Thank you for your criticism
The Feedback (6th) Edition of the Negative Foods Newsletter
In this week’s edition of the Negative Foods Newsletter, we’ll dispense with the regular format, and instead focus on feedback. I’ll also explain my motivations for this newsletter.
My close friend and mentor Benzi Ronen, when reviewing an early draft of the Big Food Edition of this newsletter, warned me that it would attract heat. So I wasn’t surprised. [Benzi, btw, has a great blog/newsletter that dispenses sage advice for entrepreneurs - his advice has been invaluable to me over the years]
In general, I’m pleased with all the feedback. The Big Food Edition, however, struck a deeper note than prevision editions.
Some of the feedback was truly constructive. Diane Hatz, who created and led the 2012 TEDx Manhattan event at which my TED talk launched BrightFarms into the public eye, politely expressed her disappointment. She shared specific examples of how Big Food has watered down standards and engaged in harmful greenwashing, and how Big Food crowds out smallholder producers.
Diane’s note ended with an invitation to talk about it further, perhaps as part of a public event. I accept! And I concede that Diane might be right. And I appreciate that she took the time to give specific examples pushing back on my positions. That’s great feedback.
Farm2me took to LinkedIn in a less constructive manner. Click here to see the (since edited) critical post, which mentioned my “stupid email chain”, and suggested I was being paid by Big Dairy to tell people to drink Horizon milk, and that I was pushing General Mills cereal products. [Note that those last two points have been edited out of the original post].
I showed the (original) critical post with my daughter Amelia, who you met in last week’s newsletter, and she was confused. She pointed out that I never suggested that people buy Horizon Milk, and that she couldn’t imagine me shilling for General Mills cereal, products that she was confident would never be found in our pantry. She pointed out the fallacy of ad hominem attacks, which she had learned in logic. Teenagers take logic? Go Bears!
Let me explain a bit about the newsletter.
How do I feel about criticism? I welcome the criticism, good and bad. I always tell my kids that if we are doing honest work that changes the status quo, we are likely to upset some people. This is intended to be a vibrant community based on open debate. Not everyone will agree, and that’s a good thing.
What about ad hominem attacks? Not constructive or legitimate. Feel free to attack positions all day long. But to attack people, and to question their motives, well that’s not helpful and I don’t welcome it in this community.
Am I on the take? Because it sounded silly, I almost ignored the suggestion that I was paid for what I said about Horizon or General Mills. But since you may not know me well, and this newsletter is relatively new, I’ll say it clearly: I have no relationship with Big Dairy or General Mills, and nobody is paying for this newsletter. If that changes in the future, I will say so.
What are my motivations for this newsletter? I do expect to make money from these efforts, just not right away and not from advertisements. Some of my motivations:
The Negative Foods Book. I am writing a book on the rise of food brands with carbon negative/neutral footprints. This community’s feedback will improve the eventual book. Time will tell if the book makes money…
Investment Pipeline. This newsletter is helping me build a pipeline of investment opportunities in startup food brands that reverse climate change. I expect to make investments from time to time in companies I learn about in this community and write about in this newsletter. If I’m lucky and/or good, those investments may be lucrative. Send me your ideas!
Joy. I love to write, especially about my passions, including carbon negative foods. So I’m here to have fun. Constructive criticism, and the lack of ad hominem attacks, will help us have fun together.
Why do I feel like I have something to say? This topic is important. As I pointed out in the first edition of the Negative Foods Newsletter:
The food system is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
But food is unique. It is unique in that we must eat to survive, of course. But it is also unique in that some foods can have negative carbon footprints. In other words, some food can be produced in a way that draws carbon from the atmosphere instead of emitting carbon.
So if we eat food that draws down carbon on a net basis, our food system will be a lever to reverse climate change.
I have experience bringing a startup food brand to market based on an innovative and more sustainable supply chain (BrightFarms).
I have a voice, and a platform, to encourage and support, and shine a spotlight on, startups bringing carbon negative foods to market. And so I’m exercising that voice and leveraging that platform.
Please keep the criticism coming. Tell me when you disagree! Share your tips and ideas about companies with carbon neutral or negative footprints. And please share this newsletter widely.
Next week we’ll get back to the regular newsletter format.