The Mushroom Council: Discover Earth’s Favorite Food with Eric Davis!

Show Notes

When I was thinking about healthier, sustainable food habits – I thought, is there a food that stands out for being naturally and mutually beneficial for the planet and our bodies. The answer might be obvious from the episode title – MUSHROOMS!

Mushrooms are considered one of the most sustainably produced agriculture products in the nation, and they are incredibly beneficial to our health. That leads me to today’s episode with guest Eric Davis storytelling expert of mushrooms – aka the PR Director on behalf of The Mushroom Council.

The Mushroom Council is made up of fresh market producers or importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service.

The Mushroom Council helps support the industry of mushrooms while educating consumers on their health benefits and sustainability. You can find mushroom hacks, recipes, facts, and more https://www.mushroomcouncil.com/ or connect with them on social media by searching ‘Mushroom Council’.

In this episode, Eric gives us insight into the health and sustainability benefits of mushrooms, The Blend campaign, and some really neat ways to start eating more mushrooms today!

Click the link above to listen, or tune in anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Healthy on the plate, gentle on the planet

Mushrooms are earth-friendly

Eric says that every farmer that they’ve ever worked with has had the aim to be more sustainable and have a smaller footprint on the planet. So why are mushrooms good options?

What makes mushrooms a little special that we love is that they’re inheriting sustainable. The way mushrooms are actually grown just by nature is incredibly sustainable. Mushrooms require a very minimal environmental footprint.

Eric tells us the following facts:

1 lb mushrooms takes only 1.8 gallons of water to produce.
For comparison, 1 shower takes about 17 gallons of water. say a producer is growing one pound of mushrooms.

 

1 lb of mushrooms takes only 1 kilowatt hour of electricity to produce.
For comparison one household is 29 kilowatt hours of electricity per day.

 

Producing 1 lb of mushrooms produces only 0.7 pounds of CO2 equivalent.

 

You could grow one million pounds of mushrooms every year on one acre of land.

They also produce little waste and are grown in composted material. It is also a farmer’s best friend because they don’t have to navigate climate and unexpected changes.

mushrooms are people-friendly

Besides amplifying the flavor and adding vitamins and nutrients to your dish, mushrooms have a few other health benefits!

All mushrooms in general, are very low in calories. Fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, very low in sodium. That’s what makes it such an incredible earthy, meaty food

 

Adding mushrooms brings so many benefits. There’s health benefits, nutrition benefits, taste benefits. But then also taking away some of that mystique from mushrooms as well. Mushrooms are also one of the few foods that you can’t mess up. You can’t overcook them..

Eric and the Mushroom Council encourage blending mushrooms in with your regular meals to start reaping the health benefits and cutting back on things that you might want less of for your health.

Enter the blend competition

Home cooks and professional chefs around encourage to create and enter a mushroom-blended burger recipe for a chance to win $10,000!

Details on the Blended Burger Competition can be found here: https://www.mushroomcouncil.com/blended-burger-contest-2022/