Blink:

April is earth month, a time to celebrate our planet; this year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics. It is estimated 30 million tons of plastic is produced every year while only 9 percent of plastic produced has been recycled. I am reminded of the 1967 Hollywood classic: The Graduate.

Read On:

Let me set the stage. Benjamin played by Dustin Hoffman is a recent college graduate attending a family party when he engages with a friend of the family (Mr. McGuire) who wants to share some advice.

Mr. McGuire : I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.                                                                                                                            Benjamin : Yes,sir.                                                                                                                  Mr. McGuire : Are you listening?                                                                                                                                  

Benjamin : Yes, I am.                                                                                                                                              McGuire : Plastics.                                                                                                                Benjamin : Exactly how do you mean?                                                                                                                                        

McGuire : There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

For the Record: (A) The script for The Graduate was written before the inaugural Earth Day held on April 22, 1970. (B) I have posted my thoughts regarding the toxicity of plastics choking our planet.

I would like to share with this year’s crop of college graduates two words of advice – Planet First!

Tomorrow is Now!

Blink:

Environmentalists’ latest “buzz du jour” associated with the transformation to a sustainable and fair food system globally will be the adaptation of agroecology – the application of ecological processes to agricultural/farming production. To make it happen, they believe it will take more government policies/incentives to elevate the transition.

Read On:

I agree, but concerned the global transition to agroecology, balancing the connectivity between plants, animals, humans, community socio-economic and environment conditions will be a very slow, time-consuming process. Why am I being cautiously pragmatic? Threefold:

1. The adoption of agroecological practices will require a significant amount of government assistance to educate and train farmers’ knowledge in this subject area. That will take a considerable amount of investment and regulations.
2. Lobbyists representing capitalist agribusiness will flourish to obstruct policy makers.
3. The pernicious side of mankind represents a speedbump. Specifically, the subset of humans who surface during natural disasters (now the climate crisis) to capitalize on the situation to make a dollar. Example: A recent Reuters News exposé revealed, some climate finance/funds have gone towards projects which have no connection to climate change, thus are not directly reducing global warming and its impact – airport expansions, a love story film set in the Argentine rainforest, retail chocolate and gelato stores, etc.        

Instead of solely relying on government policies and subsidies, I believe an important factor (a.k.a. wildcard) in a successful agroecology movement will be technological innovation a topic I have addressed before Innovative Planetary Technology. One area which piques my interest is precision agriculture – the utilization of AI driven data to help farmers grow more crops with fewer resources to maximize yields and minimize spending. Regenerative farming is an eco-friendly sustainable approach to agriculture which has recently gained significant attention; specifically the importance of soil management. Numerous technology companies have surfaced (e.g., Soil Scout) planting wireless sensors to monitor real-time information like soil moisture levels and other environmental factors which affect crop growth.

There are many innovative solutions on the table for a #planetfirst food system transformation. Understanding/embracing agroecological farming principles combined with innovative planetary technology is a great place to start the adventure. However, I remain cautiously optimistic. We need to be patient, thus realize we will experience the growing pains and learning curve associated with the transformation. All aboard. Time to move forward

Tomorrow is Now!

This morning, I was on LinkedIn following up with some of my new (within the last year) connections who have gone dark. I was reminded of an old post Ephemeral; forever relevant, especially when it relates to most of my internet connections.

Blink:

In today’s post I would like to explore a great word, ephemeral.

Read On:

Ephemeral (adjective) – lasting for a very short time. Examples:

• Fads!
• A great glass of wine.
• Your favorite junk food snack.
• A good piece of sushi.
• Most of your internet connections. Note: Think about all the people you connected with strictly in the digital world (e.g., LinkedIn) who you are still actively engaged with since day one.
• The career of a professional tennis player.
• A bad Netflix movie.
• Airplane friendships – people you engage with who happen to be sitting next to you on a plane.
• Good customer service.
• A Mediterranean cloud burst.
• A shot of Novocain.
• Hiccups.
• Great belly laughs!

Do you have any additions to the list?

Blink:

Two excerpts from On’s, the Swiss performance shoe company’s mission statement:

• “We envision a future where everything we make is fossil-free and engineered for circularity. All while fostering equity and celebrating diversity.”

• “Our journey began in the Swiss Alps and it’s still our playground today.”

Total Brandwashing (a.k.a. BS)!

Read On:

Why am I singling out On for this post? Twofold:

1. I first posted about On back in January 2020 to make the point brand transparency is now top of mind for global consumerism. This week, when I drilled down on On’s website I discovered they posted brand transparency content, all the right buzz about innovating for people and the planet – fossil free materials, designed for circularity, and circular business models. They even are open about their business partnerships with shoe manufacturers in Vietnam who I doubt play in the Swiss Alps. An example being their long-time primary supplier Vinh Yen Shoes Company operated for generations by local families. What they failed to post was a recent news article from the Swiss advocacy group Public Eye detailed the low wages workers make even with overtime (note: not enough to support their families). On products are sold at premium prices, thus the company’s Swiss stakeholders have benefited from the high margins. Not exactly a circular business model for the Vietnamese stakeholders.
2. My 2020 post titled #RogerWakeUpNow addressed a social media movement challenging Roger Federer, tennis icon’s brand advocacy commitments. Candidly, I am disappointed I am posting for a second time Brand Federer not conducting extensive due diligence regarding the transparency/authenticity of the brand’s they endorse.

Smart marketers understand the value of creating/building brand credibility is key to attracting customers, nurturing long-term loyalty, and differentiating their products/services from competitors. Today’s advice to smart marketers: remember, the Internet did not exist when one of the all-time great marketers P.T. Barnum preached – “There is a sucker born every minute.” Think twice before Brandwashing!

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

I had a bizarre dream last night. The year was 2030, I was in Stockholm attending a Circular Economy conference. I had made dinner reservations six months in advance to socialize with one of the conference’s organizers to share a unique culinary experience. Here is what I remembered.

Read On:

The restaurant, called Net Zero was considered one of the top 50 in the world thanks to winning numerous prestigious awards including the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award two times, given to the restaurant that achieves the highest environmental and social responsibility rating determined by the Worlds 50 Best and Sustainable Restaurant Association. It was a dream, but this much I do remember:

• The interior of the restaurant was sleek, very contemporary, pure Scandinavian design. I remember reading the building had received LEED certification. The restaurant was also known for its extensive rooftop vegetable garden and backyard smokehouse constructed with sargassum seaweed bricks.
• I opened with one of Net Zero’s signature cocktails “Smoke on the Water” crafted with Isle of Harris Scottish gin (made with Sugar Kelp seaweed) and a jigger of Oban single malt scotch. Note: Oban had received numerous water stewardship awards for utilizing distilling methods to conserve water. Planet-first mixology at its finest! I also thought it was a great touch they served the cocktail with a generous complimentary bowl of crispy spicy fried dulse seaweed chips.
• For dinner I ordered the evenings special tasting menu. Net Zero earned its reputation for creating innovative culinary delights from vegetables grown on its roof, or purveyed via foraging in Sweden’s forests, or produced in its local commissary (meat alternatives made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms a fungi protein). The two most memorable meat alternative plates I experienced were the spaghetti squash topped with a Bolognese sauce with their rooftop heirloom cherry tomatoes and a smoked sausage frittata cooked with plant-based dairy eggs and feta cheese.
• The grand finale was Net Zero’s world renown botanical gastronomy dessert called “The End of Summer” a medley of dessert shots each consisting of a seasonal berry foraged daily by the restaurant’s critically acclaimed pastry chef. In addition, a nice closing touch was a complimentary pot of Moringa tea.

The dream was so vivid; I even had a sense of taste. An over the top, memorable, fine-dining experience. I remember everything; the food, the plate presentations right down to the designer Moringa tea pot, the hip/fashionable Stockholm crowd, stimulating #planetfirst conversation with my Swedish connection, etc., etc., etc. Then the waitress came to the table with our bill. I gestured to her I would take it. I opened the billfold: 5,600 Swedish Krona (service included) which is approximately $530. I immediately woke up out of my dream!

Blink:

In a recent post, I referenced a LinkedIn comment to make my point regarding TMI. Today, I am going to reference another comment I read recently to recommend sustainability advocates start engaging in English. To my point; Subject: Upcycled innovation. LinkedIn comment: BOTTOM LINE: ERoEl. Excuse me; English please!

Read On:

A year ago, I posted Save the Planet Lingo. In the past two months thanks to COP28 and discussions at Davos centered around the universal metric ESG (environmental, social, and governance), I have noticed a proliferation of environmental jargon online. As a food futurist advocating/supporting the transformation of our current global food system, I follow upcycling which is the process of transforming by-products like waste materials, otherwise useless, into new materials/products with value. Last week I read about a creative, innovative upcycled product breakthrough. Researchers developed a method to employ the wastewater of Scottish whisky distillation and produce green hydrogen (renewable energy). For the record distillation is a highly polluting industry. The researchers believe this new approach would not only lower the waste produced by distillation, but also reduce the freshwater footprint associated with green hydrogen production. After reading the article which piqued my interest since I am a big fan of single malt scotch, I read the following LinkedIn comment BOTTOM LINE: ERoEl. What? I had to ask. The individual who posted responded: “Glad you asked. Energy Recovered over Energy Invested.” At least his response was in English, but being a marketer, not an environmental scientist, ERoEI is still a foreign language to me. English please!

Two concluding thoughts:

1. I believe, to get humanity (especially the average Joe) to adapt to sustainable lifestyles, it will take more consumer education. Educational content written in English please!
2. Upcycled wastewater from Scottish whisky distillation – I will drink to that.

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

Over the weekend I read an interesting marketing article about Calvin Klein’s goal of reinvigorating its iconic brand by leveraging brand ambassadors (e.g., actor Jeremy Allen White) to establish Calvin Klein’s positioning in the cultural zeitgeist. Zeitgeist! One of my all-time favorite words.                                 

Read On:

I decided to go back into my blog archives to write this post. 2011 was when I first explored Zeitgeist. I wanted to review whether my list of twenty was still relevant.

Zeitgeist (posted December 13, 2011)

Blink:

A great new word I learned this year: Zeitgeist – the general, moral and cultural climate that defines an era.
Read On:
1. Mobile – smartphones, tablets, etc.
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Apple
5. Amazon
6. Starbucks 
7. Fast Foods (e.g., McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc.)
8. Big Box Retailers (e.g., Walmart, Target, etc.)
9. Sports – arenas, team clothing (e.g., jerseys, hats, etc.), fantasy leagues, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, etc.
10. Celebrities – Lady Gaga, Charlie Sheen, rehab, etc.
11. Reality TV shows
12. Harry Potter
13. Jeans, sneakers, and flip flops
14. Earthquakes – Mother Nature, the Financial World
15. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China)
16. Sound bytes – Twitter, text messaging, YouTube
17. Nanoseconds
18. Millionaires to Billionaires 
19. Exotic travel (e.g., Antarctica)
20. Forever Young (e.g., Botox, plastic surgery, etc.) 

Welcome to Zeitgeist.

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

I once criticized digital TMI, the point of saturation – Sugar Water. I made sugar water this morning conducting research. Came across this post/list on LinkedIn: Leading FoodTech/AgTech media, newsletters, and podcasts. What/who am I forgetting here? Before reading any comments, I actually counted 53 links. “No Mas, No Mas!”

Read On:

There is definitely TMI (a.k.a. rabbit holes) on the internet. It takes experience/skill to filter out the nuggets, especially when it comes to understanding our complex global food system. Nowadays when I conduct research, I am always reminded of a relevant comment one of my loyal readers left on my original post: “too much blah-blah-blah but not enough good, usable information!” Sometimes when I am online, I also feel like the famous boxer Roberto Duran turning to the referee in his championship bout with Sugar Ray Leonard and saying “No Mas, No Mas!”

Do you have any suggestions how best to handle digital TMI?

Opinions Welcomed!

Blink:

At the end of every year as I close one door and open another (new year), I like to reread some of my favorite posts. Waldo Wisdom ranked high, especially since as a food futurist I am focused on making a difference. Let me explain.

Read On:

During the holidays I also took time out to sift through the postings/comments summarizing the outputs from COP28. Summary: Little was accomplished, tepid CCS (carbon capture and storage) financial commitments, more wordy COP documents. One bright spot was the endorsement of the declaration Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action by over 130 countries. In short, a baby step forward in the transformation of our global food system.

Back to the great American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. His definition of success stimulates me specifically his bullet point:

• To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.

In my quest to being an advocate for the transformation of our global food system, I have been meeting and engaging online with people outside my sphere of influence (a.k.a. network). Thanks to connecting with the leader of Green Funded Initiatives, Stephen Vance, I have learned more about eco-mitigation (e.g., carbon & biodiversity assets) and forest management. As a result, I am researching the potential of creating an innovative garden patch of sustainable forestry foods (e.g., cassava, baobab, jackfruit, etc.) as a component of the global food system.

Bonne Année!