More Nutrition, Less Methane with Claire Loudis of Lotus Foods

Claire Loudis shares rice’s impact on water, climate, and farmer livelihoods, and why Lotus Foods decided to change how rice is grown around the world. We talk about the many benefits of heirloom varietals and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method they’re scaling to grow more rice with less water and lower methane emissions. Claire then shares details on the nature-based practices that go into growing their Regenerative Organic Certified ® (ROC) Basmati Rice, the brand’s commitment to seed sovereignty, and the biggest challenges she sees the food industry facing in the coming years. Key TopicsThe water and climate impacts of riceHeirloom rice and its benefitsThe System of Rice Intensification (SRI) that results in More Crop Per Drop ®Regenerative agriculture practices in rice farmingLaunch of the first ROC Basmati Rice in 2020Seed sovereignty and biodiversity conservationChallenges the food industry is facingSound bites“Rice one of the highest emitting crops, after meat and eggs.”“Heirloom varieties often have better nutrition, flavor, and genetic diversity, so they're naturally hardier, locally adapted, and more resilient to climate disruptions making them a natural fit for regenerative and organic farming practices.”“Ultimately this pilot is to figure out what works, what we can scale, gauge farmer reception, measure yields of course, return on investment for those farmers, and to to work to understand how these practices impact our farmers on the ground, the people actually growing rice.”“Over 75% of plant genetic diversity has been permanently lost.”“The farmer is a is a key piece of hope for me. Their whole job is managing uncertainty and while climate change has made that harder, they remain one of the most innovative and resilient groups of people I know. They're tinkers at heart and always adapting. So I am energized and hopeful because of those people I've met.”Chapters00:00 Introduction and Claire Loudis' background01:14 The importance of heirloom rice and Lotus Foods' mission03:03 Impact of rice farming on water and climate04:35 Nutritional and genetic diversity of heirloom rice09:01 Global rice consumption and cultural factors13:18 Research on regenerative practices and pilot studies in Thailand17:18 System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and its benefits20:44 Farmer-led regenerative practices and community trust29:15 Innovative regenerative practices observed in Thai farms42:22 Supporting seed sovereignty and biodiversity through alliances50:20 Claire Loudis' career path and motivations55:53 Challenges and hope in the future of food and agriculture01:00:14 Advice for aspiring changemakers in food sustainability01:03:26 Personal favorite recipes and books01:07:13 What a better world means to Claire LoudisLinksClaire Loudis on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-loudis-1b380538/Lotus Foods - https://www.lotusfoods.com/Lotus Foods on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/lotus-foods/Lotus Foods on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LotusFoods/Lotus Foods on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lotusfoods/Lotus Foods on Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/lotusfoods/Lotus Foods on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/LotusFoodsIncLotus Foods on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@lotusfoods…Brands for a Better World Episode Archive - http://brandsforabetterworld.com/Brands for a Better World on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/brand-for-a-better-world/Modern Species - https://modernspecies.com/Modern Species on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-species/Gage Mitchell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagemitchell/…Print Magazine Design Podcasts - https://www.printmag.com/categories/printcast/…Heritage Radio Network - https://heritageradionetwork.org/Heritage Radio Network on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/heritage-radio-network/posts/Heritage Radio Network on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRadioNetworkHeritage Radio Network on X - https://x.com/Heritage_RadioHeritage Radio Network on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heritage_radio/Heritage Radio Network on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@heritage_radio…The Food Institute - https://foodinstitute.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.