S3 Ep11: Fighting for a Fairer Food System, with Pete Russell, Ooooby

Pete Russell was running a 12m dollar-a-year food company when, suddenly, he had a “road to Damascus” moment.  Pete realised that he was a part of a broken food system that was loaded against small food producers, and he knew that he wanted to be part of the solution rather than the problem. 

So he launched Ooooby, a platform that connects small food producers directly with consumers, making it easier for people to access locally-grown produce while supporting sustainable farming practices. In this episode of Food Matters, Pete shares the story of leaving the world of mass food production to level the playing field for small scale family farms and artisan food producers.

They also talk about:

 ·       How Pete built a $12m dollar-per-year business in Australia and what it taught him about the global food system.

·       The process of change – what drove him to leave it all behind and focus on a system build on fairness and food sustainability. 

·       His first encounter with the iphone and why he knew it was to change how we shop forever.

·       Why understanding that price and convenience are what people want is key to really changing the food system.

·       The highs and lows of building Ooooby, and what the future holds. 

GIY are proud to align our mission, vision and impact with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response to the urgency of the climate crisis, and in line with the UN Decade of Action, our ambition at GIY is to inspire 100 million people around the world to grow some of their own food by 2030.

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