Episode 235: Seth Goldman
Oct 05, 2022
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“If there was one person I could credit for teaching me about responsible farming and what the concept of fair trade means and how it changes the world, that person is Seth Goldman.”
Lori Taylor (0:57-1:06)
If we want to help stop global warming and truly make a positive impact on the environment, we have to change the way we eat. Seth Goldman, the same mastermind behind Honest Tea and the plant-based restaurant chain PLNT Burger, has started Eat The Change, a brand serving up delicious, upcycled, planet-based snacks like mushroom jerky, iced tea, carrot chews, and more!
Seth has plenty of experience impacting the environment and democratizing organic, healthy drinks and food. He founded Honest Tea in 1998, making it right in his own home, only to grow the fan-favorite iced tea to the #1 tea in the natural foods category. The brand quickly went mainstream and sold to Coca-Cola in 2011, and the Honest Kids branch of the company was offered at mainstream brands like Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. Seth finished with the company in 2019, becoming Chair of the Board for Beyond Meats and co-founding the fast-casual chain PLNT Burger.
Still hungry to make food and encourage consumers to eat food that’s better for the planet, he started Eat The Change with a focus on creating craveable, snackable, plant-based (or “planet-based” foods as Seth calls them) foods that are great for kids too! Their line of Just Iced Tea was ignited after Seth received a call from Coca-Cola one morning informing him they were discontinuing Honest Tea. Seth immediately called up the Eat The Change team (many of whom were a part of Honest Tea) and decided they were going to launch into the iced tea business yet again to keep this healthy, delicious beverage alive.
The beauty of Just Iced Tea, which, if you look at the label almost looks likes “Justice Tea”, is it truly is just iced tea. There are no artificial ingredients or colors, and the tea is “just sweet enough” so you’re tasting the true flavor of the tea instead of a bunch of extra sweetener. The name also speaks to the working conditions of everyone that’s involved in the making of the product. Everything in Just Iced Tea, from the tea to the sweetener, is fair trade certified. Being fair trade certified means you can be assured the farmers and workers involved have good, healthy working conditions, there is no child labor, and a portion of every sale goes back to the community so they can invest in things like healthcare, schools or new infrastructure. 
Just Iced Tea is made from the top 5% quality tea in the world and primarily comes from India, China and Africa. The team is connected with the tea gardeners and growers to ensure they are equally as committed to upholding the pristine environment and ecosystems where the teas are grown. Everyone is paid a living wage that economically empowers their community. Recently, they did a project for a schoolhouse in India that had no roof. This meant that if it was raining, kids couldn’t learn, and parents who wanted to go to school at night couldn’t because it would be too dark. Thanks to the fair trade premiums (and no incremental cost to the consumer), the school can now offer year-round education to both children and parents.
Did you know agriculture is one of the only professions worldwide where women can earn a working wage?
Most tea pucker’s are women, so what’s truly wonderful about Just Iced Tea is a portion of the funds go back to the workers (many of whom are women) and they’re able to vote how the money is spent in their community. This is giving women the opportunity to be more than just “wage workers” and make decisions about their future. Plus, we all know that global warming is accelerating because the population is growing, and by giving women an opportunity to be educated, they stay in school longer and have fewer children later in life, even furthering the impact Eat The Change is having on our climate crisis.
To make as big of an impact as possible on climate change, all of Eat The Change’s products are plant-based instead of animal-based, which majorly decreases their carbon footprint. Everything is organic to avoid putting more chemical fertilizers and pesticides into the environment. Lastly, everything is looked at from the perspective of reducing water usage. For example, it takes 1900 gallons of water to make a pound of almonds, compared to 40 gallons of water to make a pound of mushrooms, or just 20 pounds of water to make a pound of carrots (hence, carrot chews!).
There’s also a commitment to support more biodiversity. Since 57% of all agricultural production comes from six crops (potatoes, corn, soy, wheat, rice and sugarcane), Eat The Change is dedicated to creating delicious, snackable treats that encourage more biodiversity for a more resilient planet. Considering only six percent of American children (and only ten percent of adults) eat as many fruits and vegetables as the CDC recommends, we all need more convenient, easy and craveable ways to eat enough fruits and veggies on a daily basis.
Find out how you can support the fight against climate change, invest in fair trade products, and feed your family delicious, healthy, craveable, planet-friendly and plant-based snacks from Eat The Change at: www.eatthechange.com!
How to get involved
- Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
- Reach out to us – we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
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Previous episodes you may enjoy
- Episode 234: Turner Wyatt
- Episode 233: Tony Freytag
- Episode 232: Burnell and Keasha Cotlon
- Episode 231: Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak
- Episode 229: Joanna Jaramillo
