Food Lab Talk

Jennifer Bushman is a sustainable seafood expert, communicator, and strategist who has been championing ethical aquaculture for more than two decades. She is the co-founder of Fed by Blue and   creator of the Sea Pantry initiative which educates consumers on how to make responsible seafood choices every day. On this episode of Food Lab Talk, Michiel speaks with Jennifer about the power of people, the importance of generating proof of concept, and what search engines or social media has to do with influencing change. 

Jennifer Bushman: “People are consuming media in a lot of different ways. Both on the plate and through YouTube... people are out there searching for information. How we utilize that for good is very important. When you ask Chat GPT what a blue food is, it goes down the blueberry path. So we have to start to make sure that information is out there, that we are sophisticated in the way in which we're reaching consumers, where they are and how they're getting information. To really create scale, it's going to have to be all the parts that create the sum. And I don't know that we know yet how the best way is to change consumptive behavior. Because to be honest with you, it hasn't been done.”

00:24 Intro to Jennifer

01:15 Jennifer’s journey from land to sea 

03:18 “Blue Foods” vs. sustainable aquaculture

04:23 What show choir and activism have in common

06:40 How to stay motivated in the long arc of change

10:09 Why our food system is a complicated puzzle

13:46 The importance of a strong support system + network

18:37 What does it mean to shift diets?

22:50 The tension between supply and demand

24:11 Generating proof of concept

25:41 Building a U.S. aquaculture supply

27:56 Harnessing the power of people

29:16 Using Google Search, YouTube and other media

31:27 Takeaways for changemakers

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