From marshes to meat: Reflections from a career in conservation

Flora, fauna, and food: the interconnectedness of ecosystems and agriculture

My path to this moment is dotted with the live oaks and mossy magnolias of my Florida youth, where my love of trees, shorebirds, snails, and shells first formed. That love grew throughout college and career, as I made a living shining a light on Earth’s diversity of life, from blue whales to bees. 

Throughout my 20+ years at zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature reserves, I worked alongside ecologists, advocates, educators, and some of the world’s leading environmental NGOs to help restore marshes and reefs and reduce human-wildlife conflict in some of the most biodiverse, at-risk regions of the world. I’ve channeled funds to researchers on every continent, rallied an entire region to remove invasive species, and nudged communities toward sustainability in big and small ways. (I also got to hold baby penguins. Just sayin.)       

I loved this work. I loved the people and places it introduced me to. I loved helping habitats, supporting field science, and learning what community-based conservation really looks like. This work will forever be a part of me. 

But as the world grew hotter, crowded, and stressed, I grew frustrated and impatient. Too often, in the projects I touched, the point-source of the problems—land and water use—wasn’t being addressed. Too often, the business-as-usual ways of feeding our families and fueling our lives were left as is, with little scrutiny or serious consideration for alternative solutions. With finite breaths in my lungs, I felt a pull—an obligation to shift into an altogether different gear. 

In 2020, that pull brought me to GFI, a nonprofit think tank and international network of organizations focused on alternatives to conventional meat—alternatives that, at scale, can benefit virtually every ecosystem on Earth. 

GFI practically had me at hello. They lead with science and innovation, advocate for fair policies and public sector investment, convene and catalyze the industry, and engage stakeholders around the world working at the intersection of climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity. Not a day goes by when some part of the world doesn’t tilt a bit toward a better food future due to the work of the good, smart people here.   

The scrunched brow of my colleague that night did not surprise me, and in fact represents the broader global scene we see today. Changing how we make meat is not yet prioritized on the agendas of those seeking to protect the world’s biological diversity. Understanding the interconnectedness and mutual reliances between agriculture and ecosystems is key.