Show Notes
Loren Cardeli is a food sovereignty activist confronting the unjust power in our global food systems—systems that are crippling the well-being of people who grow our food. He asks us to look at the frameworks of our minds and says "To learn, we must unlearn." He is the Founder and President of A Growing Culture—an activist collective and nonprofit you must catch on IG (Run. Don’t walk) I’ll wait… @agrowingculture’s posts center farmer justice. The humanity of this issue is important for too many reasons, but one stat makes it really easy to get: “Right now, we have a food system [where] 1.2 billion people go to bed hungry,” Loren says. “70% of them are farmers. 70% of the hungry are the ones growing our food.” Drink that in. These hard truths have the power to wake us up and garner global solidarity for folks who need support. “We have no solution,” Loren says, “but I can point to 10,000 people that do, and none of them look like me. We champion those folks.” Then he says, “There are no voiceless people. People say [to me], ‘Oh, you give voice to the voiceless.’ No. There's no voiceless. There's only silenced.” This episode is in honor of the silenced and dedicated to the actions we are capable of together. WORKS: - Founder and President of A Growing Culture—an activist collective and 501c(3) nonprofit working towards a future of food sovereignty - Keynote speaker, addressing agricultural issues through the lens of economics, political science, and life sciences while promoting farmer-led research and innovation for the purpose of helping farmers throughout the world create sustainable, self-driving futures. - AGC PROJECT: “SEED IS POWER” - Seed is Power is a fund to ensure that seeds stay in the hands of the people. These funds support seed savers on their own terms. It’s designed to disrupt the status quo of philanthropy that often inadvertently harms communities. Instead, it creates a reciprocal system that redistributes power, building equity and community among seed savers. - AGC PROJECT: “HUNGER FOR JUSTICE” - Hunger for Justice is a storytelling series designed to center justice in food system dialogues. The series is an opportunity to shift our focus away from symptoms, like hunger, and towards the injustices at the root of our failing food system. AGC provides an emergent and interactive global platform for movements on the frontlines of the struggle for food sovereignty to connect with broader audiences and with each other. Until every last million of us hungers no more, we must hunger for justice. - AGC PROJECT: PEASANT AND INDIGENOUS PRESS - a bi-monthly forum, media workshops, a monthly dispatch, and a journalist fellowship program, Peasant and Indigenous Press centers and connects Indigenous and peasant communities with media and cultivates a more holistic and nuanced storytelling ecosystem. - AGC PROJECT: BIPOC FARMER LEGAL FUND - The BIPOC Farmer Legal Fund provides pro-bono legal services to majority BIPOC-owned agricultural entities to create pathways for agricultural futures.
TOOLS: - Access to the most empowering definition of activism you’ve ever heard - Reframes for how to lift up voices that aren’t yours - Reminders of our true humanity and connectivity - Stories that emphazie why we say “If the community is unwell, we’re all unwell.” - Root definitions of words that will teach you how language distorts reality - Questions to ask yourself about belief versus fact and what narratives are running the behind the scenes of your daily life - Reframes for how to think about power and where it belongs
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: BETTER is recorded on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.
BETTER with Mark Brand is produced by Pamela Rothenberg of I HEAR YOU STUDIOS and Adam Karch with Orbyt Media
More from BETTER presents: Make Food Food Again
In Season 4, Make Food Food Again, Mark takes a deeper look at the systems that determine how we feed ourselves, who benefits, who gets left behind, and what needs to change. Through powerful human stories, investigative documentaries, and accessible explainers, BETTER explores the connections between food, health, labour, land, power, and dignity. From food banks and grocery giants to the people growing, preparing, and relying on our food, Mark asks difficult questions, challenges familiar narratives, and explores practical solutions. Because building a better world starts with understanding the one we've created. East Coast Credit Union is proud to support Better because we believe meaningful change starts with asking the right questions and challenging the way things have always been done. As Mark Brand explores the systems that shape our lives and meets the people working to improve them, we see a natural connection to our own purpose: using banking as a force for good to improve financial wellbeing, strengthen communities and help people thrive. When our members and communities thrive, we all do. Learn more about how East Coast Credit Union is challenging the status quo of traditional banking and showing how business and banking can be a force for good: eastcoastcu.ca
In this episode of Better, host Mark Brand sits down with Nova Scotian diver and content creator Sean “Saltwater Sean” McMullen for a deeply honest conversation about curiosity, healing, and finding purpose beneath the waves. Sean shares how boredom during COVID, a wetsuit from Marketplace, and a couple of vintage soda bottles led to a viral photo, national media attention, and the birth of the Saltwater Sean platform. Along the way, he opens up about sobriety, divorce, tinnitus and hearing loss, childhood bullying, and how diving, magnet fishing, and cleaning up local waterways became a way to reconnect with his inner child, his parents, his kids, and his community. This is a story about environmental action, mental health, and the power of simply doing your own “weird thing” so others feel brave enough to do theirs.
Social impact entrepreneur Mark Brand and Producer Madison Irvine unpack their conversation with ocean cleanup creator Sean “Saltwater Sean” McMullen. From diving Nova Scotia’s rivers, lakes, and coastline for trash to becoming an unlikely online creator, Sean’s story opens up a bigger conversation about authenticity, community, local arts, and playing the long game with your craft. This Season 3 finale also celebrates Nova Scotian identity, neighborhood kindness in Halifax, and the importance of supporting local art, podcasts, and emerging storytellers.
Actor, director, gamer, and entrepreneur Matthew Lillard has been a cult favorite for decades—from Scream and Hackers to Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy’s. But behind the characters is a story of failure, reinvention, and radical authenticity. In this conversation with Mark Brand, Matthew opens up about: Growing up as an outsider: obese kid, learning disabilities, drama nerd in the 80s The moment he turned down Dancing With the Stars, fired his team, sold his house, and rebuilt his life and career How The Descendants “reintroduced” him to Hollywood as a man, not just the funny kid Building Beadle & Grimm’s and Find Familiar Spirits, brands that serve fandoms instead of chasing the mainstream Why helping friends win feels better than his own success How he uses his celebrity as a tool for impact, not ego Turning pain, insecurity, and “outsider” energy into art, business, and community This episode is a love letter to nerds, misfits, and late bloomers, and a masterclass in showing up as your whole self, even when it’s messy.
Coming soon! Matt Lillard! Actor, director, gamer, and entrepreneur Matthew Lillard has been a cult favorite for decades, from Scream and Hackers to Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy’s. But behind the characters is a story of failure, reinvention, and radical authenticity.