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Bam! This was a very special episode that dare we say could be considered the new Impossible Foods of CPG? Join the regeneration and learn more about what exactly planet-based foods are with Chris Langwallner, the creator of the bamnut And CEO of WhatIf Foods. 

Chris is a food seasoning guru and industry veteran who had a chance encounter that led him to an absolutely magical plant, the Bambara groundnut, that could both grow in AND regenerate dead soil.

Fast forward 4 years later and WhatIf Foods staple products, instant noodles & bamnut milk (think of oat milk but wayyy better for the environment & your body), are in hundreds of grocery stores across America.

We dive deep into how Chris borrowed an innovation from the toilet paper industry to make their instant noodles healthier, what regenerative capitalism is, how to market to a Gen Z target audience, and the positive feedback loop the bamnut is creating in West Africa for farmers, by doubling the revenue potential of their soil. 

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Listen to the episode on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. 

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Show Notes

• [3:30] How Chris is creating positivity & change among a climate of negativity in media
• [5:16] What is a Gedanken experiment? What was yours?
• [9:26] How Albert Einstein coined the term, ‘Gedanken experiment’
• [10:55] Does food & travel tie together for you?
• [12:45] How we rely on 12 crops & 5 animals for the majority of our food diet in America
• [14:16] What has happened in West Africa that has made them lose their ancient foods?
• [17:47] How did you start to tie all of these things together in your care for the climate? And ultimately starting WhatIF Foods
• [20:00] How our current land, is borrowed land from future generations
• [22:49] The 3 major carbon storage locations: ocean, soil, trees
• [23:29] How did you stumble upon the bamnut?
• [29:15] How many liters of water milk and almond milk take, to produce 1 product
• [30:11] How WhatIF Foods works with over 7,000 farmers in West Africa
• [30:32] How underprivileged African women have become farmers & business owners
• [33:34] What is regenerative capitalism? What does this have in common with what Chris is doing with the bamnut?
• [39:29] You are taking the bi-product of bambara nuts and creating biochar?
• [43:05] 3 reasons why biochar became interesting to WhatIF Foods in 2022
• [47:39] What are the challenges in your logistics? How are you thinking about this?
• [49:02] How COVID affected the 1st shipment of WhatIF Foods
• [51:05] A new product WhatIF Foods is launching soon (lattes)
• [51:55] Instead of shipping finished goods, WhatIF Foods will ship a concentrated pack to the US (for more climate-friendly logistics)
• [53:08] What’s keeping you up at night right now?
• [56:22] The reason why WhatIF Foods communicates and appeals to a Gen Z population
• [59:34] When you think about climate change, what’s going to be the next big step change we might see?
• [1:02:12] Rapid mayhem questions!
• [1:06:09] Where can listeners find WhatIF products?
• [1:08:05] Where can we find you, Chris?

Links From Episode

• Connect with Chris: LinkedIn
• Follow WhatIF Foods: LinkedIn | TikTok | YouTube | IG | Website
• Get in touch with WhatIF Foods: here
• What is arable land
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• SDG 15: Life On Land
• What is system thinking
• What is regenerative agriculture
• What is the Mediterranean diet
• What are the Blue Zones
• Who is Dr. Roy Steiner
• What is sequestering carbon
• What is a cover crop
• What a bambara ground nut looks like
• Who are the bambara tribe
• The Sahel (Africa)
• What is a complete protein
• European farmers step up protests against costs, green rules
• Who is John Fullerton
• What is an exothermic reaction
• What is biochar
• The European Biochar Certificate (EBC)
• What is a co-packer
• In the US alone soil can draw down 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide–equivalent greenhouse gasses every year (False, source)
• In drought years, yields of regenerative crops are consistently HIGHER. In a trial, organic corn yields were 28-34% higher than conventional (True, source)
• The microbes on Earth would outnumber ALL the other flora & fauna on Earth–and outweigh them as well (True, source)
• WhatIF Foods website
• WhatIF Foods blog

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Connect with Ty Wolfe-Jones and Jakub Kubicka

• With Ty Wolfe-Jones on LinkedIn
• With Ty Wolfe-Jones on Twitter
• With Jakub Kubicka on LinkedIn
• With Jakub Kubicka on Twitter

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