Episodes

  • What is the Future of Plant-Based Alternatives in a New Food Order?

    What is the Future of Plant-Based Alternatives in a New Food Order?
    Apr 4 2023

    Plant-based meat and dairy alternatives may have exploded onto the food scene in recent years but the hype is catching up, consumer sales have been lackluster and investors are turning away. Questions have emerged about whether plant-based alternatives are the climate solution they claim to be, or an ethical choice throughout their supply chains. Are they even taking the right approach by aiming for replicas, or do we need new protein formats altogether?

    To tackle these questions and more we hosted a very special live show at New Hope Network’s Natural Products Expo West, with a panel including Miyoko’s Creamery founder Miyoko Schinner, Rainfed Foods founder Sujala Balaji, and Danone’s VP of Marketing Plant-Based Beverages Olivia Sanchez. Our first-ever live show features some serious debate about the future of plant-based food.

    Today we cover:

    • Why the success of plant-based products has slowed down in the US
    • Is it important for those working in the plant-based food industry have a plant-based diet?
    • Is there room for flexibility in our diets? Should plant-based foods be complemented with animal products?
    • The potential unintended consequences of plant-based food
    • What should the role of big conglomerates be in the plant-based sector?
    • The rising demand for meat around the world and how emerging markets are responding
    • The role of regenerative agriculture in the plant-based trend.

    This episode marks the end of Season 1! We’ve really enjoyed ourselves and hope you have too. Let us know what you’d like to see us cover in future by leaving a comment or contacting us via newfoodorder.org.

    Show Notes

    • The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko
    • Rainfed Foods
    • Danone
    • Expo West
    • WWF Future 50 Foods report


    Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters

    Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod

    Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect


    Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series.


    And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life: 

    Production: Patrick Carter, Cofruition

    Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi

    Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera 

    Art: Lola Nankin

    Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Moving Beyond Carbon Neutrality in Food & Ag

    Moving Beyond Carbon Neutrality in Food & Ag
    Mar 21 2023

    Hardly a month has gone by in the past two years without a large food or agriculture corporate announcing a pledge to go carbon neutral by some future date. Given the food and agriculture industries contribute over a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, these commitments are certainly welcome. But as we increasingly learn about the industry’s potential to be a solution to reversing climate change through carbon sequestering farming practices, the question quickly became: is carbon neutrality enough? Shouldn’t these corporates have higher goals and be targeting carbon removal from the atmosphere?

    Furthermore, is carbon even the right focus when you consider other important measures of sustainable and ecological farming?

    To discuss this complex topic, we brought a diverse guest roster onto the podcast in another roundtable format episode, including: Ivo Degn, Climate Farmers CEO; Dani Nierenberg, president of Food Tank; Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director for the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems; Julie Kunen, Director of Sustainability for Oatly North America; and Debbie Reed, Executive Director for Ecosystem Service Market Consortium.

    We discuss:

    • Is carbon neutrality enough, or do we need to look beyond it?
    • Is it detrimental to have such a strong focus on carbon neutrality? Does the focus detract from other important areas of regeneration and supporting all ecosystem services?
    • Are carbon credits and overall certification of processes misleading and potentially damaging to the regenerative process?
    • How corporations and startups might work better in the sector
    • How are farmers and production workers affected by the carbon neutrality push?
    • How might we design these systems to ensure farmers benefit
    • How to ensure we don’t just end up “greenwishing” while searching for a solution

    Show Notes

    • Climate Farmers
    • Food Tank
    • Swette Center
    • Oatly
    • ESMC


    Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters

    Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod

    Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect


    Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series.


    And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life: 

    Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition

    Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi

    Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera 

    Art: Lola Nankin

    Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • How Might We Better Support Farmers in their Transition to Regenerative Agriculture?

    How Might We Better Support Farmers in their Transition to Regenerative Agriculture?
    Mar 14 2023

    There’s enormous potential for agriculture to help reverse climate change through its potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. But are we asking farmers too much? Already laden with debt and the pressure to produce more with less, how might we support already cash-strapped and stressed farmers in their transition to regenerative agriculture? Should it be their responsibility alone?

    In this episode, we continue our exploration of regenerative agriculture, its potential, and its challenges with Benedikt Bösel, Germany’s first regen ag Farmer of the Year and owner of Gut&Bösel; Jennifer O’Connor, Executive Director of Funders for Regenerative Agriculture; Felipe Villela, founder of reNature; and Kelsey Scott, Director of Programs at the Intertribal Agriculture Council and owner of DX Beef.

    We discuss:

    • What needs to change to support farmers throughout the transition to farming regeneratively
    • Who should bear responsibility for driving this transition? Farmers, corporates, governments?
    • What regenerative producers actually need from corporates, governments, and investors
    • The language of regeneration and how to have productive conversations with producers
    • What collaboration models and other resources exist or should exist to help them
    • Funding sources for farmers, where they can access it, and the challenges involved
    • The mindset shift needed among corporations and policymakers to help producers manage their lands regeneratively and profitably
    • Indigenous producers and the generational damage that is being done on existing farms

    Show Notes:

    • Gut&Bösel
    • Funders for Regenerative Agriculture
    • reNature
    • Intertribal Agriculture Council
    • DX Beef


    Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters

    Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod

    Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect


    Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series.


    And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life: 

    Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition

    Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi

    Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera 

    Art: Lola Nankin

    Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Defining and Scaling Regenerative Agriculture

    Defining and Scaling Regenerative Agriculture
    Mar 7 2023
    Regenerative agriculture has become a buzzword in the food world, but there is actually no formal definition of it. Broadly it means a set of practices that aim to improve land while cultivating crops and livestock, instead of depleting it like industrial practices often do. But it means so much more than that to many and is wider-ranging than its potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. In this episode, we explore philosophies of regeneration and ask our guests how they define regenerative agriculture, how we can make sure regenerative farms are actually doing what we need them to, and how do we support farmers while they make the transition? In today’s roundtable, we sit down with Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, founder of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance; Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association, Elizabeth Whitlow, executive director at the Regenerative Organic Alliance; Koen van Seijen, Toniic manager and host of the Investing in Regenerative Agriculture podcast; and Daniela Ibarra-Howell, CEO of Savory Institute. We discuss: Philosophies of regeneration and what is regenerative agriculture How regenerative ag might help address global challenges like climate change and supply chain issues related to war and covidWhat might a new regenerative agriculture system look likeWhat might we learn from indigenous agricultural practicesHow corporations can work with farmers to create a more regenerative system How might we fund the transition to regenerative agricultureDo we need regenerative agriculture certification? Show Notes Regenerative Agriculture AllianceBionutrient Food AssociationRegenerative Organic AllianceToniicInvesting in Regenerative Agriculture podcastSavory InstituteROC Program Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series. And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life:  Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera  Art: Lola Nankin Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • What is the Role of Biotech in an Ethical Food System?

    What is the Role of Biotech in an Ethical Food System?
    Feb 28 2023
    New frontiers in biotechnology and fermentation are being deployed to reduce the environmental impact of our animal-based food system. But do developments in cellular agriculture, fermentation, and biotech foods – for the creation of meat and dairy analogues – take ethics into account? In this week’s episode, we speak with four leading thinkers in the industry about how we might use biotechnology to engineer foods in a way where everyone wins. This week’s episode is the first of our Roundtable formats, featuring a diverse panel of voices, including: Isha Datar, executive director of New Harvest, Varun Deshpande, managing director of Good Food Institute India, Didier Toubia, CEO of Aleph Farms, Errol Schweizer, former VP of Grocery for Wholefoods and host of The Check Out podcast. We discuss: How to define biotech and precision fermented foodsWhat questions we should be asking about cultivated meatsHow you communicate with transparency the complexities of bio-foods to eatersThe need for open access scientific research in bio-foods developmentOperating models for these technologies and foods in the global southThe ethics of IP and corporate control of research and these technologiesWho is investing in biotech foods - from governments to investors to multinationals Show Notes: New Harvest Cellular Agriculture DefinitionGood Food Institute cultivated & precision fermentation definitionsUS bio-engineered food labeling lawNew Harvest OpenCellAg RepositoryCRISPRTALENS APAC Society for Cellular AgricultureThe Carbon Farming Solution, book by Eric ToensmeierLa Via Campesina What Questions Should We Be Asking About Cell-Based Meats? - Errol Forbes articleWhat Consumers Should Ask About Precision Fermentation - Errol Forbes article Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series. And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life:  Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera  Art: Lola Nankin Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Revitalizing Pre-Colonial Indigenous Food Systems with Chef Sean Sherman

    Revitalizing Pre-Colonial Indigenous Food Systems with Chef Sean Sherman
    Feb 21 2023

    Do we need to design a US food system without European influences? What can we learn from indigenous peoples to ensure food sovereignty and reverse our climate crisis? 

    This week, we discuss this and more with Oglala Lakota Sioux chef, entrepreneur, author, and speaker Sean Sherman. Sean is the founder of "The Sioux Chef," a catering company and food education business committed to revitalizing and reclaiming Native American cuisine. His main culinary focus has been on bringing indigenous food systems like land stewardship and wild food usage to a modern culinary context. His restaurant Owamni in Minneapolis specializes in dishes containing only ingredients present in North America prior to European colonization. In 2022, Owamni won the James Beard Foundation Award for best new restaurant." In 2017, he co-authored the cookbook The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. Through his nonprofit NATIFS, he also co-founded the Indigenous Food Lab, a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center dedicated to preserving Indigenous food education. He personally received the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award in 2019 and the James Beard Foundation Award for Best American Cookbook in 2017. 

    We discuss:

    • Colonialism's impact on indigenous cultures and foodways
    • Creating a replicable Indigenous Food Lab model, which includes entrepreneurial support, production and co-packing capacity, media, education, and marketplaces
    • Using food as a platform to empower and uplift indigenous peoples and preserve indigenous culture and wisdom 
    • How to indigenize and decolonize for profit businesses
    • Using restaurants, CPG products, marketplaces, and media as a way to educate people about indigenous culture and wisdom
    • What we can learn from indigenous peoples around the globe who have a blueprint for living sustainably
    • Why we need to rebuild community-based food systems to ensure food sovereignty and to address the challenges created by our climate crisis
    • The unique advantage tribal communities in the US have to be able to rewrite some of their laws irrespective of state law, and how to utilize this to improve the local food system

    Show Notes

    • The Sioux Chef: https://sioux-chef.com/
    • NĀTIFS: https://www.natifs.org/
    • Owamni: https://owamni.com/
    • The James Beard Foundation: https://www.jamesbeard.org/


    Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters

    Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod

    Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect

    Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series.


    And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life: 

    Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition

    Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi

    Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera 

    Art: Lola Nankin

    Project Management: Patrick Carter
    Show more Show less
    45 mins
  • Regenerative Product Design with Ethan Soloviev

    Regenerative Product Design with Ethan Soloviev
    Feb 14 2023
    Regenerative has become a buzzword, with companies big and small making commitments to launch regenerative products. But what does regenerative product design actually look like? And how do we measure the impacts of product design and ingredient choices on people and our planet?  This week, we discuss this and more with Ethan Soloviev, farmer and chief innovation officer at HowGood, a food sustainability rating company. His work with international retailers and CPG brands combines on-the-ground agricultural expertise in 34 countries with sustainability-driven market insights. Ethan has developed environmental and social impact metrics for analysis of more than 3,000 brands, including Ahold-Delhaize, Walmart and Danone. He regularly presents on Regenerative Agriculture and Regenerative Business at conferences around the world, and is the author of “Regenerative Enterprise: Optimizing for Multi-Capital Abundance” and the monthly “Regeneration Newsroom." We discuss: Cultivating a regenerative paradigmHow to provide food producers with the information they need to minimize the negative climate and labor risks of their productsWhere regeneration strategy needs to differ when thinking about large vs small producersWhich metrics companies and consumers need to be looking atThe business benefits of regenerationEthan’s optimism around ecosystem service marketplacesWhether it’s worth trying to fix modern capitalism or if we should take inspiration from more traditional local systemsWhy Ethan thinks biotech and plant-based innovations are not enough on their own and why they must be used in conjunction with a new mindset Show Notes Chipotle and Kraft Heinz use this start-up to track and prove how green they are: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/06/chipotle-and-kraft-use-start-up-howgood-to-track-how-green-they-are.htmlWhite Leaf Provisions: https://www.whiteleafprovision.com/Carol Sanford: https://carolsanford.com/One Planet Business for Biodiversity Coalition: https://op2b.org/Ecosystem Services Marketplace: https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/ecosystem-services/Regen Network: https://www.regen.network/Nori: https://nori.com/reNature: https://www.renature.co/Burlap and Barrel: https://www.burlapandbarrel.com/Yolele Foods: https://yolele.com/Perennial Agriculture: https://www.perennial.earth/ *Giveaway Details* We’ve teamed up with our partners at New Hope Network to offer ALL of our listeners an exclusive 25% off discount for an Expo West 2023 badge and ONE lucky listener will have the opportunity to win a free booth at Expo West 2024 ($8k value). To enter, do the following by February 17th: Head to New Food Order’s show page on Apple PodcastsMake sure you are subscribedLeave us a review - good or bad - but hopefully good! Scroll to the bottom of the page to do so.Screenshot the review and email it to Meg at meg@savageimpacts.com - if you’re interested in the 25% discount to this year’s Expo, please call it out in the email.  Lastly, head to newfoodorder.org - select newsletter - and register to receive our newsletters. In addition to New Food Order content, AgFunder and Food+Tech Connect publish the leading newsletters for the food and agtech community.Those who follow New Hope Network, Food + Tech Connect and AgFunder on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn will receive double entry. Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect Thank you to Foodshot Global & New Hope Network for sponsoring the series. And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life:  Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera  Art: Lola Nankin Project Management: Patrick Carter
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    53 mins
  • Designing Better Plant-Based and Alternative Proteins with Sonalie Figueiras

    Designing Better Plant-Based and Alternative Proteins with Sonalie Figueiras
    Feb 7 2023
    How might we design plant-based, cultivated meat, and precision fermented alternative proteins in the most people and planet friendly ways? In our second design episode, we speak with Sonalie Figueiras, a Hong Kong-based social entrepreneur and founder and the Editor in Chief of Green Queen, a sustainability and impact media platform that educates millions of readers on the connection between health, sustainability and the environment and showcases future solutions from Asia and across the globe. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green, which helps consumer brands quit plastic packaging thanks to proprietary plastic reduction software. And she’s an advisor to multiple mission-driven startups and NGOs, and a venture partner to several VC funds.   In this episode, we discuss: The complexity of designing people and planet friendly productsSonalie’s 5 product design principles The good and the bad of plant-based productsSonalie’s take on slowing plant-based salesWhy plant-based companies need to focus on the human ethics of their supply chain How biotech companies might think about designing people and planet friendly productsWhy governments need to invest in cultivated meat and precision fermentation technology Show Notes Green Queen: https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/Source Green: www.sourcegreen.coDesign Episode with Julia CollinsNatural Fiber Welding: https://www.naturalfiberwelding.com/Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Circular Economy & Big Food Redesign: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/food/overviewUNLIMEAT: https://unlimeat.co/What Questions Should We Be Asking About Cell-Based Meats? https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2021/05/06/what-questions-should-we-be-asking-about-cell-based-meats/What Consumers Should Ask About Precision Fermentation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2022/03/02/what-should-consumers-be-asking-about-precision-fermentation/Asia Pacific Cultivated Protein Alliance: https://www.apac-sca.org/ *Giveaway Details* We’ve teamed up with our partners at New Hope Network to offer ALL of our listeners an exclusive 25% off discount for an Expo West 2023 badge and ONE lucky listener will have the opportunity to win a free booth at Expo West 2024 ($8k value). To enter, do the following by February 17th: Head to New Food Order’s show page on Apple PodcastsMake sure you are subscribedLeave us a review - good or bad - but hopefully good! Scroll to the bottom of the page to do so.Screenshot the review and email it to Meg at meg@savageimpacts.com - if you’re interested in the 25% discount to this year’s Expo, please call it out in the email.  Lastly, head to newfoodorder.org - select newsletter - and register to receive our newsletters. In addition to New Food Order content, AgFunder and Food+Tech Connect publish the leading newsletters for the food and agtech community.Those who follow New Hope Network, Food + Tech Connect and AgFunder on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn will receive double entry. Subscribe to our newsletters that track all of the business, tech, and investment trends in food: https://tinyurl.com/nfonewsletters Follow us on Instagram: @newfoodorderpod Follow us on Linkedin: @agfunder & @foodtechconnect This series is sponsored by Foodshot Global & New Hope Network New Hope Network New Hope Network is a media, events and business intelligence company, covering natural products trends, industry insights and marketplace data that educate the industry about key issues, like regenerative agriculture, sustainability, responsible sourcing and more. Visit newhope.com. FoodShot Global FoodShot leverages resources from investors around the world to provide non-dilutive, equity, and post-investment capacities to innovators. Find out more at foodshot.org. Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera 
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    50 mins