What We Want To Eat

What’s Happening at SIAL 2022Dillon and I can’t believe it’s the end of Season 1 of What We Want to Eat. In the past three months, we had the pleasure of speaking with amazing people in the food and farming industry. We’ll be back in May with Season 2. If you’d like to be one of our guests, please drop an email to macala.wright@emeraldx.com or dillon@realfoodrealpeople.org. Seminars and Cook Demos at SIAL 2022The conference and seminar series is now live on the SIAL website. Over the course of three days, there are 16 talks and seven cooking demos. Here are some of the seminars Dillon and I are excited about. The Future of OrganicsPresented By Alexis Carey, Associate Director for International Trade Organic Trade Association and  Tom Avinelis, Co-Managing Director, Agriculture CapitalTeas of the WorldPresented by Gail Gastelu, Owner, Publisher of The Tea House TimesBenefits of Animal-Product TraceabilityPresented By Steve Sands, President of PFG Protein BrandsInvesting Wisely in CBD Products & Cooking with CBD OilChef Glenn CybulskiFind the entire speaker series and cooking demonstrations schedule here.

In this episode, we speak to Dan Miller of Steward, an agriculture lending company that provides alternative financing to regenerative farmers and food producers. In this episode, we discuss:Providing loans to small to medium-sized regenerative agriculture businessesFinancing urban and rural projectsFunding secondary income streams, such as agritourism, in order provide additional on-farm revenueGrowing interest in creating stable local food systems that increase the access to food for local community members. Funding local, shared processing plants Why it’s important to fund and provide access to capital to human-scale food producers Subscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh, and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

In this episode, we speak with Rosella Mosby, the head of Mosby Farms that grows organic and conventional produce for grocery stores, food distributors, and food banks throughout Washington.  In this interview, we discuss:Farming 30 Minutes South of SeattleBeing The First Female Farm Bureau PresidentFarm Bureau Isn’t Commodity or a Good ‘Ol Boys’ ClubLocal Food SystemsGrowing Organic & Conventional VeggiesSupply PNW Grocers, Restaurants & Food BanksLegislation & Regulations Harm FarmersNew Laws That Could Hinder Farmers Supply Food Banks100,000 Pounds of Ugly Produce Goes to Food InsecurityAgriculture is the Second Largest Industry in Washington, Not TechThe Future of Feeding People at Scale

The pandemic turned food on its head. From the fields to the shelves, companies big and small faced shutdowns, shortages and countless challenges. All of these disruptions not only had a massive impact on food brands and manufacturers, When it came to customers, brands and manufacturers saw their customers’ behavior, values, and wants change overnight. For example, as store shelves were bare and people feared for lack of food availability, once struggling concepts, like buying in bulk online and meal delivery subscriptions, became critical parts of daily lives. The Food Industry saw surprising changes in behavior as new aspects of food became important to consumers. Now, as we move into 2022, the four biggest trends we’re seeing.Trend No. 1: Food as Medicine: Consumers are looking to food as medicine in order to better manage their health.Trend No. 2: Cooking at Home Becomes Experiential: Consumers continue to embrace cooking at home and creating experiences. They are also looking for convenience. Trend No. 3: Sustainability Is Important: Consumers continue to become more aware of their food purchase habits and how they may affect the planet. They are demanding more sustainable practices. Trend No. 4: Food Facts and Personalization: Consumers are educating themselves on what they are eating, turning to new, factual sources of information. They are also embracing more flexible, personalized ways of eating thanks to technology. So what’s coming next? Here’s an in-depth look at the four largest trends we think will be influencing how people purchase food in the U.S. in 2022. Download The Report

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Frank Mitloehner, director of environmental research at the CLEAR center and professor in Animal Science at UC Davis. The CLEAR Center brings clarity to the intersection of animal agriculture and the environment, helping our global community understand the environmental and human health impacts of livestock, so we can make informed decisions about the foods we eat and while reducing environmental impacts. Dr. Mitloehner is committed to making a difference for generations to come. As part of his position with UC Davis and Cooperative Extension, he collaborates with the animal agriculture sector to create better efficiencies and mitigate pollutants. He is passionate about understanding and mitigating air emissions from livestock operations, as well as studying the implications of these emissions on the health of farm workers and neighboring communities. In addition, he is focusing on the food production challenge that will become a global issue as the world’s population grows to nearly 10 billion by 2050. Show Notes1:00 - Meet Dr. Mitloehner2:10 - Where Greenhouse Gases Come From2:21 - Agriculture is 10% of Greenhouses, Animal Ag is 4%, Not 30% 3:00 - How Methane Works 4:09 - How Large Food Brands & Manufacturers Can Reduce Their Carbon Footprint4:32 - Starbucks, Farmers & Supply Chain 4:51 - Nestle, Farmers & Supply Chain 5:17 - Emission Reduction and Biogas Conversion6:20 - Low Carbon Fuel Standard Credits7:34 - Building Soil Health and Sequestering Carbon8:31 - Soil Carbon Sequestration Requires Ranches and Farms9:52 - Helping Farmers & Making Agriculture A Part of The Solution10:08 - Sequestering Carbon: Approaches For Producers12:06 - Government Incentives on Low and No Till Farming12:52 - Incentivize Producers to Explore Regenerative Agriculture14:30 - There Is No “Plan B”, We Are In TroubleBonus Conversations15:00 - Fake Food Is A Fairy Tale16:27 - Your Food Preferences Are A Private Choice17:02 - Price Fixing and Obstacles to Sway Eating Habits17:50 - The Dichotomy on Plants vs. Animals18:58 - Only 1% Of The Total Population Is Vegan19:30 - Veganism’s Greatest Challenge Is The Retention Rate20:20 - Telling People “Not To Eat Meat” Doesn’t Create Change21:17 - Plant-Based Meat Isn’t New, It’s Just Has Better Products22:22 - What Happened When A Fast Food Chain Added Plant-Based Burgers To The Menu23:04 - There’s No Significant, Factual Research That Show Consumers Are Reducing Meat Consumption24:18 – IMHO, Lab Grown Meat Is A No Go24:48 - The Scientific Community & The Process For “Growing Meat”25:19 - You Go To The Slaughterhouse For Stem Cells25:34 - How We Get Fetal Bovine Serum26:05 - The Process Is More Energy Intensive Than Current Practices26:26 - Keeping Lab Grown Meat Involves Antibiotics Because You Can’t Keep It Pathogen FreeSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon

In this episode of What We Want to Eat, Dillon Honcoop talks about the founders of the Alexandre Family Farms in Crescent City, California. Today, dairy farmers and dairy operations face many challenges. Many of those are related to consumer perceptions surrounding milk, and if dairy products are healthy to eat. In this interview, the Alexandre Family explains the process in which milk proteins affect the human body, how their milk is different, and how they take great care in educating their consumers on how dairy affects their bodies. The family also speaks about their farms being organic, regenerative, carbon neutral, and how they’re spent over 25 years following all these practices. What’s more, they speak openly about being “Big Ag” and how they have managed to check all the boxes while managing multiple farms with over 4200 dairy cows, 35,000 chickens and 4,300 organic acres.Transparency, storytelling, smart distribution, and personally answering customer questions have led their premium A2 milk and dairy products to be distributed in over 1600+ natural food, and high-end grocery stores, including Whole Foods. Listen to the episodes to hear firsthand how they are managing to manage consumer perceptions, create exceptional products and succeed in an industry that is constantly consolidating. Show Notes1:15 -  Meet the Alexandre Farm1:48 - 25 Years as Organic and over 25 as Regenerative2:35 - How Can Dairy Farmers and Producers Create More Sustainable Practices?4:00 - Getting Products into Consumer Hands, Transparency & Storytelling5:30 - Create Premium Dairy Products & Brands6:03 - People Want Something Better8:05 - Using Social Media to Give a Face to the Farm 8:37 - What is A2 Milk? History and Evolution9:25 - Lactose Allergies, Milk Proteins and Understanding Reactions12:33 - Working with the  Media, Doctors, and the Right Health Influencers13:00 - Creating Other A2 Dairy Products - Cheese, Yogurt and Powdered Milk14:42 - 0 to 1600+ Stores: Developing Distribution for A2 Dairy17:00 - Choosing the Right Distributors19:38 - Consumer Perceptions of Big Diary 20:15 - You Can Be Big and Tick All The Boxes22:00 - The Consumer Dollar - Where It Goes23:06 - Wildlife and Natural Habitat Diversification via Dairy Farms24:15 - Animal Welfare - Our Animals Are Our #1 Priority24:45 - Are Dairies Are Carbon Neutral, and We’re Working on Making It Better25:15 - Dairy Soil Health over 30 Years26:25 - Our Cows Are Healthy and Our Consumers Are Healthy27:00 - Learn More About Us, We’ll Personally Answer YouSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh, and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas. Listen to the Full Episode Here

In this episode, we talk to Anne-Marie Roerink, the founder of 210 Analytics about consumer spending on grocery and food in 2021 and how their spending habits are shifting in 2022. Here’s what’s happening when it comes to grocery store sales. What’s Coming in 2022In 2022, inflation is impacting how consumers are spending. Also, post-pandemic stockup behavior is still an influence on their buying behavior.  It’s important to watch what is happening in each category. In 2022, the #1 thing stores, grocers and food establishments must focus on is delight. Creating experiences that bring out of their homes will become critical to keep sales moving. If you’d like to learn more, contact Anne-Marie on LinkedIn, or download the reports she’s made available to our members below!2021 Sales DataGrocery Store Meat Sales Data Frozen Food Sales DataSeafood Sales DataProduce Sales DataBakery and Deli Sales DataPlant-Based Food Sales DataShow Notes0:57 - Meet Anne Marie3:16 - Trends in Meat4:30 - Trends in Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives4:45 - Consumers Are Wanting to Eat More Plants, But Not Necessarily “Plant-Based” Products5:55 - Plant-Based Food Innovation Is Related to Taste and Experience6:25 - Consumers Are Flocking to Fish and Seafood8:45 - Produce Prices and Consumption10:15 - Consumers Want Convenience11:15 - Vitamins and Supplements Are Doing Well11:30 - Consumers Are Entertaining at Home11:58 - New Sales Levels for Premium Food Items14:17 - Elk and Bison Sales Are Up 600%14:30 - Innovative Packaging Is Driving Experimentation14:47 - What to Watch in 202216:53 - What’s Happening with Online to In-Store Behavior 18: 25 - Grocers and Retailers Must Win at First-Click18:54 - Consumer Shopping Patterns By Grocery Store Type 20:08 - Dollar Stores and Supercenters Are Growing20:42 - The NUMBER ONE THING GROCERS MUST FOCUS ON IN 2022Subscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh, and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

In this episode, we speak with Bridget Ellion Coon, a fifth generation cattle rancher and beef marketer. Bridget and I discuss everything from land use to labels to direct to consumer sales.What Consumer May Not Know About Raising MeatBridget is working hard alongside the producers and associations she works with to help dispel myths and supply chain oversimplifications she sees happening on a regular basis when it comes to the meat people buy. The food system is complex. The consumer beliefs around value and livestock raising practices are hard for many people to understand depending on where they find information.  From how animals are fed to how meat is labeled in stores, makes education hard for many producers. For example, grass-fed vs. grass and grain-fed. How cattle are fed depends on climate, not all ranchers have a 12-month grass growth cycle. The idea of “grass-fed only” has many nuances. So consumers thinking that grass fed and finished beef is better is misleading.Challenges in Marketing BeefThe biggest challenge in marketing beef is related to the rise in direct-to-consumer sales. COVID’s processing bottleneck and ideas of running out of meat made meeting the demand for meat very challenging. DTC explored, and with the demand, came a new set of challenges for producers who sell animals. One of the most interesting discoveries Bridge made was that consumers don’t know how to cut more than two cuts – ground beef and steak. Buying a quarter, half or whole animal made cut knowledge and educating consumers on how to cook the cuts a top priority. Across the board, she found that producers must do a better job of educating their customers, but also, the customers need to educate themselves. When it came to DTC and buying beef online,  she found that helping people understand how much beef they were getting in a shipment required education. She had to show them how much space their meat order required. Selling online presented a big learning curve for many producers offering it. But once they got a handle on educating consumers on weight, product type, cooking, and visual appeal, they saw online sales skyrocket. And now they’re translating their findings back into the store environment. To learn more on how to successfully understand marketing beef,  listen to the full episode. :57 - Meet Bridget3:16 - Building Ag Policies in Washington 4:16 - Raising Meat and Seattle’s Expansions6:30 - Land Use: Farming vs. Livestock9:33 - What You May Not Know About Raising Beef13:45 - Meat Flavor Profile18:37 - Marketing Meat and COVID’s DTC Demand23:15 - Better Educating Consumers28:40 - The Evolution of DTC BeefSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh, and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

When it comes to creating climate friendly solutions and developing better food systems, how we manage unused and unsellable food is a large part of the conversation. While there are lots of ideas, there aren’t as many viable solutions for recycling or upcycling expired food or food waste. In recent years, several companies have begun to address creating these solutions and putting them into practice. One of them is Wyatt Industries, created by Luke Dynes. Wyatt Enterprises has developed and patented technology that may help take large scale “food waste” to almost zero. Last year, Wyatt Industries recycled three million tons of food, turning it into edible feed for livestock. Yes, Luke has created a solution to one of our world’s biggest problems. Food waste isn’t just a consumer problem, it’s a production and manufacturing problem as well. Take Food Waste to ZeroCreating Wyatt Industries was a business decision, but it was also about keeping viable food products out of landfills. Listen to the full episode to learn more. To learn more about Luke Dynes and Wyatt Industries, connect with him on LinkedIn. Show Notes1:30 - Meet Luke Dynes1:47 - Creating a Company That Recycles Food Waste into Food for Livestock6:18 - How The Process Works8:45 - Wyatt Industries’ Processing Capacity10:00 - Processing Interstate Food Waste Due to Labor Shortages11:30 - The Majority of Food Waste Comes From Food Before It’s Sold in Stores12:15 - The Difference Between Pre-Consumer Food vs. Food Waste14:22 - How Much Food Wyatt Industries is Keeping Out of Landfills15:17 - Yes, We Can Recycle Food at Scale18:00 - Livestock Can Eat This and It’s Nutrient Rich20:52 - The Term “Food Waste” is Misleading21:33 - We Created This Company To Keep Viable Food Out Of Landfills24:19 - Upcoming Subsidies in the Food Waste Sector25:08 - The Ag Community Can’t Afford to Waste Anything27:55 - How Food Companies Can Recycle Non-Sellable Food and ProduceSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

In this episode, we speak with Kate Ruffing, the head of Innovation at a Flashpoint Consulting located in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Kate started her career in food over 20 years ago, working at Kraft Foods (now Kraft-Heinz), and then Starbucks. Kate has spearheaded food innovation for large companies and developed successful B2B brand extensions into other areas of food (lodging, food service) for over a decade. Upleveling the Starbucks Food ExperienceAt Starbucks, Kate was tasked with upleveling the food experience, so that it would be considered on par with the coffee experience. To create amazing baked goods and food selections people wanted to eat, she had to start by understanding the consumer. That meant she had to watch people in their stores and see firsthand how they interacted with the food products Starbucks already had. What she saw in their customers’ in-store behaviors spoke volumes. What she found was that there weren’t a lot of people attaching food items to their beverage orders. When she delved deeper into why that was, what she observed was that Starbucks wasn’t disrupting their coffee ritual in a way that was meaningful enough for their customers to attach food items to their purchases. To learn more on how to successfully understand consumer needs and desires,  listen to the full episode and download the transcript. Starbucks and Food InnovationUnderstanding Consumer BehaviorCreating Products People LoveBrand Authenticity and TransparencyWhat’s Coming NextDon’t Be Afraid to Fail FastSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

In this episode, we speak with Wilson Lau, Vice President of Nuherbs, a company that offers bull availability of single ingredient herbs and botanicals from around the world to food brands and manufacturers. In addition to over 300+ single ingredient herbs, they also offer bespoke and customized extracts and formulations. Show Notes0:33 - Meet Wilson1:42 - 3 Biggest Supply Chain Issues4:30 - Stabilizing Your Supply Chain6:23 - International Farm Relationships & Ingredient Availability8:08 - Developing Functional Foods10:53 - Formulating with Western and Eastern Herbs11:45 - Sustainability and Harvesting12:50 - Stigma Surrounding Herbs and Botanicals Grown Internationally16:03 - 2022 and Beyond: What’s Coming NextSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.

The Borg family raises 60,000 chickens for Costco at any given time. Their family also raises 1,000 head of beef and also plants corn, soy and alfalfa that's used for animal feed. Debbie explains how her family's farming practices, how they've been no till for almost 30 years, how they take care of their soil, and she shares why they run their farm the way they do. She shares her insights on sustainability, growing in short seasons, and how geographic locations impact how her family can farm. Show Notes0:32 - Meet Debbie Borg and Her Family4:11 - Raising Chickens For Costco4:58 - Costco’s Contracts in Nebraska Allowed Younger Generations to Come Back to The Farm7:35 - Costco’s Contracts Provided Financial Security For Young, Female Farmers8:32 - Chicken Challenge and COVID-199:50 - Animal Welfare, Climate Change, and Big Ag12:45 - Climate Smart Agriculture14:00 - The How and Why of Corn and Soy in the Midwest18:02 - Growing Food At Scale, Please Trust UsSubscribe to What We Want to Eat in Google Play | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Amazon To learn more about the latest trends in meat, dairy, fresh and grocery products, register to attend the SIAL America show in Las Vegas.