Episode 63: Plant-Based Entrepreneurship with Ben Hagerty from It’s Bree & Ben

Welcome to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast. In this episode we are joined by Ben Hagerty from “It’s Bree and Ben” to chat about plant-based entrepreneurs and businesses, with a focus on initiatives in the west coast of Canada.  Benjamin Hagerty is a vegan essayist and travel writer for the website, It's Bree and Ben, which he co-founded with his wife, Brianne Nemiroff. Ben’s vegan journey began in 2015, and from 2017 through 2019, he and Brianne embarked on a trans-continental road trip in which they visited and wrote about vegan businesses in more than 60 destinations throughout Canada and the U.S. In 2020, he and Brianne relocated to Vancouver, BC, where he began his thesis project, which explores how vegan entrepreneurs in Kitsilano and Mt. Pleasant operationalize and experience the vegan philosophy. The findings of his project may be found in his academic blog series called, Ben's Vegan Vancouver. This year he earned his Masters degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia. Ben currently works with organisations like the Canadians for Responsible Food Policy, Earthsave Canada, and the Plant-Based Cities Movement to bolster vegan businesses to municipal governments. For leisure, he still enjoys adventurous road trips with Brianne and learning new coffee-making techniques. In this episode we discuss:Plant-based practices and businesses from travels across North AmericaSpecific examples of plant-based businesses from Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant in Vancouver, B.C.What motivates and inspires vegan entrepreneurship and how vegan businesses operate?What is vegan entrepreneurship and what makes it vegan?What makes a successful plant-based business?Challenges facing vegan entrepreneurship Perspective transformationEpisode Resources:Canadians for Responsible Food PolicyEarthsave CanadaPlant-Based Cities MovementUniversity of Northern British Columbia, Natural Resources and Environmental Studies ProgramBen Hagerty’s Socials:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsbreeandben/?ref=embed_pageInstagram: @itsbreeandbenWebsite: https://itsbreeandben.com/Plant-Based Canada’s Socials:Instagram  (@plantbasedcanadaorg)Facebook (Plant-Based Canada, https://m.facebook.com/plantbasedcanadaorg/)Website  (https://www.plantbasedcanada.org/)Thank you for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe to the Plant-Based Canada Podcast so you get notified when new episodes are published. This episode was hosted by Stephanie Nishi RD, PhD.Support the show