ep.115: FORCES OF NATURE -ft. Eric Soubeiran

Forces of Nature is a talkshow miniseries featuring dynamic leaders from across food and environmental movements. Tune-in for a healthy dose of optimism.

– six-part miniseries –

FORCES OF NATURE

talk show series -ft. leaders from food & climate

Eric Soubeiran

Executive Director of Climate and Nature Fund

& VP Business Operation Sustainability at Unilever

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.6-part miniseries

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Eric Soubeiran · Forging a Stronger Value Chain · episode 115

.6-part miniseries

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by: Aaron Niederhelman

A PERPETUAL DANCE BETWEEN

VALUE CREATION AND A SUPPLY CHAIN

SOURCING MATTERS

With over two decades of international work experience in sustainability, general management, sourcing, and M&A, Eric Soubeiran is a leading force behind Unilever’s massive value chain. In his role as the VP Business Operation Sustainability, Eric manages the environmental impact of one of the largest CPGs companies in the world. Soubeiran is also the Executive Director of the € 1 billion Climate and Nature investment fund that Unilever launched to take decisive action, and support the collective efforts of their 400 in-house brands seeking to protect the health of the planet.

3.4 bl. people in 190 countries rely on Unilever daily

Eric focuses on building multi-stakeholder environments and uses his convening capacity to bring key stakeholders together to drive transformation and establish impact at scale. Leadership skills that he’s picked up throughout the years from mentors like Alan Jope and Emmanuel Faber. Prior to Unilever, Soubeiran was Chief Sustainability Officer and VP of Nature and water cycle at Danone, and he’s currently a non-executive director of the Carbon Trust and The Gold Standard Foundation.

Listen-in to episode #115 to hear how one of the biggest CPG / retail food companies in the world is taking to help save the planet, and meet contemporary consumer demands.

COMPLETE VIDEO TALK SHOW SERIES AVAILABLE ON:

WATCH: the live recorded video conversation w/ Eric Soubeiran on SMs ep. 115

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A BILLION EURO CLIMATE & NATURE FUND

To accelerate climate action, Unilever’s brands will collectively invest €1 billion in a dedicated Climate & Nature Fund. These resources will be allocated over the next ten years to take meaningful and decisive action, with projects (likely) to include landscape restoration, reforestation, carbon sequestration, wildlife protection and water preservation.

Soubeiran explains the potential impact of Unilever’s Climate & Nature fund in this way, “The climate & nature fund is to transform some of the key ingredients that we use in our products to a more sustainable manner. The objective is to fulfill the promise that the brands have to the world. We want to create a movement around this fund so that we’re attracting the right partners along the journey.”  

“Unilever has a very large value chain. We buy about €35 billion of stuff a year, and therefore we believe that within some of the most critical areas that we can play the role of a catalyst; where 1+1 can equal more than two.”

– Eric Soubeiran, Unilever Climate & Nature Fund ED

THE UNILEVER CLIMATE & NATURE FUND HAS COMMITTED TO:

  • Net zero emissions for all products by 2039
  • A deforestation-free supply chain by 2023
  • Empowering a new generation of farmers and smallholders to protect and regenerate their environment – ongoing
  • A new Regenerative Agriculture (REGEN) Code for all their suppliers
  • Water stewardship programs to 100 locations in water-stressed areas by 2030

SUSTAINABILITY AT SCALE

Last year, the UN published its Global Land Outlook in which it noted that 52% of agricultural land was degraded and that, if we continue business as usual, by 2050 an additional 16 million square kilometers would have a similar fate. That’s an area the size of South America. Things need to change, and leading consumer product good (CPG) companies are in a unique position to influence how we use the planet’s resources to stay within planetary boundaries. It’s done by empowering smarter purchases. Unilever recognized this opportunity to do well by doing better, and two years ago appointed Eric to helm sustainability advancements on products that touch 3.4 billion people daily.

“I see it as an (elegant) dance between value creation and a supply chain.”

– ERIC SOUBEIRAN in FORCES OF NATURE

“The value in the supply chain is moving. This is an opportunity to revisit how we’re sourcing a lot of our ingredients and materials. You know, I always mention the ingredients, and I never talk about commodities. I think that is one of the issues here. All ingredients have value; they add value to our business and a consumer’s experience. They’re not commodities. So, this dance is really all about how do you articulate the value along the supply chain and how that correlates to benefit partners and consumers,” says Soubeiran.

OUTCOMES THAT IMPROVE

THE VALUE CHAIN

& ENHANCE SOURCING PRACTICE

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RADICAL TRANSPARENCY

Soubeiran talks about pioneering transparency, “It’s about knowing where you are sourcing things from. We are investing quite a lot of time in traceability because our value chains are quite complex, and most of the world’s supply chains are very complex too. For this to work you must do it in collaboration and with suppliers. We are dialoguing with our suppliers to put in place our climate action programs.”

“Last year we piloted transparency initiatives with a group of 60 diverse suppliers. We looked at how we could connect our value chain -with- their value chains.

This is being very transparent with key stakeholders; we all have to share what you know and what you don’t know.

The program has been successful and we’re scaling it up to 300 suppliers next year – which represents 65% of our carbon footprint.”

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– Eric Soubeiran, VP OF SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

Unilever products are used by more than 3.4 billion people every day in over 190 countries. In 2022, Unilever had a total turnover €60 billion and employed 150,000 people. Unilever has more than 400 brands sold around the globe – with 14 reaching sales over €1 billion, and 81% of all brands being in the top two in their respective markets.

THE

CURRENCY OF

SUSTAINABILITY

IS TO

HAVE

IMPACT

ON

PEOPLE

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PLANET

“What I’ve noticed over the past five years is that there’s been a significant professionalization of sustainability candidates for us to hire. Previously, you had a lot of people that were doing it by strong conviction, which was brilliant, but more and more you see business experts trying to use their strengths to improve sustainability everywhere. It’s become a good mix.” – SOUBEIRAN, ep.115 #SMs

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SEEK TO INFLUENCE AND NOT CONTROL

“We learn a lot from our mistakes. If I look at the last two years, I think you never take enough time to deeply understand the connections of your value chain. The other big learning is that – I think you need to accept not to control things. More and more we’re in a networked environment. And, if you’re in a large organization you can’t use a lot of your energy trying to control things. Your energy could be better spent in trying to influence things instead.”

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– Eric Soubeiran, episode 115 guest

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Eric Soubeiran

FORCES OF NATURE

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ep. 115: FORGING A STRONGER VALUE CHAIN

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CALL TO ACTION

Eric Soubeiran tells us that it’s only just begun,“There’s a lot of things cooking in our Unilever kitchen. You will hear us on the progress that we’re making on the deforestation commitment that we’ve been taking for 2023 – it’s a very important milestone for us. We’re also working with many of our brands on activating some sustainability credentials, commitments and deliverables on many fronts with more to come in coming months.”

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t: @SoubeiranEric / @Unilever

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photo credit:  Eric Soubeiran Social Media | Unilever

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FORCES OF NATURE – series

As part of the FORCES OF NATURE series, in this episode you’ll hear from inspiring folks making good things happen to benefit the world.

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Benedikt Bösel – Pioneering Land Use
Henk Ovink – World Water Czar

series catalog >>

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ep.113: FORCES OF NATURE -ft. Benedikt Bösel

Forces of Nature is a talkshow miniseries featuring dynamic leaders from across food & environmental movements. Tune-in for a dose of optimism.

-guest: Benedikt Bösel

FORCES OF NATURE

Benedikt Bösel

Gut & Bösel Land Use Proprietor · Regenerative Pioneer

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miniseries

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Benedikt Bösel – Pioneering Land Use · whole new ball of wax · ep. 113

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by: Aaron Niederhelman

ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES IN LAND USE

Benedikt Bösel is founder and CEO of Gut & Bösel, a 3,000 hectare ecological farm and land use research center east of Berlin, Germany.  The site is quickly becoming an epicenter for the future of food & fiber production.  It’s the whole ball of wax from regenerative food production practice, forestry management, savvy land use, stewardship initiatives, animal centric integration, and even a royal bed & breakfast to welcome new guests to the movement. It’s a gem of a spot and a big win for EU Regen.

In 2016, Benedikt took over management of the land that’s been in his family for 300 years. He changed the operating system to farm and forest by improving the ecology. In just a few short years, Gut & Bösel has grown from a concept to now tabulating positive outcomes of systemic land use management trials.   Brought together in Brandenburg, this epicenter will expand everyone’s capabilities to understand and to work smarter with natural systems. 

live recorded video conversation w/ Benedikt Bösel

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Buy-in has been good. Agtech is woven into the fabric of this innovation hot-bed, and influential players from around the Brandenburg region, across Germany and throughout Europe have responded to Gut & Bösel with resounding support. In the blink of an eye, Benedikt has laid the foundation for a Stone Barns, EURO.

ACCORDING TO GUT & BÖSEL SITE: (translated)

“Between forest and research, cows and compost, agroforestry and arable farming – this is how we research and develop different forms of multifunctional land use.“

#ForcesOfNature 

“An hour east of Berlin, Thor Odinson’s overachieving German cousin Benedikt Bösel pushes the REGEN envelope on a parcel the size of 6000 soccer pitches!”

THE WHOLE NEW BALL OF WAX

GUT & BÖSEL ECOLOGICAL LAND USE EPICENTER

GUT & BÖSEL
Land Use Testing & Research Center
Alt Madlitz, Brandenburg, Germany

– Ecological Agriculture

– Agroforestry

– Forestry

– Plant Nursery & Germination

– Animal Centric Pasture Management

– Compost Farming

– Contemporary Research Institution–

– Park & Agri-Tourism Center

– AgTech Hub

– Early-Stage Company Incubator

– Jobs Creator

– Community Builder

– Movement Leader

FARMING THE ELEMENTS

The Brandenburg region has little precipitation and very sandy soils. It’s a challenging place to farm. Benedikt came to Alt Madlitz with a grand idea. Then drought came, and everything changed. This forced him to innovate years before originally planned. Benedikt doubled down on closing the nutrient cycling loop of ecology to keep healthy production from his land. He weathered that storm and continues to build resiliency.

Through holistic pasture management, composting, syntropic agroforestry and forest conversion, and even the development of new software and technology – the stellar team at Gut & Bösel are working on methods of multifunctional agriculture to build healthy and thriving ecosystems. So much more to come.

farming for our future

AWARD WINNING EFFORTS & DEFT TOUCH

Benedikt was named 2022 Farmer of the Year in Germany by the Federal Minister of Agriculture. The Gut & Bösel team was recently the subject of a six-part Disney+ miniseries titled ‘The Farm Experiment‘, which is expected to drop in 2023. The release of a book sharing more of the good, the bad and the journey to date is on the docket.

In ep. #113 we chat about the soon to begin World Cup 2022. You get some insight into Benedikt’s POV on global affairs, and where he believes change is going to come from. We also learn that despite being a German football fan at heart, it’s the NBA that gets Benedikt to kick back and have a few beers. In fact, it’s my hometown Boston Celtics may be his team. Go GREEN (C’s & The Planet). I’m pulling for team USA in Qatar, but no matter what happens I’m just excited to see the beautiful game played on its grandest stage.  Despite all the problems that brings.

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“I realized that we have to dramatically change the system, and the philosophy of our land use models.  We were already doing agriculture in an ecological standard on the farm, but it was far from building soil, and looking after soil fertilizing and ecosystem health.  That’s how we started on our journey to discover what alternative land use models are out there to turn the situation around.”

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– Benedikt Bösel, episode 113 guest

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CALL TO ARMS

Benedikt is glass-half-full kinda of guy. That’s his nature. He’s also a trained investment banking who has sniffed this out as a business growth opportunity. Interest in smarter foods and fiber has become ripe, and as the regenerative movement brews – we’ll see more of these products hit mainstream. Sure, carbon markets monopolize much of the current discussions, and there’s all kinds of greenwashing of intents happening out there. This call to action is to elevate the conversation; to focus only on regenerative natural systems of ecology to grow our foods and fiber.

twitter: @BenediktBoesel

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photo credits:  Werde Magazine || ZEIT ONLINE || tagesspiegel || Food Matters Live

FORCES OF NATURE

Benedikt Bösel

Thor Odinson’s overachieving German cousin Benedikt Bösel is pushing the envelope on a REGENERATIVE landscape just East of Berlin, Germany. On 3000 hectares of land and with hundreds of team members / supporters – they’re proving-out, and showcasing what regenerative land use can look like.

Is this what the future of estate management and succession looks like?!

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FORCES OF NATURE – series

As part of the FORCES OF NATURE series, in this episode you’ll hear from inspiring folks making good things happen to benefit the world.

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Henk Ovink – World Water Super Agent
Eric Soubeiran – Forging a Value Chain
FORCES OF NATURE

full catalog >>

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ep.111: FORCES OF NATURE -ft. Volkert Engelsman

– guest: Volkert Engelsman

Forces of Nature is a talkshow miniseries featuring dynamic leaders from across food & environmental movements. Tune-in for a dose of optimism.

FORCES OF NATURE

miniseries

Volkert Engelsman

CEO @ EOSTA

Nature & More founder

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6-part series

.6-part miniseries

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Volkert Engelsman · Marketing Mastermind · episode 111

.6-part miniseries

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by: Aaron Niederhelman

FOOD FULL OF THOUGHT

SOURCING MATTERS

Volkert Engelsman is CEO of EOSTA, the EU’s largest importer of organic and biological fruit. Volkert is nothing short of a mastermind when it comes to marketing product differentiation, and amplifying how those differences benefit each stakeholder involved. In this conversation we hear what it’s taken for Engelsman to become a leading force connecting the worlds of healthier food and thriving soils. 

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“When you commoditize products, you anonymize origin and backstory,” explains Engelsman in describing why he launched food integrity platform: Nature & More.

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The Nature & More “Sustainability Flower” is used to evaluate, manage and communicate the net positive environmental impact and social welfare achievements of organic growers and supply. It’s a sticker that validates production and sourcing claims on each piece of fruit, and a robust platform behind it all that gives it the integrity to make the storytelling stick with consumers.

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If you’re a grower, retailer or consumer like us all – listen-in to this episode to hear how we’ll get to a point of food full of thought.  

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WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN – VIDEO TALK SHOW SERIES

live recorded video conversation w/ Volkert Engelsman

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ABSOLUTELY MONEY

The UN calculates that there are $2.8 Trillion of environmental externalized costs, and $2.1 Trillion in social damage tied directly to extractive models of conventional agriculture. Engelsman says that’s about the equivalent of the total revenues of all food products from around the world. The good news, you’ll hear that the tides are finally changing. “Every contemporary report worth its salt is showing that organic food is not too expensive, but rather conventional food is just too cheap,” – explains Engelsman.

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Growers and suppliers can no longer externalize social and environmental costs that have remained unregulated or unvetted for decades. Simply, the market will no longer allow it. Good food is now being looked at as not only an investment in personal wellbeing, but also as acts of climate & social action. We hear that equitable pricing based on these values of food and its production are to become the new norm to adhere to. With more folks realizing that equitable pricing of food is a surefire way to realize gains in SDG goals – we’re also seeing top level air coverage from political and NGO leaders supporting the production of good food like never before.

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A missing component for large-scale adoption is infrastructure with a track-record for supporting and incentivizing stakeholders to partake in this decommoditization of food. As it turns out, some of the wins from the the Nature-&-More Sustainability Flower (above) ain’t such a bad thing to parlay into preserving more values in all different types of food production. Does the Sustainability Flower have the chops and street cred to work on everything, everywhere? Well, with Volkert pushing it forward – I’d put my money on it.

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DON’T HATE THE PLAYER – HATE THE GAME

In an effort to establish financial rewards for the positive externalities derived from regenerative land management, Volkert has initiated the Business Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (BARA). The objective of BARA is to work with existing initiatives, and suss-out new reward structures that incentivize more stakeholders for ecosystem health and the social benefits tied to regenerative agriculture. 

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Eighty (80) initiatives and companies from all over the world have come together to launch BARA. At October’s kick-off gathering held at EOSTA’s home office in Waddinxveen, Netherlands, cohosts Climate Farmers of Berlin and EOSTA defined seven working groups to build upon: Carbon Methodologies, Policy Engagement, Trading Positive Externalities, Sharing & Exchanging Experiences, Consumer Awareness & Retail Storytelling, Setting up Farms & Transforming Regions, and Organic Meets Regenerative. A next BARA conference is scheduled for 2023, and is designated to review initial working group findings.

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For decades, Volkert has used a unique marketing prowess to differentiate better quality foods grown in healthy soils as acts of climate & social action. The Nature-&-More platform and now BARA are intuitive POCs that are ripe to translate the positive impacts of food with the 17 SDGs.  It is palatable action in every mouthful to benefit people and the planet.  Want to know how – listen in.

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Marketing Mastermind

Guru of Differentiation

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SOIL-UTIONS

in 2015, Engelsman launched a viral initiative to engage everyday citizens, VIPs, and political leaders to “Save our Soils”. With 30 football fields of soil being lost every minute to irresponsible farming practices, this UN-backed Save-Our-Soils initiative aimed to inform consumers about the urgent need to halt the loss of irreplaceable topsoil.

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To amplify the impact Engelsman employed ambassadors like Prince Charles, Julia Roberts, King of the Netherlands, Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, activist Vandana Shiva and conservationist founder of North Face Douglas Tompkins to support efforts in preserving precious soils, and promoting cleaner food production through a fresh look at the true cost accounting of that food. Today, as the world has now awoken to “Soil Health” as a defense against climate change, biodiversity loss, malnutrition and hunger – Volkert has long-since been ahead of the times and keen to embrace the interests of early adopters. Soil Health is nothing new, but maybe our approach to embracing it can be?

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Tune in to hear what Volkert has to say about all the soil health chatter nowadays.

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BETTER FOOD FOR A BETTER LIFE

The Better Life Index aims at comparing the world’s well-being beyond traditional, material measures like GDP. It’s an interactive visualization and a new way of thinking that scorecards performance of countries, or groups of people, based on key indicators that are baked into key lifestyle choices.

The Better Life Index is a matrix of 11 social indicators, “housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance” used to assess someone’s expected well being. Taking the outcomes of these nuanced social determinants of health and then harmonizing that with 20 sub-indicators – via averaging and normalization – you get a real fungible score carding framework to assess and impact global well being. You should hear where food fits into this recipe.

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“Tomorrow’s profit will include realities of externalities, and those social and environmental costs – which is precisely what is happening right now in Europe. In fact, you see it (happening) everywhere. This new definition for profit in the future has already been gradually descending into the DNA of financial markets, taxonomies of money, and fiscal incentives of its management. The definition of profit is changing.”

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– Volkert Engelsman, episode 111 guest

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FORCES OF NATURE

Volkert Engelsman

Mastermind Marketer

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CALL TO ARMS

Volkert Engelsman has a call to action for us all in food / planetary movements…  get out there and Dream, Dance and Deliver. According to Engelsman, we need more skilled and ambitions (big) dreamers on this stuff. And friend, we learn that if you really want to make change happen – it’s on you – so, you’d better learn how to dance. Figure out how to make nice with others, how to choose partners, and how to keep dancing. This creates results. Often small wins, but then more results. It’s consistency of those small wins that gets us to tackling those big dreams.

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twitter: @Nature&More

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photo credit:  EOSTA || EW Magazine || Food Inspiration Magazine || Climate Neutral Group

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FORCES OF NATURE – series

As part of the FORCES OF NATURE series, in this episode you’ll hear from inspiring folks making good things happen to benefit the world.

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–

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Benedikt Bösel – Pioneering Land Use
Eric Soubeiran – Forging a Value Chain

series catalog >>

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ep.109: Sourcing Matters with Dan Barber

– guest: Dan Barber

In this series I speak with leaders fighting climate change, biodiversity loss, malnutrition and hunger through a focus on SYSTEMS CHANGE. Tune-in for a dose of optimism.

Dan Barber

BLUE HILL RESTAURANT & FARM

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Collective Consciousness

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CORE SYSTEMS CHANGE: the 6-part miniseries >>

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ep. 109: Dan Barber of Blue Hill

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Q: Can our hedonistic self ignite a collective good?

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BUILDING A COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS

w/ host: Aaron Niederhelman

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In a far-reaching 40 minute conversation, chef, advocate, writer and businessman Dan Barber joins host Aaron Niederhelman to discuss the future of food and production.  From alternative proteins, the environmental brass-tacks of regenerative, how seeds rule the way we use the world, the mission of a well suited regional food system and the potential to stabilize the planet by tapping into our hedonistic self – it all gets airtime.

So, tune-in and be empowered to partake in a global movement that only asks of you to feed your pleasures, vanity and soul some super-delicious, healthy and responsible real foods. That’s how we save the planet and each other!

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“What we need is a food system that is an engine for the improvement of ecological systems and the environment. Having to sacrifice the health of the environment for food production is a false choice.” – ep. 109 guest, Dan Barber

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Hear Dan’s 2-minute take on alternative meats ↑

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Smooth like Butter Margarine

The dialogue begins by evaluating the current state of alternative meats. You see, sales of alternative proteins reached $7 billion last year. The market value is predicted to hit $25 bl. by 2030. The cultured and lab-grown arena is obviously big business with a lot of capital behind it, but come on! Are these growth expectations realistic? Are new folks really buying it?! Based on what we know now, can the trend be sustained? And, should it?!

Comparing it to the adoption of the butter-alternative margarine by cutting-edge families of the 1970s, Barber says that current day consumers of animal protein alternatives have been given equal parts false hope, and false advertising. He explains, “It’s a technology that supposedly does it better than how nature does it!”

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Hedonism Spawns Greater Consciousness

tapping into the

PLEASURE

PRINCIPLE

When asked what it’ll take to create real change in food, Dan says that it’s all about deliciousness.

“The practices that produce the best environmental conditions – are the same practices that produce the most delicious, hedonistic food experiences,” explains Barber.

The more you look into food systems – the more layers, reasons and rationale for change that you’ll find. For some of you eco-warriors who are just tuning in – check this out – the environmental food movement isn’t just for vegetarians and vegans anymore. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Pastured ruminants (hoofed herbivores) are the most elegant approach on the board to balance complex energy, nutrient and carbon cycles found in food production. Hey, even anti-meat agencies & NGOs are now stating that, “it’s not the cow, it’s the how.”

Barber continues: “We will have to make sure that whatever we put in our mouth is an agricultural product that won’t degrade the environment, but instead improve it! Part of that is eating meat. If you are eating grass-fed meat from a cow that was truly raised on pasture, than you’re erasing the carbon footprint of the animal. You are eating net-positive. You’re not just doing less bad to the earth, you’re improving the environmental function of pastureland and the ecosystem.”

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Row 7 Seed – honeynut squash – photo credit: Johnny Autry

Seeds Determine How the World is Used

Conventional agriculture has long-since used breeding and genetic modifications to optimize seeds for intervention. Effectively, these are seeds that marry with treatments to address problems which arise only when managing large plots of monoculture crops. The impact and environmental degradation of this conventional seed playbook is well past an unsustainable threshold. And, the proliferation this approach has been so successful that we’ve reached a point in which how we grow food from these conventional seeds determines how the planet is being used.

Today, the molecular scalpel of modern seed science can eliminate many of the environmental & human health externalities tied to this conventional production. Consumers seem interested in the change, the industry is evolving to a biological toolkit to adapt, and the appetite of big food has been whet. Is it progress?! Well, maybe?!

Barber thinks that we need to look at it all differently. Tapping into that pleasure principle found in us all, he says that once again change will come down to deliciousness of food. As an example of how to leverage this hedonism and drive change through focus on taste over treatment or shelf-life, Dan shares the development story of the Row 7 honeynut squash. If that’s the future of organic & non-GMO – sign us up!

“Seeds have been bred for yield; bred for shelf-life; and they’ve been bred for long-distance travel – because our food travels thousands of miles. Flavor was not one of the criteria used for picking when to propagate a seed.”

Dan Barber

A Hope & Potential for Generations Next

“I’m pretty much a cynic through & through, but I tend to be an optimist when it comes to genZ & millennials. They know their stuff, and the bullshit quotient is very high,” Barber describing his lens on the future of the food & environmental movement.

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feeding the planet ✔️

employing communities ✔️

stabilizing the climate ✔️

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Regional Food Will Again Have Its Day

“I do think that in light of COVID, and in light of some of the distribution challenges faced over the past couple years, that a regional food system is going to become more and more prevalent. To me, it’s deliciousness, it’s healthcare and it’s more responsible to the environment,” says chef, activist, author and businessman Dan Barber.

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Tune-in for more with this icon of the good food movement.

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Kingfish: Dan Barber

Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and the author of The Third Plate (2014). He opened Blue Hill restaurant with family members David and Laureen Barber in May of 2000 and two years later he was named one of the country’s “Best New Chefs” by Food and Wine magazine. Since, he has been addressing food issues through op-eds in The New York Times and articles in Gourmet, Saveur, and Food and Wine. Dan has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, The New Yorker and Martha Stewart Living. 

Appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, Dan continues the work that he began as a member of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture’s board of directors: to blur the line between the dining experience and the educational, bringing the principles of good farming directly to the table. Barber has received multiple James Beard awards including Best Chef: New York City (2006) and the country’s Outstanding Chef (2009). In 2009 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

@DanBarber

@BlueHilllFarm

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Collective Consciousness

DAN BARBER

BLUE HILL & STONE BARNS

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As part of the Core Food Systems Change series, in this episode you’ll hear that when we’re empowered as eaters to become the solution – good things will happen.

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now available: tune-in to the full conversation with Dan and Aaron

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photo credit:  Melissa DiPalma || EATER || Blue Hill || Johnny Autry

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the rich & lasting benefits of:

CORE SYSTEMS CHANGE – content series

The thing is… all sorts of folks will be embracing the values gained from good food and its production. Good food is simply an investment in your own personal health and performance. It’s also a venue to take real climate action in every bite, and a daily dose of benevolence for the folks that keep us well. Good food is a boom-town innovation economy that’s ripening to become invasive throughout verticals and global marketplaces. That’ll begin as more local jobs, and with regional food security.

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for complete series catalog CLICK >>

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep. 7: Paul Polman & Chantelle Nicholson – Good Food For All

a UN Food System Summit & Sourcing Matters miniseries

Together, the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters launch their new and thought-provoking podcast series, Laying Down Tracks.

This inspiring 8-part miniseries, led by Aaron Niederhelman, will feature world experts on issues related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and much more. Focused on the real experiences of rolling out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each episode will bring forward solutions through motivating discussions.

We are laying down tracks to head into a new world where our food systems mean prosperity for people and the planet.  Listen now to Laying Down Tracks (LDTs) to learn how you, too, can help save our planet.

EPISODE SEVEN:

Good Food For All

Host: Aaron Niederhelman, Sourcing Matters podcast
Guest: Paul Polman, Co-founder & Chair at IMAGINE
Guest: Chantelle Nicholson, chef owner at Tredwells and All’s Well

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep.7:

“If you work in silos you will never get these changes implemented because the farmer can’t afford it, but if big corporations come to work together across the value chain; you create value at a different level,” says influencer, businessman and campaigner, Paul Polman (IMAGINE & Unilever). This latest episode is all about how to build a food system that’s dedicated to nutrition and health of people and the planet.

Joining in this conversation  is Chef, writer, and regenerative food system advocate, Chantelle Nicholson, who talks about  the importance of consciousness as the first step and asking questions on where do you buy your food and how many plants are you eating a week, as something we can all do to bring in more good food for all.

Listen to this conversation with Paul, Chantelle, and Aaron as they discuss how we can achieve good for the people and planet, as we continue to Lay Down Tracks to the UN Food Systems Summit.

https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/laying-down-tracks


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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep. 6: Food for all Corners

a UN Food System Summit & Sourcing Matters miniseries

Together, the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters launch their new and thought-provoking podcast series, Laying Down Tracks.

This inspiring 8-part miniseries, led by Aaron Niederhelman, will feature world experts on issues related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and much more. Focused on the real experiences of rolling out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each episode will bring forward solutions through motivating discussions.

We are laying down tracks to head into a new world where our food systems mean prosperity for people and the planet.  Listen now to Laying Down Tracks (LDTs) to learn how you, too, can help save our planet.

EPISODE SIX:

Food for All Corners

Host: Aaron Niederhelman, Sourcing Matters podcast
Co-host: Ruth Richardson, Executive Director for the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and Chair of Food Systems Champions Network
Guest: Helianti Hilman, Founder and Executive Chairperson at Javara, and a Food Systems Champion

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep.6:

Hope and true collaboration will help drive food system change and stabilize our planet. “Different people have different ways of thinking of food systems and that’s why I am such an advocate on building these systems on values and principles. This is what is going to lead us to a much more hopeful future,” says the Co-host and Executive Director for the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and Chair of Food Systems Champions Network, Ruth Richardson. This latest episode is all about diverse interests coming together to produce food for all corners of the planet. Food system transformation requires a true multi-stakeholder initiative to really make it work.

Joining in this conversation as guest is the Founder and Executive Chairperson at Javara, and a Food Systems Champion, Helianti Hilman who talks about the importance of building the whole supply chain on true collaboration, diversity, inclusion, and respectful relationships with farmers and producers to create true system change.

Listen to this conversation with Ruth, Helianti and host Aaron Niederhelman as they discuss how food systems connect us all and must be built on values to lead us all to a much more hopeful future, as we continue to Lay Down Tracks to the UN Food Systems Summit.

https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/laying-down-tracks


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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep. 5: ft. Nate Mook – CEO, World Central Kitchen – System Resilience

a UN Food System Summit & Sourcing Matters miniseries

Together, the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters launch their new and thought-provoking podcast series, Laying Down Tracks.

This inspiring 8-part miniseries, led by Aaron Niederhelman, will feature world experts on issues related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and much more. Focused on the real experiences of rolling out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each episode will bring forward solutions through motivating discussions.

We are laying down tracks to head into a new world where our food systems mean prosperity for people and the planet.  Listen now to Laying Down Tracks (LDTs) to learn how you, too, can help save our planet.

EPISODE FIVE:

System Resilience

Host: Aaron Niederhelman, Sourcing Matters podcast
Guest: Nate Mook, CEO of World Central Kitchen

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep.5:

What better way to celebrate Sustainable Gastronomy Day than to listen to the latest episode of Laying Down Tracks? This episode touches on the importance of bringing resilience into food systems transformation as one of the most vital things to enable communities to bounce back from a crises and environmental shock.

“Food too often is seen as a commodity, as an object. It is often seen as a logistical problem. But it is about sharing a fresh nourishing plate to uplift spirits and make people feel like things will get better,” says CEO for World Central Kitchen, Nate Mook, who discusses with host Aaron the importance of shifting how we respond to crisis.

Listen to this conversation on the importance of building resilience to vulnerabilities and creating long term food security, as we continue to Lay Down Tracks to the UN Food Systems Summit.

https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/laying-down-tracks


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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep. 3: ft. Joao Campari and Peter Thomson – Nature-Based Production

a UN Food System Summit & Sourcing Matters miniseries

Together, the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters launch their new and thought-provoking podcast series, Laying Down Tracks.

This inspiring 8-part miniseries, led by Aaron Niederhelman, will feature world experts on issues related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and much more. Focused on the real experiences of rolling out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each episode will bring forward solutions through motivating discussions.

We are laying down tracks to head into a new world where our food systems mean prosperity for people and the planet.  Listen now to Laying Down Tracks (LDTs) to learn how you, too, can help save our planet.

EPISODE THREE:

Nature-Based Production

Host: Aaron Niederhelman, Sourcing Matters podcast
Co-host: Joao Campari, Global Leader of the WWF’s Food Practice and Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit Action Track 3
Guest: Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy for the Ocean

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep.3:

The oceans and their coastal areas are an essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem hosting between 500,000 and 10 million species that provide a wide range of ecosystem services. “We cannot have a healthy planet without healthy oceans, and in any global discussion on biodiversity the ocean must be front-and-centre,” explains Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, who is a guest on this episode, co-hosted by Joao Campari, Global Leader of the WWF’s Food Practice and Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit Action Track 3.

Approximately 3 billion people in the world rely on wild-caught and farmed seafood as a primary source of protein, while at the same time agriculture uses up 38 percent of the global land surface. Whether on land or at sea, we are using up our precious resources and destroying others that can help us recover like biodiversity. With only nine more harvests remaining on a promise to meet the SDGs by 2030, it is important we find the right balance both for the health of our planet but also for the health of people everywhere.

Listen to this conversation on nature-based solutions and the blue economy as we continue to Lay Down Tracks to the UN Food Systems Summit.


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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep. 2: ft. Tristram Stuart – Sustainable Consumption

a UN Food System Summit & Sourcing Matters miniseries

Together, the UN Food Systems Summit and Sourcing Matters launch their new and thought-provoking podcast series, Laying Down Tracks.

This inspiring 8-part miniseries, led by Aaron Niederhelman, will feature world experts on issues related to world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and much more. Focused on the real experiences of rolling out the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, each episode will bring forward solutions through motivating discussions.

We are laying down tracks to head into a new world where our food systems mean prosperity for people and the planet.  Listen now to Laying Down Tracks (LDTs) to learn how you, too, can help save our planet.

EPISODE TWO:

Sustainable Consumption

Host: Aaron Niederhelman, Sourcing Matters podcast
Co-host: Tristram Stuart, co-founder of Feedback and founder of Toast Ale
Guest: Lana Weidgenant, Deputy Director of Zero Hour International and UN Food Systems Summit Vice-Chair for Action Track 2
Guest: Webster Makombe, law student and youth activist from Scaling Up Nutrition Movement

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‘Laying Down Tracks’ ep.2:

If food waste was a country, it’d be the third biggest global greenhouse gas emitter. “We waste at least a third of the world’s food sources. So, a third of all that environmental impact is happening for no good reason, just for food to be left to rot,” said author and activist Tristram Stuart as he joins Aaron Niederhelman as co-host for this second episode. Stuart is known for his craft beer line Toast Ale, which turns a potential food waste magically into beer. That is something we can all cheers to.

He is joined by Lana Weidgenant, Deputy Director of Zero Hour International and UN Food Systems Summit Vice-Chair for Action Track 2, and Webster Makombe, a law student and youth activist from Scaling Up Nutrition Movement. Sustainable consumption is becoming more of a priority from each generation to the next says Weidgenant, while Makombe shares how local foods are changing consumption habits in Zimbabwe.

Join us to hear all about how you can change your consumption habits – and your beer choice – to create lasting changes in our food systems.


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ep.100: Janis Searles Jones – Helming Sea Change

Ep. 100: Janis Searles Jones – CEO, Ocean Conservancy ||

 

Ocean Conservancy educates and empowers citizens to take action on behalf of the ocean. From the Arctic -to- the Gulf of Mexico -to- the halls of Congress, Ocean Conservancy brings people together to find solutions for our blue planet.  Driving forward progress built on science, policy, advocacy, and citizen engagement, for 48 years, Ocean Conservancy has fought relentlessly to protect the ocean and its wildlife we rely upon.

 

Thanks to these efforts tangible progress has been made on a range of issues including ocean plastic pollution, smart ocean planning, sustainable fisheries, ocean acidification and sea turtle protection. The ocean is the great global commons and the Ocean Conservancy keeps that sentiment front and center for key policymakers in the U.S. and abroad.  This approach allows us, mankind, to become better shepherds of the bounty of the sea and preserve the sanctity of our oceans for generations to come.

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In our 50 minute discussion we learn about the lineage and focus of the Ocean Conservancy.  I ask Janis Searles Jones, CEO of the Ocean Conservancy, about the organization’s strategic priorities and how they have evolved since she has taken the leadership role in 2017.  We learn about their diverse ocean health efforts, and about what has successfully percolated to the domain of public knowledge.  We hear what’s really working and how certain pathways to broader awareness – initiatives focused on the likes of plastic straws & sea turtles – are serving as an impetus to drive real change by empowering end users, consumers and voters.  We discuss the state of biodiversity in our oceans and the capacities for the seas to continue to keep buffering the excess amounts of heat and carbon we’re spewing into the atmosphere.  We learn what Ocean Conservancy is doing to instigate climate action in projects ranging from local clean-up initiatives, all the way up to global policy making in multi stakeholder relationships like the Paris Accord.

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We discuss seafood and the state of our global fisheries.  In our chat we learn how we may or may not be able to continue to feed over 3 billion global citizens reliant on seafood as their main caloric intake – on oceans threatened to be exhausted within a decade.  I ask about Searles Jones’ interest and enthusiasm for Regenerative Ocean Farming.  How this smart and pragmatic management practice of generative natural resources can spawn a sea change in our relationship and management of the oceans.

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BIO: Janis Searles Jones champions the work of the Ocean Conservancy’s fight against the growing threats of oil and gas development, increased maritime shipping, overfishing, contamination and climate change.  As CEO of Ocean Conservancy, Searles Jones helms the efforts of this leading conservation organization’s strategic direction to preserve the health of our oceans  – bringing her passion, logic and commitment to their work throughout global waters.  Searles Jones is a respected expert in the marine conservation field – authoring numerous pieces on the sustainable use and proper management of ocean resources. Janis was a 2017 Pew Marine Fellow, and prior to taking the leadership role at the Ocean Conservancy – she was senior regional counsel and policy advisor for Oceana, and the staff attorney for the Alaska office of Earthjustice.

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We must stop exhausting the health of oceans in our mining of biodiversity and exploitation in using them as our dumping grounds.  Representing 70% of the face of the panet, oceans constitute our best opportunity to balance a planet under threat by enveloping the ideas of systems thinking which will save our own asses through investing in the well being or others. It’s an opportunity to coexist with life on the planet by stepping-up and acting as a steward of the seas.

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Janis Searles Jones book recommendations:

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photo credit: Ocean Conservancy & Jasmine Ive