Miyoko Schinner

"Whatever it is you're promoting, practice what you preach," -advice from today's guest, Miyoko Schinner. Founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, Miyoko is an epicurean activist working to transform dairy products through its evolution away from animal milk to plant milk, and has dedicated her life to inspiring others to adopt a compassion lifestyle through food and awareness of the animals with whom we share this planet. In light of the recent injustice against Miyoko’s Creamery founder and activist Miyoko Schinner, we have decided to release this special episode in hopes of offering a platform to share her story and illuminate the discriminatory challenges women founders often face in the corporate landscape. In June 2022, the board unanimously voted to terminate Miyoko from her position of CEO, forcing her out of the company she created and built, followed by an outrageously malicious and misleading lawsuit filed last month. Miyoko's own complaints of toxic and sexist behavior by certain male executives were swept under the rug, and then she was demoted and fired. She has countersued the company on the grounds of discrimination and unlawful use of her name and image. This episode was recorded many months prior to the lawsuit, but it offers a glimpse into some of the difficulties she has faced as a woman of color founder in her quest to reimagine our food system. In this episode, we discuss Miyoko's vegan journey, how she grew her business, the value of following your intuition, the role of business in social change, the challenge of cultivating an authentic mission, Miyoko's soul-building practices, her non-profit movement building work, the importance of reaching people's hearts, and so much more.