Oser Communications Group

Naturally Healthy GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2020 www.gourmetnews.com NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 3 Fresh Meat to Save the Planet from Extinction BY LORRIE BAUMANN Force of Nature is a start-up meat producer that's attempting to show that ruminant livestock can be part of the solution to cli- mate change rather than part of the prob- lem. The key to that is in raising bison, beef, elk and venison in ways that con- tribute to the soil's ability to sequester car- bon – a livestock management process known as regenerative agricul- ture – and Force of Nature sources its raw meat products only from growers who are practicing that kind of agricul- ture, according to Robby San- som, the company's Chief Executive Officer and Land Steward. Before becoming involved with the start-up last year, Sansom was the Chief Finan- cial Officer and Chief Operat- ing Officer of Epic Provisions, which is known for its meat-based snacks made from animals raised with regenerative methods. The company was acquired by General Mills in 2016. Sansom left Epic Provisions in 2019 after deciding that he could use the knowledge of regenerative agriculture that he'd gained at Epic Provi- sions to greater effect by focusing on raw meat rather than on snack foods. "It was that journey [with Epic Provisions] that got us into the regenerative journey," he said. "It's the fresh meat market that provides a greater opportunity to drive changes in the way agriculture is practiced and the effects of those practices on the world's food sup- ply and its climate.... We really see the epiphany." Having gained experience with sourcing bison products while he was at Epic, San- som started there. He'd already become aware that much of the American meat market's supply of bison comes from ani- mals that were finished on grain and may have lived their whole lives being confined and fed grain rather than roaming freely on open range. "The sad reality is that the vast majority of bison com- ing into the food sup- ply is coming through the conventional food system," he said. American Grass-Fed Association Executive Director Carrie Balk- com backs him up on that. "A lot of the ani- mals are being brought in from feed yards in Canada and then they're brought into this country and labeled 'grass-fed,'" she said. "It is incredible that people think bison are actually out there roaming on the range, but they're spending time in feed lots – and that can be years." "I'm not the bison police," she added. "We fight it every year on the label claims, but until the federal government comes in and says you can't do that, it'll continue to happen." While conventional livestock-raising is frequently blamed for its effects on global warming – the United Nations' Intergov- ernmental Panel on Climate Change pointed out that livestock on managed pas- tures and rangelands were an important contributor to the agriculture industry's greenhouse gas emissions – it's also been recognized that "Sustainable land manage- ment can contribute to reducing the nega- tive impacts of multiple stressors, including climate change, on ecosystems and soci- eties," according to the IPCC's 2019 report. There are livestock producers who've taken this to heart and are raising livestock in ways that protect soil health and allow the soil to act as a carbon sink that se- questers carbon from the atmosphere while building topsoil that also helps to manage water efficiently and prevent erosion. San- som says that he's found those sources for responsibly raised meat, and Force of Nature Meats is able to deliver it to the American market, al- though currently only on a very limited basis. He's hopeful that once con- sumers find their way to the Force of Nature prod- ucts and have tasted the difference between them and conventionally raised meats, they'll create a de- mand for regeneratively raised livestock that will motivate produc- ers to raise more of it. "We're going to raise the bar every year," he said. "Producers will produce whatever the heck consumers say they want.... Nobody's going to make a product they can't sell." Force of Nature Meats currently offers 14- and 16-ounce packages as well as bulk packs of Ground Bison sourced from Texas; Ground Wild Boar, also sourced from Texas, where feral boars have become a nuisance; Grass-fed Ground Venison and Grass Fed Ground Elk sourced from New Zealand, where Sansom says that he's found livestock producers raising venison and elk through grass-fed and grass-finished meth- ods that comport with Force of Nature's standards of regenerative agriculture. The company also offers Ancestral Blend pack- ages of Ground Bison and Ground Beef, which combine meat obtained from the an- imals' organs as well as muscles into a product that offers the flavor profiles of conventional meat plus the nutritional ben- efits associated with organ meats. The company also of- fers a very limited selec- tion of bison cuts from the short ribs and tender- loin in a product range that will grow with the company, according to Sansom. The company has launched into the re- tail market through its website and in limited local distribution from its Austin, Texas, base, and is on the cusp of achieving national distribution, for which Sansom believes he's going to be able to scale the enterprise. For more information, visit www .forceofnaturemeats.com. GN Luscious Yogurt Desserts from Lavva BY LORRIE BAUMANN Yogurt isn't generally thought of as a dessert food, but Lavva, a brand of plant- based yogurts, has launched a new line called Molten Lavva that combines rich, creamy decadence and classic dessert flavors with plant-based clean ingredients and no added sug- ars. The new line launched this year at Natural Products Expo West and is expected to be ready to ship to natural products retailers this month. The secret to Molten Lavva's creamy texture is the pili nut, a tropical tree nut that's native to Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. "It's similar to coconut, in that out of 200 calories, 192 of them come from fat," said Elizabeth Fisher, Lavva's Founder and Chief Executive Offi- cer. "I'm now over my fear of fats. It is sat- isfying. It keeps you full longer. You don't start craving bad things." While the pili nut does include some saturated fat, it's almost entirely in the form of the monounsatu- rated fats. Unlike coconut, pili nuts don't have a strong flavor of their own to inter- fere with the flavors of other ingredients, according to Fisher. "It has a neutral, but- tery taste," she said. "It just tastes like but- ter, with a neutral, creamy mouthfeel." Although pili nuts are plentiful in the areas where they grow, they aren't widely known elsewhere because the natural fats in the nuts tend to oxidize quickly. "Once you crack the hard shell, you have about 30 days to use it," Fisher said. "That may be one of the main reasons it's never been [widely] exported." The nuts sourced for Lavva come from a cooperative of farmers who receive a fair trade price for their crop. After harvest, the nuts are soaked and sprouted, and then de- hydrated into a form that preserves the nat- ural fats without using chemical stabilizers. "It's ridiculously high in magnesium and Vitamin B and has other mi- cronutrients as well," Fisher said. "It's a beautiful nutritional profile in addi- tion to the fats." Lavva makes its plant-based yo- gurts by adding probiotic cultures to the pili nuts along with plantain, which adds sweetness and prebiotic fiber; cassava; and coconut, which contributes medium chain triglyc- erides. "This is something that was never planned. But when when the prebiotic fibers met the probiotics, the probiotics just started feasting, and it keeps the probiotics alive in the cup," Fisher said. "We have found that the plantain are delivering a slow-release food source for the probiotics over the course of the life of the product." "We have no added sugars across the en- tire Lavva line, so even though we have a fruit flavor, it's just organic fruit, and that's unique in the yogurt category," she added. "Plus, it's clean.... This is how good yogurt gets grown. It's clean, plant-based, so it has- n't been done with processing agents and technology. It hasn't been done with a lot of powders and potions – it's grown from a tree." The new Molten Lavva desserts feature classic dessert flavors: Chocolate, Choco- late Raspberry, Espresso, Key Lime and Vanilla Chai. Like the other Lavva yogurts, they have no added sugar, and a one-serv- ing cup offers 3-4 grams of net carbohy- drates and 18 grams of fat as well as prebiotics and probiotics. They're plant- based and keto approved. "It lives right next to the Lavva in the regular refrigerator case," Fisher said. "It's a refrigerated yogurt but with very different positioning.... This is a fermented food with naturally occurring prebiotics. It's 100 percent plant-based and so good you can't imagine." For more information, visit www.lovvelavva.com. GN

• Cover