Ancient Nutrition highlights the importance of a home and environmental detox. Can you explain what that looks like for individuals who haven’t detoxed their home before?
Detoxing your home is to purify the air and remove toxins from the space. Think about the little ways that you add chemicals to your home on a daily basis – maybe with cleaning products, laundry detergent, walking inside with shoes on (that have stepped in pesticides or water runoff), or even using potentially harmful containers or fabrics. When detoxing your home for the first time, start simple: bring indoor plants into your space that will help purify the air, make your own cleaning products (combine vinegar, baking soda and lemon essential oil) or purchase sustainable options, remove plastic containers and use glass instead, remove your shoes before entering your home and consider using a good quality water filter.
What does “reshape the food system” mean to you, and how are you doing your part as a brand?
Conventional farming has depleted our soil and reduced the nutrient content in our fresh foods. Plus, in an effort to eat on the go or in a hurry, packaged and processed meals have become the norm for many American families. We need to get back to basics, focusing on preparing balanced meals made from whole foods. At Ancient Nutrition, we are working to improve soil quality and produce superfoods that can benefit our health. We do this with regenerative farming practices that will create healthier foods from enriched, microbe-rich soil while benefitting the planet, too.
Your brand talks about how to “plant a seed for sustainability.” What are some ways individuals can do their part?
Sustainability means that you’re creating or maintaining conditions in which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations. It’s a principle that was central to indigenous tribe culture, but has been largely lost over the last several centuries.
The good news is that it’s easy to “do your part” and contribute to a more sustainable planet. One way to live a more sustainable lifestyle is to plant flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs that are native to your region and better support biodiversity. Exotic imported species simply do not provide the sustenance that birds, bees, butterflies and other planet-friendly creatures need to thrive.
Another way to be more sustainable is to stop spraying your property. Toxic chemicals that are used to kill weeds and critters are making their way into your soil and watershed. And of course, support companies that really “walk the talk” and have proven to take sustainable practices seriously.
What does "regenerative" mean in layman’s terms, and how does it play a part in your mission?
Regenerative agriculture is a practice that focuses on enriching the soil, restoring biodiversity and stalling or reversing the effects of climate change.
At Ancient Nutrition, we are committed to Regenerative Agriculture, Nutrition and Climate Health – three issues that are strongly related and play a role in our overall health. We know that “big farming” encourages practices that harm the soil and boost chemical use, which increases the emissions of greenhouse gases. Farming is actually a major contributor to climate change, but it holds the potential to help solve the problem. This transformation of agricultural production is an evolution that we want to be part of and have worked into our brand mission for the next fourteen years, using our 4,000+ acres of regenerative farmland. This means using farming methods that sequester carbon, like low-till farming, natural grazing, and using cover crops and crop rotations.
What are your brand’s sustainability goals, and how do you plan to achieve them?
We feel like we are truly walking the walk when it comes to brand sustainability. As part of our R.A.N.C.H. Project, each initiative we undertake is to reduce greenhouse gases, reduce waste and sequester carbon dioxide that’s already in the atmosphere. We have dedicated 1% of our annual revenue to begin the first phase of this 14-year project that’s working to revolutionize environmental regeneration and healthy food production. For our first stage, we have committed to planting one million superfood-bearing plants on our regenerative farms by June 2024. We have begun composting all accessible waste material and by-product that’s created when we produce our fermented collagen and then used to grow other crops. And we work with local restaurants to compost their food waste so that it can be reinvested into the earth instead of sent to a landfill. We are reducing our company produced plastic and waste by 25%, and have transitioned to more sustainable packaging and marketing material solutions. We save seeds at every harvest, collecting and banking them for reuse on our 100+ species superfood farms. And we’ve supported non-profits that are meaningful to us, like the organization Mully Children’s Family that works to help end poverty, hunger, homelessness and human trafficking, all while planting trees to fight climate change.
Want more Ancient Nutrition? Explore their line of sustainable wellness supplements here.