The Brave New World of Retail: Join Errol Schweizer on the Next Compass Coffee Talk, November 18, 11:30am EST

The Brave New World of Retail

Join retail expert Errol Schweizer, former VP of Grocery for Whole Foods Market, as he explores the changing state of retail on the next Compass Coffee Talk

EPISODE 8 - WEDNESDAY, November 18, 11:30 AM – NOON EST
ZOOM, ADMISSION IS FREE

After serving for seven years as the VP of Grocery with the world’s largest natural products retailer, Whole Foods Market, Errol Schweizer has gone on to work with Patagonia, General Mills, Good Eggs, and other leading healthy lifestyles retailers and brands. Supermarket News named him one of their top 25 Game Changers, and in 2019 he won the Hemp Industry Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to working with leading food retailers and manufacturers, and further refining the natural products retail experience through his unique lens and experience, Errol has become an advocate for essential workers. His podcast, The Checkout, hosts amazing conversations with industry leaders and focuses on the rapid evolution of retail in the time of Covid-19 and beyond.

Join us for the next Compass Coffee Talk as co-hosts Steve Hoffman and Bill Capsalis from Compass Natural explore with Errol how to succeed in a rapidly changing retail market, and how brands can survive and thrive through the pandemic … and how grocery retail will change in the future.

About Errol Schweizer
A native of The Bronx, NY, Errol Schweizer is a 25+ year veteran of the food system, with experience in retail, food service, cooperatives, farmers markets, urban agriculture, community organizing and food policy. He has worked nearly every retail and service sector job, from grill cook and dishwasher, to stock clerk and purchasing manager. As the former V.P. of Grocery for Whole Foods, he spent over a decade bringing more than 6,000 products to market. Errol has subsequently had a huge impact on Non-GMO and Organic product availability, fair labor standards, Halal and Kosher certification, plant-based foods, and grass-fed and humanely-raised meat, eggs and dairy. Errol is currently a Board Member, Advisor and Co-Founder for over a dozen retailers and manufacturers in the natural products and cannabis sectors and is active in regional food policy, Organic food access and social justice organizing.

Thanks to our Sponsor, Allegro Coffee!

For the holiday season, Allegro Coffee will give away a fully stocked gift basket filled with their organic coffee & tea's and custom coffee mugs!

About Compass Coffee Talk™
Take a 30-minute virtual coffee break with Compass Coffee Talk™. Hosted by natural industry veterans Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman, Coffee Talk features lively interactive conversations with industry leaders and experts designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of any size succeed in the market for natural, organic, regenerative, hemp-derived and other eco-friendly products.

Compass Coffee Talk™ is produced by Compass Natural Marketing, a leading PR, branding and business development agency serving the natural and organic products industry. Learn more.

Compass Natural Marketing™ Forms New Advisory Board

Seasoned Natural Products Executives Partner with Agency’s Specialized Team of Experts, and Provide Additional Support for Clients in Regenerative, Hemp, and Organic Industries

Boulder, CO (October 13, 2020) – Boulder-based Compass Natural Marketing is pleased to announce the launch of its newly established Advisory Board along with the appointment of three charter members. Natural products industry veterans Ari Adams, Bill Capsalis, and Mike Schall will provide their depth of knowledge, insights, and guidance to the Compass Natural Advisory Board, in addition to supporting the agency’s current team of specialized communications experts. Compass Advisory Board members will foster positive relationships and collaborate directly with Compass’s clients in the regenerative agriculture, industrial hemp, and organic and natural products industries.

“I am proud and honored for Ari, Bill, and Mike to join Compass's new Advisory Board. Each of these distinguished leaders has complementary skill sets, yet diversified disciplines that appeal to our client’s needs," said Steven Hoffman, Founder and Managing Partner, Compass Natural Marketing. “The Advisory Board’s level of expertise combined with the skill set of our internal team positions Compass as a premier boutique niche agency. This collaboration reflects a deeper commitment to the industries we serve, and I am grateful to announce this partnership.” 

The Compass Advisory Board is in its initial phase and board positions are being considered on an individual basis. For more information on the Compass Natural team, including capabilities and how to connect your brand to valuable media, please visit  www.compassnatural.com or contact Steven Hoffman at steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com.

ARI ADAMS 
Ari Adams is a parenting and lifestyle blogger, author, and CEO of ShiftCon Media, producer of the annual ShiftCon Eco-Wellness Influencer Conference for eco-friendly and health-conscious bloggers and influencers. She holds a master's degree in marketing and has more than 15 years of experience in the media industry. Ari is the lady behind the lifestyle and parenting blog Love, Peace & Tiny Feet, where she shares her adventures of balancing parenthood, holistic wellness, DIY crafts, recipes, and other tips for parents. Ari studied at the University of Virginia and Georgia State University and holds a Master's Degree in Marketing. Ari also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Digital Marketing at Clayton State University in Atlanta, GA.

BILL CAPSALIS
As an avid healthy lifestyle expert, Bill works with emerging brands and mid-sized companies on everything from brand & sales channel strategy, finance, operational challenges, and product innovation. His in-depth knowledge of the natural products industry gives him a unique perspective on today’s food and beverage brands' challenges and opportunities. He is a recognized expert in healthy lifestyles and go-to-market strategies in the natural and organic industry. He is currently the interim CEO of Haystack Mountain Creamery - an artisanal goat cheese company. Practicing what he preaches, Bill leads a vegan, low-impact conscious lifestyle and has done so in Boulder, Colorado, for 34 years.

MIKE SCHALL
Mike has over three decades of senior management experience in branded food companies spanning large national brands' entrepreneurial initiatives. Mike is a Managing Director at Los Angeles based FocalPoint Partners, LLC, a middle-market investment banking firm and serves as a co-leader of the firm's Food & Beverage Practice. He previously served as Senior Principal of Business Development at Whole Foods Market where he worked with the executive leadership team on a wide range of strategic, investment and operating initiatives. Mike earned his MBA in Marketing from The University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and graduated from California State University with a bachelor's degree in Marketing. He is plant-based, an avid runner, and enjoys cooking, reading, and studying history. He and Lisa, his wife of 40 years, have two daughters and three granddaughters.

About Compass Natural Marketing
Based in Boulder, Colorado - considered by many to be the "Epicenter of the Natural Products Industry," Compass Natural is a boutique digital marketing, branding, PR, and business development agency serving the rapidly growing market for natural, organic, socially responsible, eco-friendly and other healthy lifestyles products. Founded in late 2001 and driven by a commitment to creating a better world through business, Compass Natural has been a leader in the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) market.

Contact
Steven Hoffman, Founder/Managing Director, Compass Natural Marketing, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com

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YES AND Launches Organic VOTE Masks & Tees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

YES AND Launches Organic VOTE Masks & Tees

The timely, digitally native sustainable fashion brand, created by ECOlifestyle pioneer and Author Marci Zaroff, connects agriculture to popular culture

NEW YORK, NY (October 13, 2020) – As we get out the VOTE for the 2020 USA election, YES AND is now offering voters a way to WEAR THE CHANGE they wish to see—with their new GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton, low-impact dyed, and ethically made “VOTE” masks and T-shirts for both women and men.

This stunning, stylish, and sustainable collection includes organic "VOTE" tees ($43) in olive, black and moonbeam, "VOTE eco logically" long sleeve tees ($48) in heather gray and white, "VOTE eco logically" short sleeve unisex crew tees ($38) in heather gray and white and "VOTE" masks ($13) in olive and black.

YES, this innovative ECOfashion brand, founded by visionary Marci Zaroff, introduces responsibly luxurious, cool and conscious apparel to the masses, AND, at an accessible price point. YES AND was born to break the stigma that sustainable fashion has to compromise modern design, quality, fit, color, comfort or price. YES, the vibe is edgy, flattering, and fun, AND the company is committed to value AND values.

In the spirit of co-creation, YES AND has partnered with like-minded organizations, including the Rodale Institute and Women’s Earth Alliance, for this timely and important “VOTE” campaign.

“There can be no climate justice without social justice. This year’s election is so critical for Mother Earth, our global community, and our children’s futures—so please join me to VOTE eco logically—for a better world and a cleaner, greener planet,” states Zaroff.

According to The Organic Center and Organic Trade Association, “Organic agriculture mitigates climate change by reducing direct and indirect sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and acting as a carbon sink via soil carbon sequestration. Organic Farms emit 18% less global warming potential than other farming systems, and have greater biological activity, greater soil stability, more biomass and higher diversity, and sequester 26% more carbon than soils from non-organic farms.”

YES AND’s parent company, ECOfashion Corp, runs a “Greenhouse of Brands,”—all sharing a passion for organic and regenerative agriculture. MetaWear, EFC’s manufacturing arm, has an office in India and manages all production from organic farm to finished fashion, and source to story. Sister brands Farm to Home and Seed to Style will bring GOTS certified organic home and apparel to world-leading home shopping network QVC in January 2021.

YES AND gives people a way to buy what they love and seek—affordably and online, while making a difference to human and environmental wellness, farmer and worker welfare, and future generations. YES, join the movement to look good, feel, good and do good in the world, AND, “VOTE eco logically” in this upcoming election, and always.

Enter YACOMPASS11 at checkout for 11% off at www.joinyesand.com.

About YES AND
YES AND is hailed as a timely, digitally native, modern and sustainable fashion brand, created by ECOlifestyle pioneer and authority, Marci Zaroff. The brand offers responsibly luxurious, GOTS certified organic apparel to the masses at an accessible price point. YES AND was created to break the stigma that sustainable fashion has to compromise style, quality, fit, color, comfort or price. The vibe is edgy, flattering, and fun AND is certified organic, low impact dyed, and ethically made.

According to the Textile Exchange, the fashion industry is one of the largest air and water polluters, representing 8-10% of the planet's carbon impact and 20% of Earth's industrial freshwater pollution.

About ECOfashion Corp
ECOfashion Corp is a Social Purpose Corporation (SPC), focused on people, planet, and prosperity, and was founded in 2019 by ECOfashion pioneer, serial entrepreneur, expert and author Marci Zaroff, with the vision to transform the fashion and textile industries through inspiration, education, innovation and collaboration. By leading with modern design, high quality and affordability, the ECOfashion Corp "GreenhouseTM of Brands" includes YES AND (direct-to-consumer sustainable apparel online), Farm to Home (organic bed and bath on QVC), Metawear (turnkey sustainable apparel and home manufacturing), RESET (a regenerative, in-conversion-to-organic cotton farm project in India,) and Seed to Style, GOTS certified apparel brand (sizes XXS-3XL) launching on QVC January 29, 2021.

For more information visit:
www.joinyesand.com | @yesand | @MarciZaroff
www.ecofashioncorp.com

Media Contact
Brandsway Creative
Alexandra Rothenberg - Account Executive
E. AR@BrandswayCreative.com
O. 212 966 7900

Life After Manitoba Harvest: Mike Fata Celebrates 25 Years of a Personal and Entrepreneurial Journey to Health

This article originally appeared on LetsTalkHemp.com

By Steven Hoffman

Mike Fata, founder and former Chair and CEO of Manitoba Harvest – and one of the original founders of the hemp food industry – is celebrating the 25th anniversary this month marking the beginning of his personal journey to health.

In 1995, Mike was, as he said, “an unhealthy and unhappy 18 year old who weighed 300 pounds. I became sick and tired of being sick and tired, and decided to do something about it.”

Along the way, Mike learned a lot about nutrition, a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. He lost 125 pounds, regained his health, and … “the journey to health got me to see the value of hemp seed,” he said.

Inspired by the superfood potential hidden in the hemp seed, Fata in 1998 founded Manitoba Harvest. Today, the award-winning company is a widely recognized global hemp food leader, with lifetime sales in 2020 surpassing $500 million.

After successfully selling Manitoba Harvest in 2019 to Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), a publicly traded, vertically integrated cannabis company based in Canada, for US$318 million, Mike is no longer involved on a day to day basis with the company. “It came to the point where the business was going that it was best to have a classically trained CEO leading the company,” he observed.

Yet, having carved out a significant entrepreneurial legacy in hemp and the natural and organic foods industry, Mike has future plans to mentor and invest in companies and brands that are committed to improving health, the environment and the quality of people’s lives.

“My passion is health and my purpose is to share it with the world,” Fata said. “I’m starting to diversify and help other founders fulfill their mission in the natural products space. I’ve made a couple of investments and got involved on the board level, and am involved actively in a couple of businesses.” Mike cites, for example that he’s become involved with Om Organic Mushrooms, an emerging natural supplements brand.

Mike also is committed to helping the hemp industry and natural products industry grow in Canada. “Giving back has been a big part of my work for my whole career; I’ve done 25 years of nonprofit board work,” he shared. Currently, Fata serves as Chair of the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA), and during his tenure, the organization has been supportive of removing restrictions on CBD sales in Canada.

Currently, there are no legal means to bring non-prescription CBD health products to the Canadian marketplace, said CHFA in a statement. However, the association this past month released a report identifying CBD products as an opportunity for economic recovery in Canada that could create a niche market valued at more than C$1 billion.

“CHFA has been very outspoken in favor of hemp and CBD in the last couple of years,” said Fata. “Currently, to buy CBD in Canada you have to go to a licensed dispensary. We’re trying to change it so natural food retailers in Canada can sell these products.”

In applying what he’s learned leading the growth of Manitoba Harvest, Fata said, “At the end of the day, if you have a great product and you put the right capital and great people together, good things can happen. However, he noted, “The hemp industry is missing strong strategy and planning because it’s still a new industry. Also, more innovation has to happen,” he advised.

Fata also believes that “extracts aren’t the cure all and end all for the hemp industry. People rushed in; it will take years to work out.”

However, Mike notes that there is huge potential for hemp food and hemp fiber. “There is tremendous value in the seed and the fiber 10 to 20 times over where the industry is now,” he said. “For now, we have hemp hearts, but we need more innovation. Look at the advancements in soy protein, pea protein, for example. “Hemp is just scratching the surface. We’re just getting started on being a superfood.”

While Mike admits he is currently under a noncompete agreement in the hemp market as a result of the sale of Manitoba Harvest to Tilray, “I am a super hemp consumer and am super passionate about it, from genetics to market. So, stay tuned.”

The best way to reach out to Mike Fata is via LinkedIn.

Even Dr. Fauci Takes Vitamin D – New Study Points to Strong Correlation Between Vitamin D Levels and Covid-19 Outcomes

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By Steven Hoffman

Dr. Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, is one of the most trusted experts in the U.S. regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. So, when he recommends taking dietary supplements to boost immunity and lessen susceptibility to Covid-19 infection, people listen. 

On a recent Instagram Live interview with host and actor Jennifer Garner, Fauci suggested taking vitamin D and vitamin C, supplements he said he took himself, reported CNBC. (Garner also is co-founder with industry veteran John Foraker of organic baby food company Once Upon a Farm). 

“If you’re deficient in vitamin D, that does have an impact on your susceptibility to infection. I would not mind recommending, and I do it myself, taking vitamin D supplements, he told Garner during the livecast. “The other vitamin that people take is vitamin C because it’s a good antioxidant, so if people want to take a gram or so of vitamin C, that would be fine.”

A recent study published in JAMA Network found that people with untreated vitamin D deficiency were nearly twice as likely to test positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus compared to individuals with sufficient vitamin D levels. In addition, in a retrospective study of patients tested for Covid-19, researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine found an association between vitamin D deficiency and the likelihood of becoming infected with the coronavirus.

Past research also has shown that deficient levels of vitamin D are linked to more severe cases of Covid-19 and higher likelihood of death, reported Business Insider. New Hope Network also reported on a number of recent studies conducted in the U.S. and throughout the world demonstrating a correlation between vitamin D levels and Covid-19 outcomes.

In Spain, results of a recent clinical trial with vitamin D study were so startling that, while the sample size was small, the results were so “dramatic that they are statistically significant,” wrote one scientist in BMJ in response to the research.

In the Spanish study, researchers randomly allocated 76 confirmed cases of Covid-19 into those that received either oral calcifediol (25-hydroxyvitamin D) (50 patients) or no-calcifediol control (26 patients) on the day of hospital submission. Oral calcifediol was given at high does on the first day and then on the third and seventh day, and weekly until discharge or admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). All patients also received the best available standard care at the time, the study noted.

Medium reported that results of the clinical study revealed that 13 out of 26 patients, or 50%, in the control group were admitted to the ICU, and two died. In the vitamin D group, only one out of 50, or 2%, required admission to ICU, and none died.

According to Medium, the results of the clinical trial from Spain provide some of the strongest evidence to date that vitamin D therapy could work for Covid-19. The results also support prior research that found that low vitamin D levels in the blood are an independent risk factor for severe Covid-19.

In addition to taking his daily dietary supplements, Dr. Fauci recommends masks, social distancing and handwashing as the best practices for keeping yourself and others safe.

Excellence Matters, in Space and on Earth: Front Range Biosciences Establishes Hemp Center of Excellence

By Steven Hoffman

Dr. Jonathan Vaught, Ph.D. – renowned plant-breeding and biotech scientist and CEO and cofounder of Front Range Biosciences – is committed to hemp. With a Ph.D. Organic Chemistry and expertise in molecular biology, he knows that quality – and excellence – matters, especially in seed stock and genetics.

You may remember Front Range Biosciences as the company that in March 2020 partnered with the University of Colorado to send hemp tissue cultures into space to study the effects of the International Space Station’s zero gravity environment on the plant’s gene expression. 

“Our company is focused on figuring out how to develop and grow these plants in a wide range of environments, and the most extreme environment would be outside of the atmosphere in space, in zero gravity,” Vaught told Hemp Grower in June. “As a lot of our scientists put it, it’s the most remote location we have for our field trial program, and I think it’s an exciting area of research that we want to continue to explore."

More down to Earth, in Boulder, CO, the company recently established the Front Range Biosciences (FRB) Hemp Science Center of Excellence. Founded in partnership with the Shimadzu Corp., a 145-year-old science, technology and instrumentation company based in Kyoto, Japan, the FRB Center of Excellence will focus on genetics, biobanking, breeding and analysis, all with state-of-the-art Shimadzu instrumentation, the company announced in late August. 

According to Vaught, the FRB Center of Excellence will host scientists performing chemical and genetic analytical research to “support the development of new hemp varieties for the production of cannabinoids, terpenoids and other compounds for medical and wellness applications; lipid, wax and protein ingredients for food and cosmetics applications; and fiber for industrial applications.”

The Intersection of Human Health, Plant Breeding and Agriculture
After years focusing on diagnostics in healthcare and food safety, working with companies large and small, Vaught, along with his business partner and Front Range Biosciences cofounder Nick Hofmeister, began looking at hemp and cannabis as an “intersection of human diagnostics, food safety, plant breeding and agriculture – all the work I’ve done,” he said. 

The partners set out at the beginning focused on the agricultural part of the supply chain – “developing new plant varieties, leveraging technology such as plant tissue culture, and marker assisted breeding to bring innovation and differentiation of hemp and cannabis products through genetics,” Vaught said. “As the regulatory pathway for hemp opened up a way to work with this plant, we moved aggressively into hemp because there were less restrictions to drive research and technology.” 

Today, through its Clean Stock Program, the company is focused on supporting licensed cannabis and hemp operations in California, Colorado and throughout the U.S. and the world with next-generation plant breeding technology that the company says provides a consistent supply of disease- and pathogen-free plant and seed stock.

“We are really a platform company that leverages multiple technologies and capabilities to deliver new products within the hemp and cannabis markets,” Vaught explained. “Whether it’s premium flower, concentrates, fiber, grain or supplements, we are using our platforms to solve problems in all those areas by developing new plant varieties via cloning, vegetative, seed and other technologies,” he added.

While FRB sees value in new technologies and developing a deep knowledge and database around plant genomes, “We are not interested in producing GMO products,” Vaught emphasized. “We have a lot of growers using organic production practices, whether they are truly certified or not, and we support them,” he said. 

“We are big believers in regenerative agricultural practices,” Vaught added. “The cannabis plant presents a unique opportunity as a model crop for regenerative practices in that it can be bred to be resistant. It’s a naturally robust plant,” he noted.

“At the end of the day, most of the products that come from this plant get concentrated or distilled and put into people, so it’s vitally important that these products are clean, with no toxic components going into the supply chain,” Vaught emphasized.

With the Center of Excellence as a resource, FRB “looks to leverage chemistry to understand the different ingredients in this plant – the cannabinoids, flavonoids and other small molecules – to understand them better, and then to apply technologies to develop varieties that can take advantage of these components,” he said.

“We’re on the cutting edge. This is one of the fastest growing, most exciting industries in the world. We expect to see continued growth in both hemp and cannabis as more states legalize it,” Vaught added.

More than just an expert in cannabis, plant breeding and biotechnology, Vaught, a musician on the side, admits he’s had his eyes on Let’s Talk Hemp Founder Morris Beegle’s newly manufactured Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars. Which may prove that while man cannot live on bread alone, he/she can get by pretty well with hemp!

CBD Industry Takes the Fight to the DEA

Harmony, RE: Botanicals CEO Janel Ralph Leads Industry Lawsuit Challenging DEA’s Proposed Rules on Hemp

By Steven Hoffman

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) just made the wrong person mad. 

By issuing in late August an interim final rule to regulate hemp that is separate from USDA’s, many hemp business leaders feel DEA’s IFR could seriously threaten the hemp extracts market.

Enough so that Janel Ralph, CEO of two leading hemp extract brands including Harmony (aka Palmetto Harmony) and RE: Botanicals, has taken the initiative to file a federal lawsuit challenging DEA’s rule and perceived interference in the industrial hemp market. 

In particular, manufacturers are challenging DEA’s rule stating that any hemp product exceeding the federal limit of 0.3% THC during manufacturing is considered a Schedule I controlled substance, even if the final product contains less than the 0.3% limit.

The petition was filed on September 18, 2020, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by RE Botanicals, Inc. in partnership with the Hemp Industries Association. A leading hemp extract manufacturer based in South Carolina, RE Botanicals in 2019 acquired Palmetto Synergistic Research (dba Harmony), which was founded in 2015 by Janel Ralph, inspired to develop products to serve her special needs daughter Harmony.

“We are a small, woman-operated company,” said Ralph. “The DEA’s new rule could put us out of business overnight.”

The lawsuit claims DEA’s interim final rule is unlawful because it exceeds the DEA's legal authority and violates the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill. 

The DEA’s rule clarifies the agency’s position that all hemp derivatives or extracts exceeding 0.3% THC shall remain Schedule I controlled substances. According to the petitioners, this requirement could be interpreted to include intermediate hemp derivatives that temporarily exceed 0.3% during processing, but contain less than 0.3% in final products.

As such, it improperly establishes the DEA’s authority over legal hemp activities, which is contrary to the plain language and intent of the 2018 Farm Bill, the petitioners claim.

The petitioners also argue that acting DEA administrator Timothy Shea, who is individually named as a respondent along with the agency, issued the interim final rule without observing procedures required by law.

Attorneys for the petitioners include Vicente Sederberg LLP, Yetter Coleman LLP, Hoban Law Group and Kight Law Office PC. 

"The DEA implemented this rule without following proper rule-making procedures, such as providing the public with notice and the opportunity to comment," said Shawn Hauser, a partner at Vicente Sederberg and chair of the firm's hemp and cannabinoids practice. "The petitioners believe legal action is necessary to protect the lawful U.S. hemp industry that Congress intended to establish when it enacted the 2018 Farm Bill.”

Hemp industry members, business owners and advocates are encouraged to provide comments to the DEA before the October 20, 2020 deadline. Comments can be submitted here.

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Register Today! Join Ashley Koff RD on Compass Coffee Talk, October 14, 11:30am EDT

Wellness in the Time of Covid

Join Nationally Renowned Registered Dietitian Ashley Koff for the Latest Product Trends in Health and Wellness, Plus What You Need to Know Now for a Healthier Life

Episode 7 - Wednesday, October 14, 11:30 am – Noon EDT
Zoom, Admission is Free

Does your brand need a boost in health and wellness power? Join the conversation and hear from nationally acclaimed nutrition expert Ashley Koff, RD, who will share the latest trends and buzz in the natural products industry and how to grow your business through better nutrition.

Hosts Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman will chat with special guest Ashley Koff, RD, on October 14th, 11:30 am – Noon EDT, via Zoom. Hear insights and inspiration on what we need to know now to live a healthier tomorrow. Learn how to improve the overall well-being of consumers better, how to promote immunity through nourishing foods, and practice sustainable measures for a better environment during these uncertain times.

Ashley will also discuss her dynamic online Better Nutrition Program and how your brand can get better results powered by better nutrition.

About Ashley
Ashley Koff RD, CEO, The Better Nutrition Program uniquely blends over twenty years as an integrative practitioner with decades of helping individuals get and stay healthy, powered by better nutrition choices. Today, Koff runs The Better Nutrition Program, the all-in-one system to grow your integrative healthcare business, consults for leading food and supplement brands, and is a partner for BeyondBrands LLC. An accomplished author, speaker, media expert, spokeswoman, and activist, Koff hosts My Better Nutrition, co-hosts the podcast Take Out with Ashley & Robyn, is an advisor for Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition’s Food and Entrepreneurship program, and is an advisory board member for The Partnership for Healthier America. She's a passionate basketball fan, relearning the trumpet, and loves outdoor adventures.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR, ALLEGRO COFFEE! THEY WILL GIVE AWAY ONE FREE BAG OF COFFEE ON THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF COMPASS COFFEE TALK.

About Compass Coffee Talk™Take a 30-minute virtual coffee break with Compass Coffee Talk™. Hosted by natural industry veterans Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman, Coffee Talk features lively interactive conversations with industry leaders and experts designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of any size succeed in the market for natural, organic, regenerative, hemp-derived and other eco-friendly products.

Compass Coffee Talk™ is produced by Compass Natural Marketing, a leading PR, branding and business development agency serving the natural and organic products industry. Learn more.

It’s Hemp vs. the DEA…Again!

Photo: Wikipedia

Hemp industry leaders urge constituents to submit comments in the Federal Register: “Keep the DEA out of the hemp business.”

By Steven Hoffman

When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, it included historic legislation that legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp in the U.S. for the first time in more than 80 years. In doing so, it removed the DEA’s (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) decades-long adversarial jurisdiction over the crop.

Unfortunately, reported the U.S. Hemp Roundtable on September 14, “DEA has stuck its nose back under the hemp tent.” 

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) on hemp, outlining provisions for USDA to approve plans submitted by states and Native American Tribes for the domestic production of hemp. However, in March 2020, USDA Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue testified before a Congressional subcommittee that DEA was opposed to implementing a domestic hemp program, and that it exerted outsized influence on USDA’s proposed rules. 

The DEA “really didn’t like the whole program to begin with,” Perdue told Congress. “This is a new and unusual crop, as you understand,” Perdue said at the time. “Our hands were constrained many times by the interagency process.” Perdue admitted that a number of burdensome and troubling provisions inserted in USDA’s Interim Final Rule on hemp came at the direction of DEA.

Only last month, in August, DEA published its own Interim Final Rule on hemp that, among other things, “could potentially criminalize the hemp extraction process,” said the U.S. Hemp Roundtable in its statement.

As of now, both IFRs are open for public input, and industry leaders encourage hemp industry members to submit comments. “Our message is simple: Let Farmers farm. Keep the DEA out of the hemp business,” U.S. Roundtable said.

“Congress made clear in the 2018 Farm Bill that the era of DEA involvement with the hemp crop was over. So, you can imagine our frustration with the DEA trying once again to exercise its authority over the crop by imposing restrictions within USDA’s rulemaking, and by issuing its own Interim Final Rule which purports to re-criminalize hemp extraction,” said Jonathan Miller, General Counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. 

“It’s time for us to take a stand, and we encourage all hemp supporters to send comments to the DEA and the USDA through our easy-to-use portal,” Miller added. 

Constituents can easily submit comments via an online portal established by the U.S. Hemp Roundtable that directs comments into the federal registry by using this link. A draft letter is available for use or customizing with your own personal stories.

Jonathan Miller urges hemp industry members to act soon. The comments period closes on October 8 for the USDA, and October 20 for the DEA.

You can read U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s formally submitted comments here:  USDA Comments; DEA Comments. 

For more information, visit www.hempsupporter.com.

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KISS THE GROUND Documentary Signifies Hemp’s Role in Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Change

By Heather Collins

As wildfires ravage the West, unseasonal snowstorms blanket the Rocky Mountains, and hurricanes pound the South, people everywhere are talking about climate change.

Faced with the reality of a global crisis, hemp industry executives, Hollywood filmmakers, actors, farmers, celebrities, and business leaders collaborated and created KISS THE GROUND. This new full-length groundbreaking documentary gets to the root of the problem, with the solution located right under our feet.

Narrated by actor Woody Harrelson, the film features a star-studded line-up and casts a glimpse of how soil might be the clear answer to sequestering carbon out of the atmosphere and help cool a warming planet. Directed by Rebecca Tickell and Josh Tickell, the documentary features well-known celebrities, such as Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bündchen, Jason Mraz, and David Arquette.

According to KISS THE GROUND’S Executive Producer, Ian Somerhalder, “We can get the Earth back to the Garden of Eden that it once was by regeneration in agriculture.” KISS THE GROUND is in good hands with Big Picture Ranch, a film studio that strives to change the narrative around critical environmental issues.

Save the Date
The movie, KISS THE GROUND, will be available to the world on Tuesday, September 22, at 6:00 pm PDT, on Netflix. Somerhalder is inviting everyone to view the trailer and spend an evening watching the film to learn more about KISS THE GROUND, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit whose mission is to awaken people to the possibilities of regenerative agriculture.

“There’s so much bad news about our planet. Please share the film with your community and with every friend, co-worker, mother, father, sister, brother, and acquaintance,” says Somerhalder. “We are fulfilling our mission in awakening people to the possibility of regeneration. Together, we can do this. Here we go!”

To view the trailer, click HERE or to support the KISS THE GROUND message and movement, visit: https://kisstheground.com/support-the-film/ – socialassets

The Power of Hemp Soil
Hemp business leaders, industry experts, and entrepreneurs publicly acknowledge that hemp could be key in creating solutions to the global climate crisis. “Hemp can be grown more regeneratively as a rotational crop along with cover crops. If you just inject nitrogen fertilizer, though, you miss the point of a better world with hemp. Let’s regenerate with hemp!” said John Roulac, Co-Producer of KISS THE GROUND, Founder of Nutiva, and Founder and Board Member of the Certified Organic CBD brand RE Botanicals.

The Rodale Institute, an organization dedicated to improving humans’ overall health and the planet through organic research, agricultural training, and consumer education, acknowledges that the global “climate crisis is here and regenerative agriculture is the only way to fight it.”

The Rodale Institute is leading research efforts into regenerative hemp, and it applauds the efforts many hemp farmers are making in implementing sustainable farming techniques on their farms. Even though regenerative agriculture is a relatively new concept, the organization works collectively with growers to educate them on the soil carbon solution that further protects farmland for future use.

About KISS THE GROUND 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Film Partner
KISS THE GROUND is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on a mission of creating awareness around the extraordinary potential of healthy soil. KISS THE GROUND has educated and activated millions through its Media Program, Farmland Program, and Stewardship Program. Their Farmland Program supports transitioning farmers and ranchers with training, mentorship, and soil testing and has a robust scholarship program for farmers who need financial assistance to take part. The Stewardship Program is an education platform, community, and resource hub created to educate, inspire, and empower individuals to become powerful and impactful advocates for the regenerative movement. KISS THE GROUND has become a premier online educational hub for regenerative agriculture, offering an online “pathway” for anyone to find resources and their unique way forward in contributing to this expanding global movement.

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