Blog Feed - "Mission Heroes"

Meet an Applegatarian! Robert Earl

June 01, 2023

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the food-allergy advocacy group FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education)

Tagged in: The Applegatarian

Meet an Applegatarian! John King

November 30, 2022

In the spring of 2004, a poultry giant announced that it would close its processing plant in Virginia. Its end, many feared, would also spell the end of poultry farming in the Shenandoah Valley, a region that just some two decades earlier had been the turkey capital of the United States. John King was called in to try to save it.

Mission Matters: Jamie Ager

September 06, 2022

Jamie Ager is a fourth-generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap in Fairview, North Carolina. Over the last 20 years, in partnership with his wife Amy, Jamie has transformed the farm into a model for regenerative farms everywhere. Mission Matters talked with Jamie about his farm and his work with Applegate to create the DoGoodDog ™.

Tagged in: Hickory Nut Gap

Mission Matters: Finian Makepeace

June 21, 2022

Meet Finian Makepeace, the co-founder, policy director and lead educator of the advocacy group, Kiss the Ground. Finian is one of the leaders of the regenerative agriculture movement and is helping to spearhead its Regenerate America campaign, which aims to get Congress to support regenerative farming in the next Farm Bill. Finian gave us the scoop on why he thinks regenerative agriculture is inspiring so many people and how each of us can get involved.

Mission Matters: Gina Asoudegan

April 20, 2022

Meet Gina Asoudegan, vice president of mission and regenerative agriculture at Applegate. Gina is spearheading the company’s push toward regenerative practices, which she sees as a way to satisfy conscientious carnivores who want to have their meat—and save the planet, too. Gina explains why regenerative is a natural fit for Applegate and how it offers real hope to meat lovers who care about the environment.

Mission Matters: Sophie Ackoff

March 01, 2022

Meet Sophie Ackoff, co-executive director of the National Young Farmers Coalition. Sophie is spearheading the effort to address a looming crisis: the aging out of America’s farmers. Today, the average age of the U.S. farmer is nearly 60 years old, and farmers over 65 outnumber farmers under 35 by more than six to one. Sophie gave Mission Matters the scoop on what the Young Farmers’ Coalition is doing to support a new generation of farmers—and what you can do to help.

Mission Matters: Zack Angelini

February 02, 2022

Meet Zack Angelini, leader of global product sustainability strategy at Timberland. Famous for its awesome, rugged boots, Timberland has long worked to source the most environmentally friendly materials. But leather was … tricky. Zack gave Mission Matters the scoop on how Timberland’s partnership with Applegate is helping the company to flip the story on leather, transforming it into one of its most environmentally beneficial materials.

Mission Matters: Glen Burrows

December 17, 2021

Meet Glen Burrows, cofounder of the U.K.’s Ethical Butcher. Glen was a vegetarian for more than 20 years but rediscovered meat (and his love of food) and dedicated himself to bringing the highest quality, ethical meat to British shoppers. Glen gave Mission Matters the scoop on his own journey to regeneratively sourced meat and his plans for a happy “Regenuary.”

Mission Matters: Anita Roach

December 10, 2021

Meet Anita Roach, the vice president for community and education at FARE, which works to improve the lives and heath of people with food allergies. Anita gave Applegate Farms the scoop on the steady rise in U.S. food allergies and what we can all do to make this a stress-free holiday season.

Mission Matters Lance Price

November 19, 2021

Meet Lance Price, professor at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and the founding director of GW’s Antibiotic Resistance Action Center. Dr. Price works at the interface between science and policy. He gave us the 101 on antibiotic resistance and what all of us can do to help.

Mission Matters: Don Holly

September 28, 2021

Meet Don Holly, a young farmer who raises horses and bees on his family’s ranch in East Texas. With a $5,000 grant from the National Young Farmers Coalition, Don plans to expand the farm to include cattle and fruit orchards. He spoke to us about the challenges and rewards of Farming While Black.

Mission Matters: Sangcheol Moon

September 13, 2021

Meet Sangcheol Moon, a PhD student at UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy and Management. Moon recently joined Applegate in a research project to investigate the potential of a 100% carbon neutral hotdog. She gave us the scoop.

Mission Matters: Judi Shils

August 30, 2021

Like many women, motherhood radically changed the way Judi Shils shopped and ate. But she wasn’t content only to make her life greener. She wanted to show others the way. Over the last 20 years, she built her organization, Turning Green, into a global platform to educate and empower students to advocate for climate justice, environmental sustainability and public health. Judi gave us the scoop on her latest initiative, Conscious Kitchen, which in partnership with companies including Applegate is bringing organic food to public schools.

Mission Matters: Yichao Rui

August 04, 2021

Meet Yichao Rui, Research Director of the Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial, the longest-running comparison of organic and conventional agricultural systems in North America. Which makes Yichao the perfect person to quiz on the power of organic--and why healthy resilient soil is the foundation of good agriculture.

Mission Matters: Paul Greenberg

July 09, 2021

Lots of us worry about climate change. But what can we little people really do about it? The answer is in Paul Greenberg’s “The Climate Diet,” a new book that offers 50 achievable ways to cut our individual carbon emissions. One big one: what we eat. Paul gave us the scoop.

Mission Matters: Jac Wypler

June 18, 2021

Meet Jac Wypler, who works for the National Young Farmers Coalition on the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network-Northeast (FRSAN-NE), a collaborative network that supports farmer mental health in the region. It's a big job. Jac gave us the scoop

Mission Matters: Mark Bittman

May 28, 2021

We need to rethink the way we raise livestock as antibiotic-resistant infections continue to be on the rise. If you don't know where to begin or want to dive deeper into this topic, we have just the thought-leader to help you out! Check out our interview with Mark Bittman as he gives us the details on fighting back these superbugs.

Mission Matters: Bill Mudge

April 12, 2021

Today, antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill 700,000 people worldwide. Unchecked, that number could grow to 10 million by 2050. But there is hope. Bill Mudge, director of the new (and fabulous!) documentary “Beating Superbugs: Can We Win?” gives us the scoop.

Mission Matters: Bobby Gill

April 09, 2021

Meet Bobby Gill, director of development and communications at the @savoryinstitute, a nonprofit that works to facilitate the regeneration of the world's grasslands through holistic management. So who better to ask about animals' role in #regenerative agriculture? (Answer: No one.)

Mission Matters: Stefan Oellinger

April 09, 2021

Meet Stefan Oellinger, Applegate’s senior director of raw supply and the man (literally) in charge of our efforts to change the meat we eat. Stefan gave us a quick explainer on why a more holistic agricultural system is key.

Mission Matters: Justin Levy

March 29, 2021

Meet Justin Levy, the executive director of Conscious Alliance, a food rescue organization that works with artists, musicians and companies like Applegate to deliver food that would otherwise go to waste to communities in need. The last year has been…busy: In last year, Applegate donated more than 260,000 meals. Justin took a quick break to give us the scoop.

Mission Matters: Corwin Heatwole

March 09, 2021

Meet Corwin Heatwole, founder of @FarmerFocus, an innovative chicken company and Applegate supplier. He gave us the scoop on how he's changing chicken farms for good.

Mission Matters: Sydney Riess

February 22, 2021

Meet Sydney Riess, who works on U.S. PIRG’s Stop the Overuse of Antibiotics Campaign. The organization focuses on state laws to reduce antibiotics and also pressures companies to ban irresponsible use. Here’s the scoop.

Mission Matters: Rhyne Cureton

February 22, 2021

Meet Rhyne Cureton, aka @pork.rhyne. (Best. Handle. Ever.) We met Rhyne through the Young Farmers Coalition and were fascinated to learn about his work.

Mission Matters: Michelle Thomas

February 15, 2021

Meet Michelle Thomas, whose role is setting and enforcing Applegate’s high standards for health and animal welfare. Dr. Thomas chatted with us about how she got her start and her vision of the future.

Mission Matters: Nicolette Niman

December 30, 2020

Meet Nicolette Niman, a lawyer who for more than three decades was a vegetarian and the most eloquent American defenders of ethical meat. Huh, you say? The evidence is on her side. In her book, Defending Beef--new edition out spring 2021--she shows how foods from cattle―milk and meat, particularly when raised entirely on grass―are healthful, nutritious and an irreplaceable part of the world’s food system.

Mission Matters: Andrew Gunther

December 30, 2020

Meet Andrew Gunther, executive director of A Greener World (AGW), a non-profit organization that promotes and supports ultra-sustainable livestock farming and the force behind AGW’s Animal Welfare Approved, the "gold standard" certification for pastured meat. Andrew gave us the scoop on the buzz around regenerative farming and how hogs (ie, your bacon) can be part of a healthy system.

Mission Matters: Melissa Urban

December 30, 2020

You’re probably familiar with Melissa Urban, co-founder and CEO of the Whole30 program, Applegate partner and a six-time New York Times bestselling author. But we couldn't think of anyone better to ask for healthy eating advice. Here are Melissa’s tips for eating well in 2021.

Mission Matters: Nancy Roulston

December 11, 2020

Meet Nancy Roulston, senior director of corporate policy and animal science at ASPCA where she works with companies to improve the lives of livestock animals. We asked Nancy to highlight some key efforts helping animals, and what we as individuals can do to help.

Mission Matters: Jessica Shade

December 11, 2020

Meet Jessica Shade, director of science programs at the Organic Center. Her research focuses on the benefits of organic food and farming. We got the scoop.

Mission Matters: Diana Rodgers

November 25, 2020

Meet Diana Rodgers, co-author of the new book Sacred Cow, which makes a powerful case that good meat is good for your health and the environment. Which is just what you need to tackle the hard conversations at this year’s holiday table.

Mission Matters: Lance Price

November 10, 2020

Meet Lance Price, professor at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and the founding director of GW’s Antibiotic Resistance Action Center. Dr. Price works at the interface between science and policy. We caught up with him to get the latest on the crisis of antibiotic resistance.

Mission Matters: John Ghingo

November 10, 2020

Meet John Ghingo, president of Applegate, meat-lover, changemaker. John joined Applegate in 2018 and since then has been leading the charge to keep meat on the table. Find out why—and how—below:

Mission Matters: Michelle Hughes

November 09, 2020

Meet Michelle Hughes, equity and organizational change manager at the National Young Farmers Coalition. Michelle joined the coalition to help farmers like herself to get their start in a system that by and large excludes them. Michelle gave us a primer on the challenges that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) farmers face and what we all can do to make a difference.