{"id":43464,"date":"2025-05-02T17:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T21:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=43464"},"modified":"2025-08-03T12:49:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T16:49:27","slug":"why-i-started-a-food-innovation-etf-a-journey-from-personal-conviction-to-growth-investing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/why-i-started-a-food-innovation-etf-a-journey-from-personal-conviction-to-growth-investing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Started a Food Innovation ETF: A Journey from Personal Conviction to Growth Investing"},"content":{"rendered":"
> Back To May\/June 2025 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n

\"ElysabethA Childhood Realization<\/h2>\n

Not eating meat is one of my earliest memories. As a child, I simply couldn\u2019t stomach it. The texture, the fat, the gristle\u2014it all felt unnatural to me. I remember explaining to my parents that it just wasn\u2019t appealing, but they were convinced I needed it to survive. So, under their watchful eyes, I tried to comply, but when they weren\u2019t looking, I hid pieces of meat in my pockets, under the radiator\u2014anywhere to avoid eating it. Of course, I was caught and grounded. In my young mind, I learned that eating meat wasn\u2019t a choice; it was a societal expectation.<\/p>\n

Confronting the Reality of Factory Farming<\/h2>\n

Fast forward to my 20s and 30s, and I had come to understand the realities of factory farming. I would mention to friends, \u201cDo we really need pepperoni on that pizza?\u201d The backlash was swift. \u201cOh, you\u2019re such a tree hugger,\u201d they\u2019d say. I realized that everyone around me was participating in something they knew wasn\u2019t right. Yet, because it was the norm, questioning it was met with resistance. It was a strange contradiction: people were aware of the problem but unwilling to acknowledge it openly.<\/p>\n

A Turning Point in My Investment Journey<\/h2>\n

As I continued my career in finance, serving as Chief Investment Officer for a small family office, my perspective broadened. My focus shifted beyond personal choices to the broader implications of our food system. A turning point came during a Thanksgiving dinner with my nephew, a member of the University of Oregon football team. He told me that his team\u2019s nutrition coach had banned meat and dairy during the season. This revelation struck a deep chord. I had known all along that my body rejected these foods, and now, science and performance nutrition were affirming what I had always felt instinctively. That day, I made a decision: I would no longer let societal pressure dictate my choices. I changed my diet on the spot.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Business Case for Food Systems Transformation<\/h2>\n

Once my diet changed, my business instincts kicked in. I started analyzing the food industry through an investment lens, and what I discovered was staggering. The inefficiencies in the food supply chain were glaring. Factory farming was not just environmentally disastrous \u2014 it was a poor business model. The numbers were irrefutable: 32% of the world\u2019s methane emissions come from animal agriculture, primarily cows. Deforestation, biodiversity loss, food insecurity \u2014 all traced back to the same source. Our current system consumes vast amounts of land and water to produce a fraction of the calories needed to sustain the world\u2019s population. With global demand for meat projected to rise by 50%, and no corresponding increase in land or water, the consequences of inaction were clear: food could become a privilege of the wealthy, leading to geopolitical instability.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n