The Appropriate Omnivore with Aaron Zober

2023 is almost over. But before the year ends, Aaron Zober does one more podcast for The Appropriate Omnivore. Aaron welcomes back Lani Fox, founder of Rosemallow Artisanal, for a holiday special. Lani has several holiday themed artisanal marshmallow truffles (or rosemallows as she refers to them) for Aaron to sample them. Aaron and Lani both taste the rosemallows and state their thoughts. Listeners can follow along by looking at the Rosemallows on the website (https://rosemallowartisanal.com/products/mallow-truffles-festive-winter). After sample the rosemallows, Lani and Aaron then discuss the topics of finding better options for holiday treats, whether marshmallows can be come the next elevated dessert, and what to expect from Rosemallow Artisanal in 2024.

This week's guest on The Appropriate Omnivore podcast is Dr. Adam Wuollet. Dr. Adam tells his story from going to med school and working in allopathic medicine to where he is now with what he calls wholistic medicine. He explains wholistic medicine (not to be confused with holistic medicine) is about the whole approach. Dr. Adam and Aaron discuss the ideas of food as medicine. Dr. Adam then gets into other areas of medicine he focuses on, such as frequencies and water. He sees these as two of the most critical aspects of life and our own health. In addition to having transitioned into wholistic medicine, Dr. Adam is now a homesteader raising cows, pigs, and chickens to feed his family. He explains how he sees parallels between gardening, regenerative farming, and our own health. Aaron concludes the podcast having Dr. Adam Wuollet talk about how he's improved his own health.

About a year ago, The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober joined the networking group known as Naturally Los Angeles. This organization is part of the Naturally Network. The Naturally Network has chapters in various cities for people in the natural product space to connect. Aaron welcomes Naturally LA executive director Rana Manzi to the podcast to inform the listeners what Naturally LA and the Naturally Network offer. Rana explains that she's been working in the natural industry her entire life based on how her mother raised her. Rana's been employed in various areas of the natural CPG world from being a nutritionist to retail to nutraceuticals to trade shows to now Naturally LA. Rana goes into great detail about Naturally LA in terms of what the membership consists of, what her role as executive director entails, and upcoming events in 2024. Rana and Aaron both discuss the benefits of emerging natural CPG brands. Rana and Aaron also delve into current trends of the natural product space and their overall thoughts on the future of natural food and food in general.

For the latest episode of The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, Aaron Zober dives into one of the best ways you can be an appropriate omnivore. And that is consuming organ meats. Still many are scared to try them. That's where guest James Barry comes in. James founded Pluck, which offers seasonings made with various organs and coming in various flavors. James tells his story of going to culinary school, working as a chef, and coming up with the idea for Pluck while he was a stay-at-home dad. James also goes into stories of people who have benefitted health wise from his organ meat seasonings. He lets Aaron know what new products and flavors we can expect in the not too distant future. And James and Aaron discuss all that they know about sourcing sustainable meats.

On this episode of The Appropriate Omnivore, Aaron Zober does a first with an interactive podcast. His guest Lani Fox founded Rosemallow Artisanal, which makes the sophisticated adult treat of artisanal marshmallow truffles, or Rosemallows as they're referred to. Aaron samples Lani's Rosemallows while recording the interview and states his thoughts. Listeners can follow along by looking at the Rosemallows on the website (https://www.rosemallowartisanal.com/). In addition to the tastings, Lani tells her story how she's been growing food since childhood as well as cooking her entire life and how this led to Rosemallow. She gets into why it's called Rosemallow. (There may be more than one reason.) Lani explains what makes her Rosemallows different than conventional marshmallow and what means by the term “beyond scracth.” Lani also discusses how her Jewish culture plays into her products, which Aaron can relate to also being Jewish.

In a few weeks, the Weston A. Price Foundation will be holding its annual Wise Traditions conference. Leading up to the event, The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober will be interviewing a few of the speakers. Aaron's first guest in this series is Corey Dunn. Corey is a Weston Price chapter co-leader in Brunswick, GA and runs the blog For Nutrients Sake! as well as co-hosts the podcast Modern Ancestral Mamas. Her talk at the conference is entitled Nourish Your Family with “Junk” Foods Cooked Right, a topic Aaron Zober can very much relate to. Corey gives her background going from paleo to Weston Price, where she was able to incorporate properly prepared grains. Corey and Aaron share their appreciation of how the WAPF allows for properly prepared grains as well as the inclusion of all of our favorite comforts foods when they're done the right way. Corey shares her favorite comfort foods to make for her family. Corey and Aaron connect with their love of the burger. And Corey tells the listeners about her homesteading journeys since she's moved from Maryland to coastal Georgia.

The Weston A. Price Foundation's 2023 Wise Traditions Conference in Kansas City, MO is only a few days away now. The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober's third and final guest of the speaker series is Nathalie B. of Bee Mindful. Nathalie's talk at the conference is entitled Easy Horizontal Beekeeping to Source Your Own Unfiltered Raw Honey and Other Products of the Hive. Along with Nathalie managing almost 400 colonies in the greater Austin, TX area, Nathalie keeps very "bee-sy" with her involvement in numerous beekeeping organizations. With all that she does, Aaron is glad Nathalie can take some time to "bee" on the podcast. Nathalie tells the story of how she was interested in bees at a young to where that leads to her today as a beekeeper. Topic which Aaron and Nathalie delve into include beekeeping for underprivileged communities, problems with organic, honey as a natural sweetener, and how honey has personally benefited Nathalie health wise. Nathalie and Aaron conclude the episode exploring the question of whether the general public is more aware of the plight of the bees.

AAs the Weston A. Price Foundation's annual Wise Traditions conference in Kansas City, MO is almost a week away, The Appropriate Omnivore host Aaron Zober continues his series of interviews with speakers at the event. This week his guest is Alex Miller. Alex describes himself as a flash flight farmer. He works during the day as a business professor at the University of Tennessee and he farms during nights and weekends at Lick Skillet Farm. His talk at the conference is entitled The Loss of Local Farms and What You Can Do about It. Alex sees himself as a venture capitalist, providing capital to grow new business and enterprises on the farm. Alex and Aaron discuss the current state of local farms. Alex and Aaron then cover many areas of the agriculture system, including why we need more young farmers, the problems with foods labels, reasons to support local farms, and if there's a confusion as to what regenerative agriculture means.

For the latest episode of The Appropriate Omnivore podcast, Aaron Zober brings on Amantia Muhedini, an executive director and sustainable & impact investing strategist for UBS. Amantia has dedicated her academic training and whole career to S & I investing. While she's he had a long time interest in the field, it precedes her career. Amantia tells us about the origins of S & I investing back in the 70s when it was known socially responsible investing and how it got to where it is today. Amantia explains the differences between sustainable investing and impact investing. Aaron and Amantia then discuss how impact investing can relate to agriculture and CPG with types of investing such as nature based solutions. Aaron asks how issues such as biodiversity, supply chains, antimicrobial resistance, and renewable energy fall under sustainable & impact investing. Amantia goes into how investable biodiversity currently is and what's needed to make it more investable.

Aaron Zober returns with a fall series of new Appropriate Omnivore podcasts. As his focus is the best natural products available, Aaron kicks off the new cycle interviewing Asher Cowan, the co-founder of Dr. Cowan's Garden. Dr. Cowan's Garden strives to offer the best real food products across every food category. Asher Cowan founded Dr. Cowan's garden with his father Dr. Thomas Cowan. Asher recaps the unique circumstances which formed the business. He then moves into the company starting out with selling different garden blends. Aaron mentions that he's impressed with the products being beyond organic and not needing to use any additives or preservatives. Asher discusses how including either of those was never an option. Asher next moves into talking about other products you can find from Dr. Cowans' Garden, explaining they're all foods he's wanted for his own pantry. And Asher previews what future products we can expect from Dr. Cowan's Garden.

As The Appropriate Omnivore is all about supporting family farms and family business, Aaron Zober welcomes Brita & Bryce Lundberg of Lundberg Family Farms. Lundberg Family Farms is a successful CPG rice brand known for its regenerative and organic practices. Brita & Bryce discuss how they went from growing up on a farm to then how they themselves ended up working for the company. Aaron converses with Brita & Bryce about how regenerative and organic are related. Brita & Brice also share the many ways Lundberg Family Farms practices sustainability. Then Brita & Brice let Aaron know all about the great products Lundberg offers and what new products we can expect from them in the future.

July is National Pickle Month, so The Appropriate Omnivore podcast host Aaron Zober couldn't be more excited to devote a show to a favorite food of his since childhood. To talk about everything pickles with Aaron is Chris Glab, chief innovation officer for Bubbies Fine Foods and Fermented Food Holdings. Like Aaron, ferments such as pickles were a staple of his growing up. Chris discusses how he got into CPG, founded Wildbrine, and then sold it to Fermented Food Holdings. Fermented Food Holdings also owns Bubbies. Chris tells the listeners all about Bubbies' key to making real fermented pickles and where he sees the market headed. Chris talk about other Bubbies products and even asks Aaron what foods he'd like to see them offer. All of this plus information about the diverse fermented goods throughout the various Fermented Food Holdings labels.

The leading natural product distribution group KeHE just held its annual Holiday Show. The Appropriate Omnivore podcast host Aaron Zober brings on Ari Goldsmith, vice president of marketing & digital media at KeHE Distributors, to give a recap of the Show and other development news about the company. Ari lists the major trends seen with the various brands at the Show and mentions some of the new products showcased. Ari also talks about the OnTrend winners and the new International Pavilion. Ari then delves into other projects KeHE is involved with, including the company's exclusive supplier programs, its commitment to sustainability, KeHE's exclusive partnership with the Rodale Institute, and Smart Shelf Tags. Plus Ari and Aaron discuss where regenerative and organic agriculture are headed.

Aaron Zober returns with a new cycle of The Appropriate Omnivore podcast for the summer season. His first guest back well represents the idea of being an appropriate omnivore. Jasen Urena is vice president of NestFresh Eggs and New Barn Organics. Jasen explains how you should never take the position that any one segment of food is bad. So Jasen offers healthy animal products with the regenerative New Barn eggs and the pasture raised NestFresh eggs and healthy plant based products with New Barn's almond and coconut milks. Jasen and Aaron talk about the importance of sourcing sustainable and regenerative almonds and coconuts as well as keeping the ingredients simple in plant based milks.

For his latest podcast, Aaron Zober welcomes on two people from Tractor Beverage Company, chief brand officer Justin Herber and consulting agronomist Dr. Stephanie Bledsoe. Tractor Beverage is the only organic certified, non-GMO beverage company in restaurants. In partnership with the research company HowGood, Tractor Beverage recently debuted its Organic Impact Tracker. The Organic Impact Tracker measures the amounts conventional pesticides present in food ingredients. Justin and Dr. Stephanie discuss the results they discovered in Tractor Beverage drinks as a result of the tracker, in terms of which ingredients were shown to be potent with pesticides and how Tractor can source in the future. They also get into the specific restaurants and other places where Tractor Beverage can be found. Plus potential new flavors we can see Tractor Beverage Company introduce.