Reflections on Ethics and Renewal

Businesses could run differently — with the right leaders.

Brad Vanstone, cofounder of plant-based cheese company Willicroft, is an example. He founded the company out of a desire to protect the planet and innovate the food industry. Along the way, he pioneered campaigns, helped transition animal agriculture farms to plant-based farming, and even paid to have an activist on his payroll. Willicroft’s transparent and thoughtful values attracted solid investment, and within a few years their cheese was in major supermarkets around Europe.

But in 2024, Brad and his team decided to close the business. The finance on offer came at a price they wouldn’t pay: sacrificing some of the company’s values. Instead, they decided to liquidate. Brad joins me to walk us through that decision, beginning at the very beginning of how the company started and the amazing innovations they pioneered along the way. He also explains the strategic attacks on the plant-based industry levvied by the animal agriculture lobby which makes surviving in the food industry extremely hard, and how they tried to stay one step ahead. Brad’s analysis of our food systems is insightful, pragmatic and empathetic. This is a wonderful story of doing the right thing in a climate when people claim business has to put profit above all else — and what we can do differently, together.

Planet: Critical is 100% independent and community-powered. If you value it, and have the means, become a paid subscriber today.