De-Commodifying Carbon and our Industrial Food Systems, with Tom Goldtooth

Dec 6 2022 • 43 mins

Carbon markets are emerging as a leading tool for tackling our climate crisis, but are they actually getting to the root of the crisis?

In this episode, we speak with Tom Goldtooth (Dine’ and Dakota), executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, an organization of Indigenous Peoples building economically sustainable, environmentally just, healthy communities.

Tom is particularly knowledgeable about the growing use of regenerative agriculture to capture carbon in our soils to sell as carbon credits, but has concerns about how it is progressing as a new form of colonization and corporate ownership of lands, and through that, our food supply. So in this conversation, we speak with him about how businesses and communities might approach the climate and social crises.

We discuss:

Tom’s take on carbon markets
The commodification of nature and how corporations can decolonize themselves
Water rights
Cultivating an indigenous mindset both at an individual level and from a business perspective
The role of technology in food sovereignty
What an ‘Indigenous Just Transition’ should look like

Tom has been recognized for his achievements throughout the past 40 years as a change maker within the environmental, economic, energy and climate justice movement and is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2015 Gandhi Award and in 2016 was presented Sierra Club’s highest recognition, the John Muir award.

He co-produced an award-winning documentary film in 1999, Drumbeat for Mother Earth, addressing the effects of the bio-accumulation and biomagnification of toxic chemicals in the natural food web and bodies of Indigenous Peoples.

Links & Resources:

Indigenous Environmental Network: https://www.ienearth.org/

Drumbeat for Mother Earth (film): http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/dfme.html

Just Transition: https://www.ienearth.org/justtransition/

Vandana Shiva: http://navdanya.org/

Global Alliance on Rights of Nature: https://www.garn.org/

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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.

New Food Order is brought to you by AgFunder and Food+Tech Connect. Visit agfunder.com and foodtechconnect.com to find out more.

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

Production: Cofruition, Anna de Wolff, Pamela Rothenberg

Audio Editing: Mercy Barno

Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera

Art: Lola Nankin & Rekai E. Campbell

Project Management: Patrick Carter