Why Jason Buechel Is Optimistic About the Future of Our Food System
Food with Mark Bittman
Sweetness and Light
4.9 • 947 Ratings
🗓️ 30 July 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The CEO of Whole Foods Market and VP Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores talks to Mark and Kate about growing up as a 4H kid and how that's influenced him; how he's trying to change grocery shopping; how Gen Z is going to shift demand and interest in more sustainable practices; and Whole Foods and MAD Agriculture's new initiative—one that aims to change biodiversity at a macro level and strengthen the long term resilience of the food system.
To read more about Whole Foods and MAD Agriculture's new initiative, head here: https://impact.wholefoods.com/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to food. I'm Kate Bitman, and we are so glad that you're here with us. If you want more, remember to check us out online at bitmanproject.com. We've got more than 1,500 recipes with new ones added daily, plus some really wonderful food writing from some really wonderful food writers and recommendations for products |
| 0:22.3 | and more. Bitmanproject.com. And as always, email us with any questions or feedback at food |
| 0:29.2 | at markbitman.com. When we set up the interview you're about to listen to with Jason Beekle, we didn't know what to expect. |
| 0:53.5 | We were excited about the opportunity, |
| 0:55.8 | though. Jason is the chief executive officer at Whole Foods Market and now vice president of |
| 1:01.5 | Amazon Worldwide grocery stores, an imposing pair of job titles, and it's safe to say here |
| 1:07.5 | that there are a few people in the world who are more in control of the options we have |
| 1:11.4 | food-wise, at least in grocery stores, than Jason. Jason has an interesting background, which |
| 1:17.6 | you'll hear about. His grandparents were dairy farmers, so his interest in farming and agriculture |
| 1:22.5 | might just be in his DNA. And he cares a lot about food and where it comes from and how it gets to us. |
| 1:29.0 | He's committed to increasing access to local quality food, which you'll also hear about. |
| 1:34.3 | We're so glad to welcome him to the show. |
| 1:37.6 | Jason, thank you so much for joining us today. |
| 1:41.2 | Yeah, so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. |
| 1:43.9 | So I wanted to start with a little bit about |
| 1:46.4 | your background because it's interesting and relevant. Do you want to talk about your grandparents a little bit? |
| 1:53.1 | Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I grew up in Wisconsin. On both sides of my family, my grandparents were |
| 2:00.2 | dairy farmers. My dad was a cheesemaker. I've been |
| 2:04.0 | gardening since I was seven, so definitely I'm a stereotypical cheesehead, for sure. And, you know, |
| 2:11.8 | for me, like food has been a deep part of my life ever since I was really young. I was one of those geeky kids who took |
| 2:20.0 | produce to the county fair and showed it. I did that for 10 years. So, you know, for me, it's |
| 2:26.8 | a kind of an interesting journey to now be part of, you know, Amazon and the larger grocery |
... |
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