031: Will the World Wake Up to Revolutionize Our Food System with John Roulac
Essential Ingredients Podcast
English - April 19, 2022 13:00 - 39 minutes - 31.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 127 ratingsNutrition Health & Fitness Business Entrepreneurship Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Dine and Design Series Part V
“There are a lot of good opportunities to make the world better. The question is, will we do it?” -John Roulac
Episode Description:
We are at a crossroads. There's a very large transition that we need to make as humans, in order to ensure the future of our planet. We must shift away from industrial agricultural methods as, without question, these methods currently fall short in many ways. They create soil degradation, water pollution, deforestation, and other global environmental issues that we are trying so hard to combat.
For thousands of years, farmers and gardeners have used plants as our most powerful tools for regenerating the landscape, expanding carbon sequestration, providing healthy food choices, and feeding the communities around us. We are living in a time where it is crucial that we make these lands functional again.
In this episode, Justine and Bridget interview John Roulac, the founder of the organic superfoods brand Nutiva and Executive Producer of Netflix Blockbuster's hit, Kiss the Ground. John has been passionate about the environment from youth on and has made it his life’s mission to revolutionize the way the world eats, and today he’s sharing how he was able to do that effectively over the years. John also shares the unspoken truths about industrial agriculture, how our everyday choices impact the environment on a larger scale, and how important regenerative agriculture is to securing the Earth’s future. Tune in to hear design ideas to make agriculture more efficient and sustainable.
Meet John:
John is a hemp innovator, serial entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, writer, and champion of regenerative agriculture.
In 1999, John founded the organic superfoods brand Nutiva. He has sourced and formulated $1B in retail sales of organic superfoods in the past 20 years. Through his leadership, Nutiva became the fastest-growing superfoods company on the planet and was named one of Inc. magazine’s fastest-growing companies in America for seven years in a row.
He is also an executive producer of the Netflix blockbuster regenerative agriculture film Kiss the Ground, narrated by Woody Harrelson.
John was blessed to spend his childhood summers on the islands in the Pacific Northwest, where he played among the forests and tide pools. When nuclear waste was dumped nine miles from his California home, John’s ecological awareness was awakened. He began his central life journey: to study natural systems and discover practical solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
Over his career, John has founded six non-profit organizations, including Great Plains Regeneration, Agroforestry Regeneration Communities (creating regenerative food forests), and Forests Forever, which placed the California Forest Protection Act, Prop 130, on the California state ballot in 1990. His passionate hemp advocacy brought him to sue the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. This long legal battle culminated in a historic 2004 federal court victory to keep hemp foods legal. He is a pioneer of the modern home-composting movement and has authored four books on hemp and composting that have combined sales of more than one million copies. He has been interviewed on numerous radio and television programs and has been widely quoted in the print media—from WIRED magazine to the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.
In his leisure time, John enjoys travel, hiking, playing basketball, and soaking in natural hot springs.
Connect with Nutiva:
Connect with Great Plains Regeneration:
Connect with AgroForestry Regeneration Communities:
Connect with Forest Forever:
Connect with Bridget Cooper (Co-Host, Dine & Design):
A native of NZ, Bridget Cooper moved to NY when she was 18 to pursue a career in Interior Design. This journey started a life of international jetset for Cooper, as travel became the source of inspiration and resource for herself and so many of her clients.
Her innate ability to seek out the extraordinary is the foundation for curating layered interiors and unforgettable experiences. This has built her a reputation in the design world as the “one in the know” and “to know”.
Bridget’s interior work ranges from chic high-rise apartments in Chicago and NY to modern farmhouses in Northern California. In recent years, Bridget Cooper has expanded her creative talents working on many commercial projects and events creating unforgettable experiences on both big and small scales. Bridget delights in over-thinking every detail and loves pushing the boundaries to keep things fresh and unexpected.
Currently, Bridget and her husband Rob have moved from SF to Ojai, Ca (a small town north of Los Angeles) where they are building the Iverson House.
Connect with NextGenChef:
Episode Highlights:
01:41 What Am I Eating?
05:33 The Hemp (and Plants in General) Controversy
08:38 The Red Palm Wonder
13:59 Kiss the Ground
18:13 Regenerative Agriculture is Hope
24:09 Team Regeneration
30:14 The Most Destructive Thing in the World
34:20 Agri Design Ideas