Send us a text

Happy Planet Wednesday!

You might want to listen to this podcast before you pour yourself that cherished morning cup of coffee....

Our guest today is Etelle Higonnet, a French-born, Yale Law School graduate, living in Denmark, who set out to make coffee more environmentally friendly through her organization COFFEE WATCH.

What she discovered was that environmental degradation was just the tip of the iceberg. The coffee industry is fraught with human injustices as well including human trafficking, child labor, and slavery.

Despite these horrors, Etelle is confident that she can make a difference by getting all of us to vote with our pocketbooks and put pressure on our local governments.

Can we have our coffee and our happy planet too? Tune in to hear it from Etelle.

Coffee Watch
Etelle Higonnet

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

I'd like to thank our sponsors:

Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

Promotional and program partners include ...

Send us a text

Happy Planet Wednesday!

If you have ever wanted to lift the veil on New England's mysterious working waterfront, this is the podcast for you. Our guest today is Bill Gerencer, a veteran of 40+ years on the New England Working Waterfront.

Bill served as lobsterman commercial fisherman, fish buyer, salesperson, corporate trainer, fisheries management advisor, and in retirement, a part-time oyster farmer. I have known Bill for years as he used to buy oysters from me on behalf of Boston-based Foley Fish, when it was still a century-old, family-run business.

Bill has recently written a candid memoir titled, Working Waterfront, a Fish Tale. With humour and insight, it dives into everything from near-death experiences on fishing boats to Seaport bar brawls to regulating the fisheries. The tone is Hemmingway-esque, straightforward but soulful. Each chapter ends with a fittingly rough-and-ready seafood recipe.

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

I'd like to thank our sponsors:

Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

Promotional and program partners include ...

Send us a text

There's nothing we like more than a comeback kid.

While 98% of total farm seaweed in the world comes from Asia, over the past decade, entrepreneurs in the US, Europe and Africa have been trying to change that by producing locally-grown, high-quality seaweed for their domestic markets.

I've met a number of these entrepreneurs and it's not easy. Once you master aquaculture, you have to find a market, and that is proving to be a challenge. Some of these companies have gone bottom up.

A few months ago, we thought Maine-based, Atlantic Sea Farms, commonly referred to as ASF, was going to live a similar fate. Right out of the gate, it seemed like nothing could hold it back. ASF raised millions of dollars and made an incredible splash in the national media, but they just couldn't become profitable.

ASF shareholders, however, refused to shutter the company. They opted to restructure and brought in turnaround specialist Barrett Wood.

Barrett joins us today to tell us how he is breathing new life into the company and paving a way to profitability.

Support the show

Listen on Apple , Spotify, our website, or pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!

I'd like to thank our sponsors:

Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Bold Ocean Ventures have partnered to create a mission-driven venture capital fund, supporting the growth of innovative, sustainable ocean-related businesses.

Startup Marin Skincare has rocketed thanks to products made with Maine-lobster-derived glycoprotein that work on eczema and dry skin. Former guest on our show and co-Founder Patrick Breeding is offering listeners a 20% discount on their skincare products. Type HAPPYPLANET into the coupon code field!

Spark No. 9, ensures that companies - and startups - have successful product launches by testing their products online. Remove the guesswork before you launch!

Promotional and program partners include ...