195: Cole Mannix - Vertically Integrating Pasture-To-Plate

Cole Mannix, President and Founder of Old Salt Co-op, chats with Dr. Anthony Gustin about creating a vertically integrated pasture-to-plate ecosystem.

Cole’s meat company brings together ranchers to support land stewardship, fix the local food system in Montana, and make regenerative more sustainable. 

They’ve integrated everything from processing, sourcing, distribution, and marketing to running their own farm-to-table restaurants.

Though his family’s been ranching in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley since the 1880s, Cole holds degrees in biology, philosophy, and theology and worked in wildlife and natural resource conservation. 

His unique perspective makes for an interesting conversation. Tune in to hear Cole and Dr. Gustin discuss:

• What inspired Cole to tackle this challenge

• How the co-op works and whether it can be replicated

• International food policies that harm US farmers and ranchers

• Why it’s impossible to industrialize sustainable food production

• The “impact” of cattle emissions on climate change

• How solely plant-based farming devastates ecosystems 

• Why international meat costs less than domestic

• Creating the seed oil-free Old Salt Outpost, a burger joint sending out tallow-cooked french fries

• The Old Salt Festival, Outside magazine’s #2 ranked climate-forward festival

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Cole Mannix’s company: Old Salt Co-op 

• Outside magazine’s article: “9 Best Climate Forward Festivals in 2024“

• Wendell Berry’s book: The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture

• E. F. Schumacher’s book: Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered

• Visit HVMN.com/AG to get 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQTM