Rapid Breeding
Our unique process allows us to do in months or years what used to take decades or centuries – transforming high potential wild plants into agriculture-ready crops that can feed the world in a changing climate. This process combines the latest testing and bioinformatics approach with the best of traditional breeding techniques to dramatically boost quality and yields while preserving habitat value – without genetic engineering.
Manzanita Cooperative is one of only a few companies in the world working in the emerging new space of targeted domestication. With crop failures caused by climate change rapidly increasing across the United States and the word, this field of research is critical to the long-term food security of humanity in a changing climate.
At present, more than three quarters of the plant based protein for humans and livestock globally is derived from Soy, creating unacceptable risk for humanity since the failure of a single crop could devastate global food supplies. That’s why organizations from the World Economic Forum to the UN are encouraging crop diversification.
With support from the National Science Foundation’s SBIR program, we are developing a new plant-based protein that can be grown sustainably and without irrigation across the western United States.
The US plant based protein market is worth $14B and growing at 8% a year, while livestock feeds are worth $47B. Our unique approach without genetic engineering means the crops we are developing can be certified as organic. That will make our new crop the only dry-farmable domestic alternative to imported organic soy, much of which is linked to deforestation in the rainforest.
Future domestication efforts will target grains, vegetables, and more; and our approach is replicable since every biome has its own high-potential native foods.
Processing innovations
Acorn has been one of humanity’s most important staple crops since before modern homo sapiens emerged – archaeological evidence from the middle east shows our early ancestors were eating acorn as far back as 780,000 years. Once processed to remove tannins, acorns are a superfood with tremendous benefits for the human microbiome, better nutritional density than most grains, and a full set of amino acids. But the difficulty of harvesting and processing them, as well as the lingering effects of colonization, mean that most Americans have little familiarity with this abundant native food.
By applying modern technology to the difficulties of processing and harvesting, we have made tremendous progress in bringing these crops to US consumers. We currently have 3 patents pending for innovations to the harvest and processing of Acorn at scale, and several more in development.
With these innovations in place, we are uniquely positioned to bring acorn to the mainstream by late 2024 at a price point competitive with almond flour, while using a fraction of the water.
In 2024 alone, our dry-farmed acorn and bay nut will save more than 40 million gallons of water, compared to producing a similar amount of food from almonds. The numbers get much bigger from there.
Cultivated Wilderness
When most people think of agriculture they think of rows of a single crop, neatly lined up. And that’s the way western agriculture has worked for decades: non-native monocultures with no habitat value replacing diverse grasslands and forests.
While traditional agriculture investors have sometimes been put off by our approach working with multiple crops at once, we see it as essential. We’re building our business around a biome.
By adapting native plants for agriculture we invite nature back into the farm and create habitat. Growing multiple crops together mimics naturally occurring plant communities and allows the species to benefit each other, while providing an abundance of pollen sources spread out over the course of the entire year. We intersperse native trees, like Oak and Bay nut, at an appropriate density to mimic native forests and grasslands while reducing carbon emissions. Carefully monitoring and restoring native soil biomes allows us to grow plants that rely on the microorganisms they’ve evolved alongside for millennia, and we build and rebuild soil over time using principles of regenerative farming. Regular controlled burns, conducted in partnership with indigenous communities, control invasive species, improve soil health, and prevent out of control wildfires.
All of that requires ongoing research and constant monitoring to make sure things are working as intended. Our Science team devotes significant resources to this effort, using cutting-edge bioinformatics to find opportunities for continuous improvement.
The end result will be a polyculture grow system that blurs the line between farms, orchards, and forests – a cultivated wilderness that serves nature as much as it serves humanity. While much of this work is still in planning stages, we are making rapid strides forward and have a clear vision of where we are going and the tools to get there.
Investors
Restoring habitat and diversifying food supplies in a changing climate isn’t just good for humanity, it’s good business. While the majority of Manzanita Cooperative’s shares are owned by our worker-owners, we are authorized to sell a minority stake to investors to raise funds.
The work we are doing to produce nutritious climate-adapted foods for people while cutting carbon emissions, saving water, and preserving habitat is essential. Bringing living wage jobs to North Coast communities that have long been neglected is just as important to people living here.
Like any new business, it takes money to get off the ground and so we are seeking Angel investors who share our vision to support our launch. We expect to provide very strong ROI and a full investor kit including financial models and terms, is available on request. Please contact invest@manzanitacooperative.com
