Ep. 15 - Making McProgress for Good
When you think about picking a career that’ll help make the world a better place, do you think of working at the largest fast food company in the world? You may not, but that’s indeed what Bob Langert spent his career doing. The former McDonald’s executive was at the forefront of many of the decisions the restaurant behemoth made relating to social responsibility, from retiring styrofoam containers to paying tomato pickers more to improving farm animal welfare.
Ep. 14 - From Stand-Up Comedian to Saving the World with Soup
Sara Polon is saving the world, one bowl of soup at a time. The entrepreneur who recently was on Shark Tank and the TODAY Show has a lot to say, but for a change, this entrepreneur isn’t talking with us; she’s talking with our friend Adam Yee of the My Food Job Rocks Podcast!
Ep. 12 - Building a Sweeter, Slavery-Free Chocolate Industry with Tony’s Chocolonely’s
Tony’s Chocolonely went from zero to the #1 chocolate bar in the Netherlands. And in 2015, the company started in the US too, offering slavery-free chocolate that’s quickly gaining popularity among Americans. We’re fortunate to have the US manager of Tony’s with us on the show, Michelle Wald, who’s a wealth of information not just about the problems in the cocoa industry, but about how businesses can be a part of the solution.
Ep. 10 - Moby Is a Rock Star for Animals
Despite the fact that Moby has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and is so famous in fact that he only goes by one name, his life is driven toward one primary purpose: to alleviate suffering on the planet.
Ep. 5 - Michelle Masek Uses Science to Make Your Produce Last Longer
Letting fruits and vegetables go bad before eating them is part of the massive food waste problem, and Michelle Masek’s company, Apeel Sciences, is helping solving it. With $110 million in funding, including from Bill Gates, they’ve created an invisible, organic, edible spray that farmers or grocers apply to their produce–like avocados–that makes it last at least twice as long. Miraculous? Seemingly, but it’s just another example of a company using its business to do good in the world.
Ep. 3 - Seth Goldman on Sweetening the Less-Sugar Market
Seth Goldman started his career three decades ago thinking that if he wanted to make an impact on public health and agricultural sustainability, he’d need to explore a career in nonprofits or public policy. Fast forward to today and Seth’s company, Honest Tea, has helped slash billions of sugar calories from the American diet, caused other major drink brands to do the same, and created a sustainable livelihood for organic tea farming families throughout Asia.
Ep. 1 - John Mackey on Conscious Capitalism
As a student, John Mackey was an idealistic hippie who worked in a vegetarian co-op while studying religion and philosophy. He never took a business class during his whole academic career. In other words, he wasn’t exactly the guy people would’ve placed bets on to become a businessman, let alone one who’d launch a natural foods empire called Whole Foods Market that would get purchased by Amazon for $14 billion. (Note: John long ago stopped taking a salary and even donated all of his Whole Foods stock, so he didn’t see a penny of the sale.)