A Tasty Episode About Sustainable Oil

Today's guest is Jeff Nobbs, CEO and Co-Founder of Zero Acre Farms.

It turns out 20% of our daily caloric intake is made of vegetable oils that are not only harmful to human health, but also have a massive impact on the environment and deforestation. So when thinking about systems problems that impact climate change, how we produce oils for food consumption is a big lever that's yet to be pulled. Zero Acre Farms is on a mission to change that. The company is developing a new category of healthy oils and fats made by fermentation. 

We have a great discussion about how vegetable oils are produced, how they've gained such prominence in our diets, and how Zero Acre Farms is applying fermentation to try to change the game. And since their initial product has just become available on their website, you can try cultured oil for yourself and see what you think.

In today’s episode, we cover: 

• Broad overview of vegetable oil 

• Environmental impacts of different vegetable oils 

• The shift away from animal toward trans fats in the 1980s & 1990s 

• Drivers of vegetable oil growth, including consumer advocacy groups and large fast-food restaurants  

• An overview of Zero Acre Farms 

• How the startup is solving the problem of vegetable oils using fermentation 

• An overview of the fermentation process for food

• The company's direct-to-consumer launch and future plans to scale to restaurants and packaged foods 

• Jeff's background in food, health, and nutrition 

• Zero Acre Farm's externalities 

• How the company creates its cultured oil

• Their seed round, series A, and future funding sources 

• Zero Acre Farms as a Public Benefits Corporation (PBC) 

🎙 Related My Climate Journey podcasts: 

• Startup Series: Compound Foods

• Episode 116: Philip Behn, Imperfect Foods

• Startup Series: Prime Roots