease and education. In the US, there is access to Whole Foods and various plant-based products, whereas in the Caribbean there are myths surrounding plant-based diets. However, in both places, where there is convenient food, people will go. By adapting the Vegan Caribbean program to incorporate cooking, the menu becomes adaptable to what is available to better serve both the US, who may not have traditional ingredients and people in the Caribbean, who may not know what is available to them. The response has been positive and comes from all over the world, both Caribbean natives and immigrants. 

The driving force for these individuals to sign up for the program varies across two major motives: health and animal welfare. All of Liz’s messaging surrounds the two and helps people connect their morals to the way they eat. It’s about a holistic connection to the community, the land, and those that inhabit it. 

Things You’ll Learn

The experience for Caribbean people living in the US and those living in the Caribbean is different but shares a lot of the same trends. It comes down to ease and education. 

Vegan Caribbean Kickstart provides a space in which people can experience going to the market, picking their food, and the experience of cooking.

Ethics play a major role for many–often individuals were vegan or pescetarian before they knew the words existed. It’s about a holistic connection to the community, the land, and those that inhabit it. 

LINKS

https://vegancaribbeankickstart.com/

https://rethinkyourfood.org/

Today on the Greenhero Podcast, Rickard is joined by Dr. Sunni Patel, founder of Dish Dash Deets, as well as a scientist and gut health influencer that has made it his mission to come up with amazing plant-based recipes and lifestyle plans to help fight gut issues. Dr. Sunni has been featured on Ready Steady Cook, Newsround, and BBC Radio shows. He has helped many people improve problems such as fatigue, mood, immunity, gut, and other health issues using creative evidence-based advice paired with culinary planning and plant-based cooking.

Sunni has been living with inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease since 2014, a condition that is often surrounded by taboo, insecurity, and mental and physical pain. He navigated those challenges until he had a lightbulb moment, as a healthcare professional, he had to turn toward his diet. He cut out dairy and other inflammatory foods before switching to a completely plant-based diet and hasn’t looked back since. Through his personal experience, he made the decision to retrain and utilize his Ph.D. to take a holistic, scientific approach to people’s health with their food and lifestyles. His philosophy is grounded in science and elevated by experience. He works with corporate leaders facing burnout, and people living with IBS and IBD and helps them improve their gut and overall health. 

Gut health, Dr. Sunni reminds us, isn’t just in the stomach. It starts when food enters the body to when it exits. There are certainly ultra-processed foods that impact the bacteria in our gut and create symptoms that many people deem embarrassing, further worsening the problems they’re experiencing. It isn’t just “junk food,” though. It can be overhydration or reduction in fiber. He goes on to note that it isn’t just the foods we consume, but our lifestyle influences our gut health as well. Stress management, addictive behaviors, and using addictive substances (yes, caffeine!) all make a difference in the levels of different bacteria in our gut. It impacts people of all ages and genders, but that data is reliant on who feels comfortable seeking out the help they need. Typically, Dr. Sunni works with people who have been on this journey for a while but are in a place where they are seeking a more functional expert who can help them improve their quality of life without making massive sacrifices.

So, where does a plant-based diet come into play? It’s been proven that having a fiber-rich diet can help alleviate symptoms of IBS and IBD, but beyond fiber, a plant-based diet covers a gamut of health-related areas, providing vital polyphenols, antioxidants, and flavonoids that can be of benefit to people living with chronic, non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease. 

Dr. Sunni and his partner have just launched Queer Health Foundation, which incorporates lifestyle medicine and community to a cohort of individuals who experience many health inequalities. It is meant to allow for more education for practitioners and provide access to services for those that are vulnerable free of charge within the queer community.

Things you’ll learn

It’s been proven that having a fiber-rich diet can help alleviate symptoms of IBS and IBD, but beyond fiber, a plant-based diet covers a gamut of health-related areas.

Gut health, Dr. Sunni reminds us, isn’t just in the stomach. It starts when food enters the body to when it exits.

It isn’t just the foods we consume, but our lifestyle influences our gut health as well. Stress management, addictive behaviors, and using addictive substances (yes, caffeine) all make a difference in the levels of different bacteria in our gut.

Links

https://www.dishdashdeets.com/

@drsunnipatel

Joining Rikard today on the Greenhero Podcast is David Pannell, co-founder of Vegan Business Tribe, a community for plant-based entrepreneurs that helps grassroots vegan businesses get off the ground. 

David’s vegan journey started purely through an effort to improve his diet. It actually took him close to 10 years to make a complete transition through meat and dairy reduction. But initially, he found himself gravitating towards unhealthy foods during his time working in a corporate business. But once he began eating vegetarian, he found himself following a rabbit hole of sorts. He came upon a video of male chicks being treated as a waste product in the UK, which ignited his passion for veganism. With his transitory period turning out the way it did, he feels strongly that there is no moral high ground to take over those who are pre-vegan. As he puts it, none of us were born vegan. We started out in the exact same place as everybody else. Now, he and his partner share that mentality through business practice, helping brands understand the consumer journey and the prominence of flexitarianism. The vegan sector has seen massive growth because of it. Especially where David is located in Europe–the idea of veganism is no longer new, and has started to mature.

The Vegan Business Tribe was founded in part, thanks to a spark from a UK vegan activist who pointed out that just because you’ve turned vegan doesn’t mean the impact of animal agriculture was halted and harmful practices have stopped, you’ve just opted out of it. With that in mind, David and his partner realized they could utilize their expertise in growing markets in bolstering vegan businesses. In doing so, they began to work with large brands, understanding the money wasn’t there with individual, smaller-sized companies. However, through collective effort, they could move the vegan scene forward.

A primary hurdle David sees with his clients is they build a business for themselves, not their customers. Spending thousands of dollars on branding, websites, etc. before you have a client base is just a guess. David helps these businesses get their product or service into the hands of customers as soon as possible to start building that following. The approach for growth depends on the business owner as well, with some only having high gear and others taking a less aggressive method. David uses his own business, Vegan Business Tribe, as an example. It was free for a period of time while they built an audience, then he was able to step back and calculate what he wanted to monetize. It was about community first, and as he puts it, it isn’t about the location that brings us together, it’s about ethics. With this global reach and philosophy, he was able to see growth. 

The trends David sees in the vegan marketplace aren’t exactly what you’d expect. Only 50% of his clients have anything to do with food or drink. He is seeing people with existing skills–web designers, programmers, and even lawyers, taking their skillset and applying them to a vegan cause. He’s found that everyone wants an ethical, environmentally conscious supplier and partner. In fact, larger companies can look for such branding as a way to reduce their own impact. 

Things you’ll learn

None of us were born vegan. We started out in the exact same place as everybody else. 

Moving the vegan mission forward toward a more ethical world means utilizing the skills you already have and applying them to veganism.

Much of the vegan market isn’t food and drink–there are shadow industries around vegan brands that include a plethora of careers. 

Links

https://veganbusinesstribe.com/

https://veganbusinesstribe.com/content/podcast/