273 Eric Smith - Commoditization is the root cause of all ecological destruction and human health impacts
Jan 2, 2024
auto_awesome
Eric Smith, CEO and co-founder of Edacious, discusses the importance of measuring quality in food, shifting from chemicals to biology, and the lack of transparency in the retail and food industry. The focus on animal agriculture, challenges in finding customers, and understanding nutritional quality and dietary shifts are also explored. The episode touches on investment strategies in food and agriculture, the influence of the agrochemical industry on pesticide regulations, and the impact of deforestation.
Commoditization is the root cause of ecological destruction and human health impacts.
Radical transparency is necessary to prioritize quality over quantity in the food and agriculture system.
Investors should consider the intersection of policy, environmental values, social impact, and core economics in regenerative agriculture.
Deep dives
The Importance of Nutrient Density and Regenerative Agriculture
The podcast explores the connection between nutrient density, regenerative agriculture, and human health. It emphasizes the need to shift the focus from quantity to quality in the food and agriculture system. The guest highlights the importance of understanding the complex system of agriculture, including genetics, environment, and management practices. The goal is to improve the nutritional composition of food and create positive mass balance agriculture. By prioritizing nutrient density, farmers can produce healthier food, which can have positive impacts on human health and wellness.
The Role of Radical Transparency in Food Quality
The podcast discusses the lack of transparency in food quality, with a focus on quantity and availability rather than nutritional value. The guest explains the need for radical transparency in the food chain and the importance of educating consumers about the nutritional quality of their food. The guest also highlights the role of technology in differentiating food quality and providing consumers with information about the nutritional composition of their food.
Investment Opportunities in the Changing Food Landscape
The podcast explores the implications of prioritizing nutrient density and regenerative practices in the food and agriculture industry. It emphasizes the need for investors to consider the underlying fundamentals, economics, business models, and regulatory factors when making investment decisions. The guest suggests looking for companies that align with the intersection of policy, environmental values, social impact, and core economics. Furthermore, the guest discusses the potential for innovation and research in genetics and seed development to optimize the transition to a biology-driven, nutrient-dense agriculture system.
Regenerative agriculture leads to greater abundance and diversity of nutrition
The podcast discusses how regenerative agriculture has led to a greater abundance and diversity of nutrition in row crops, particularly grains. The speaker emphasizes that the evidence supports this claim, highlighting that the genetics, environment, and management practices affect the nutritional outcomes of the food. The variability in nutritional outcomes is seen as a positive aspect of regenerative agriculture. The speaker also cautions against making assumptions about the nutritional quality of organic produce or expecting immediate changes in crop quality during the transition to regenerative practices.
The focus on animal protein and the need for a new approach to measuring impact
In the podcast, the focus on animal protein in regenerative agriculture is explained by its significant impact on the climate and the availability of the necessary genetics. The speaker highlights the limitations of current measurements in the food system, particularly in relation to sustainability and nutrition. The speaker advocates for a shift in measurement metrics, moving towards evaluating greenhouse gas emissions per unit of nutrition produced rather than per unit of volume or caloric output. This new approach would facilitate more accurate comparisons and better inform decision-making. The importance of comparing similar products, such as grass-fed organic burger versus chemically-produced GMO soy burger, is emphasized, urging for a one-to-one exchange when evaluating nutritional quality.
A conversation with Eric Smith, CEO and co-founder of Edacious, who is building a technology platform for differentiating quality of food. Eric and Koen talk about measuring quality and how to turn around objectively one of the most complex systems ever, from one driven by chemicals to one driven by biology, with abundance as an outcome. The solution, according to Eric, is radical transparency.
Get ready for a deep dive into the world of nutrient density with one of the few people building a company in the space. Why did they choose to focus mainly on cows and grains? Hint: the climate impact there is just enormous. Shockingly non of the retailers or food companies is measuring anything when it comes to quality! Everything is about quantity and availability. ---------------------------------------------------
The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.