The Goldman Family - "Eat the Change You Wish to See," Part 1 of 2

Today, we are honored to share with you the story of a very special family, husband and wife team, Mr. Seth Goldman and Ms. Julie Farkas, together with their eldest son Jonah Goldman, who are changing the world with their golden hearts and determined actions to promote a sustainable, vegan and equitable world for all. 'Eat the change you wish to see in the world' – a witty play on words by Jonah on the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi's “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” At the height of success of Honest Tea, in 2012, one day, his wife Julie commented to him on the concept and plans of the plant-based food company – Beyond Meat. Seth quickly realized that such a company will have a far-reaching and globally significant impact on reducing the exaggerated reliance on animal agriculture and also protect the environment. “And what I found, is people don't have an innate need to kill animals; that's not an imperative, but survival and nutrition are. So, if we can create plant-based alternatives that taste as good, then we see a very good response. What’s so exciting to see consumers are choosing this approach. So I’m excited to see it’s happening. And when you have the consumers on your side, good things happen.” As of 2020, in less than eight years, since its products launched in the consumer market, Beyond Meat has become a worldwide phenomenon, now reaching around the globe and available in over 50 international markets, with over 27,000 distribution points, including now being offered in Starbucks chains in certain cities of China. The power of this social action has been powerfully evident during the lockdown situation in the USA, in response to the COVID-19, where a Bloomberg article reported that sales of plant-based meat substitutes increased 264% compared to before the lockdowns, an indicator that more Americans are concerned about the effects of their food choices towards the planet and their own health. Riding on the success of both Honest Tea and Beyond Meat, Seth and his family began discussing how they could create even more positive impact, on an even larger scale by including education as well as products. Together with Jonah, the planetary activist in the family, they decided to start a new venture, Eat the Change. Eat the Change's mission is to create a platform to deal with climate change and environmental destruction through the most powerful and immediately implementable change an individual can make – dietary change.