Matt Rogers is the Founder and CEO of Mill, a startup that helps customers turn their food scraps into farm feed. As a former engineer at Apple and cofounder of Nest, Matt understands how to create products that drive lasting change. He believes technology, coupled with deep empathy for the user experience, has the opportunity to solve a problem like food waste in a way that is impactful for both people and the planet. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with Matt to hear what inspired him to found Mill, how Mill is making food waste reduction at home more convenient, and his advice for other entrepreneurs passionate about transforming the future of food.  Matt Rogers: “Oh, man, if I could dare to dream, I would love to say that we could stop sending things to landfill. Now, obviously we're starting with food and food waste is a huge issue, but what if we could end waste? No one likes waste, but we've kinda accepted that it has to exist. And what if it didn't? That would be the dream one day.”  01:01 Intro to Matt 04:23 Inspiration for Mill and advice for starting a company 07:40 Addressing  a systemic problem through behavior change 09:13 Mill’s new food waste reduction system 11:30 Designing hardware to inspire adoption 12:27 The “toothbrush test” for scalable consumer solutions 13:30 Articulating personal benefits to win over skeptics 14:31 Aligning your economic model with your company ethos 15:54 Business considerations for scaling a consumer goods company 18:24 Balancing opportunity cost, team structure, and other considerations when starting a business 20:57 Incentivizing customer engagement 22:38 Raising awareness and changing habits through storytelling 24:40 Navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship 26:17 Using individual action to catalyze systems change 28:18 Learning from other companies, countries, and stakeholders  Links  Learn more about Mill  Reserve your Mill bin  Tech Crunch: Nest co-founder Matt Rogers’ new startup is trash  Fast Company: Nest’s cofounder just designed the world’s fanciest bin for food scraps   Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com  *The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer. 

Neel Ghose is the founder of the Robin Hood Army, a zero-funds volunteer-based organization that is using food redistribution as a medium to connect with others and solve for the problem of excess food at restaurants, grocery stores, and other foodservice settings. Through the power of people, Robin Hood Army has scaled to reach more than 400 cities in 13 countries. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with Neel about what inspired him to begin the Robin Hood Army, how he and his colleagues have maintained the mission of the organization as it grows to include millions of Robins around the world, and his advice for “thinking less and doing more.”  Neel Ghose: “I generally feel that food builds trust. If you’re serving someone week on week, month on month, year on year, it ceases to be charity and it becomes more about community.”  01:26 Intro on Neel and Robin Hood Army 07:26 Getting outside your comfort zone 14:04 Founding and scaling the Robin Hood Army 19:00  How to be a leader in a decentralized organization 24:38 Codifying culture, managing conflicts and setting aside your ego 29:50 The “why” and “how” behind a zero-funds organization 32:24 Power of partnerships 34:26 Building teams that drive growth and expansion  Links  Learn more about Robin Hood Army  Join the Robin Hood Army  Harvard Business School: The Robin Hood Army   Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com  *The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer. 

A-dae Romero-Briones is the Director of Programs at the First Nations Development Institute, an organization committed to strengthening tribal assets and helping Native Communities restore and retain their culture. First Nations supports tribes and Native communities as they build sustainable food systems that improve health, strengthen food security and increase their control over Native agriculture and food systems. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with A-dae about the role of community in addressing complex systems change, why the term “food system” is not a monolith, and how food systems can take radically different forms depending on their historical, cultural and societal context.  A-dae Romero-Briones: “When you think of yourself as an individual in a very complex system, it becomes very overwhelming very fast. But if you think of yourself as an individual in the community that has relationships, that has to deal with a complex system it becomes a little easier.”  01:01 Intro to A-dae and First Nations Development Institute 04:09 Comparison of mainstream and Indigenous food systems 10:25 Transferrable learnings from Indigenous food systems 14:36 How Indigenous food sovereignty can reduce food waste 18:17 What sparked A-dae’s passion for food system change 22:49 The role of a change leader vs. first follower 24:34 How to consider and address systems change 31:15 A-dae’s vision for the future  Links  Learn more about First Nations Development Institute  Watch the film, Gather  Find an Indigenous community near you   Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com  *The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.  

Dana Gunders is the Executive Director of ReFED, a national nonprofit that advances data-driven solutions to help train, inspire, and strategize around food waste reduction. By taking a holistic view of the food system, and focused, purposeful action, ReFED is working to achieve a 50% food waste reduction in accordance with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with Dana about why tackling food waste requires a full-supply-chain view, what Dana views as the biggest barriers and opportunities, and how solving for waste will impact our global food system.  Dana Gunders: “It is just the dumbest problem out there and one that is so solvable. I think we look at climate change and it feels so big and daunting, but wasting food is not. Wasting less food is not rocket science, right? It’s something we all can do, we have control over and it feels very much within our reach and I think that helps keep me motivated.”  01:01 Intro on Dana and the food waste problem 03:34 Background on ReFED 07:55 Long-term progress on food waste reduction 09:32 How to stay motivated to fight food waste 12:08 Tools and potential solutions to stop food waste 15:55 Barriers to scaling progress 17:51 Opportunities for reducing waste across different food groups 00:21 Tracking, measurement and metrics 23:42 Motivating individuals and organizations to act 26:41 Addressing skeptics by sharing individual impact 28:14 What’s on the horizon?  Links  Learn more about ReFED  The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund  ReFED Insights Engine  Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill  Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money by Wasting Less Food  ReFED Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent  North American Leaders Make Historic Commitment to Food Waste Reduction   Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com  *The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.  

A better food system starts with one thing: vision. Food Lab Talk gives global food system changemakers a platform to articulate their vision for the future of food. The series features interviews with inspiring individuals who are working on the frontlines of many of our most pressing food issues: reducing food loss and waste, enhancing food system transparency, facilitating shifts toward more balanced plant-forward diets, enabling informed individual choices for sustainable lifestyles, and accelerating the transition to a circular food economy.   Join Google’s Michiel Bakker to meet the leaders taking bold action and answering what each of us can do to create a better food system for us all.  Links  Learn more about Google’s Food Shots  Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com  Thank you to the guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):  A-dae Romero Briones, Director of Programs at First Nations Development Institute  Matt Rogers, Founder & CEO at Mill  Dana Gunders, Executive Director at ReFED  Neel Ghose, Founder at Robin Hood Army  Amy Keister, Global Director of Sustainability at Compass Group   *The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer. 

Join Google's Michiel Bakker to meet the leaders who have dared to step up and take action to create a better food future for us all. Premiering April 27, 2023 with new episodes each Tuesday. Rate, review, and subscribe at https://www.foodlabtalk.com.