My Entire Journey Has Always Been About Questioning The US Food System

After a decade of studying food, I no longer believe the most important question is whether someone identifies as vegan, paleo, omnivore, or something else entirely. The more important question is whether we are willing to examine the systems that feed us and ask whether they are truly serving our health, our communities, and the planet we depend on.

In 2017, I started a meal prep company because I believed healthy food should be easier to access, (and should be super tasty!)

At the time, I wasn't trying to convince anyone to become vegan. I simply wanted people to have food that tasted good and made them feel good. In 2016, I went to two different business mentors in the Boston area, and both times, I was laughed at.

My first idea was simple. I wanted to create a sticker/ label to be placed on foods that let you know if the food was approved by a set list of principles. (Like the NON GMO or Organic Certified. stickers ) The idea basically was going to be a sticker indicating that the items were grown ethically, sourced ethically, minimally processed, organic, preservative free, chemical free, and typically supported small businesses, and local farmers. This idea was laughed at by an old man that I drove an hour away to meet with.

I definitely felt defeated at first, embarrassed, and was super let down. I was only 22 at the time and really had no real background about food policy, business or how these systems worked, so I trusted him that the idea was stupid and went back to the drawing boards because I knew that a change needed to be made.

So I started an instagram account where I started sharing recipes, featuring products that supported my "sticker's" principles. I would tag and highlight small local businesses in the MA area that I would find from farmers markets and small local markets. I met and connected with a lot of small business owners and felt like I was growing a trustworthy brand. On the surface, my account looked like a recipe page, but if you looked deeper, it was to support my greater mission.

My food account was followed by many people local to my area. There were enough comments saying "take all my money" and "where can I place my order" which led me to the idea of starting a meal prep service. I figured I would use the products I was promoting to create delicious meals to be made for my community.

I went to the same business mentor program from before, which randomly pairs you with a business mentor. I came with this new idea of a healthy, organic food meal prep service, and this time, a different person, also laughed at me and said "well my son is the founder of purple carrot" (a meal prep company for healthy food, serving the local MA area) and basically that was the end of that conversation.

All I could think was, what are the odds of being paired specifically with this person? It didn't feel like a setback though, it felt like a challenge. I had to be the best, and out-do Purple Carrot. (lol)

This did not happen. I found out that I really needed that business advice, because I had an incredible product (everyone loved my meals), but I quickly burnt out and had to close my service. I had burn out so bad that I needed to step away from food for a bit.

By 2020, I became fully vegan, and continued to learn more. My obsession with food was bigger than ever.

The more I learned about food, the harder it became to ignore the systems behind it. The more I learned about industrial farming, resource consumption, antibiotic / pesticide use, and public health, the more difficult it became to separate my personal food choices from the larger consequences they create.

If there is a movement I hope people join, it is not veganism itself. It is the movement toward a food system that values health over convenience, transparency over marketing, and most importantly, the wellbeing of people, animals, and our planet over profit.