Farm Hero’s Laura Zaspel on Why Media Is the Key to Fixing Our Food System

Laura Zaspel believes we’ve had enough documentaries on soil. She envisions something larger, a continuous effort that gains enough traction to transform global food production and consumption. This belief inspired her to co-found Farm Hero, a TV series centered on regenerative agriculture. Unlike one-off films or awareness campaigns, Farm Hero aims to alter behaviors swiftly enough to keep pace with the demands of the food system.

Zaspel brings a unique blend of qualifications to this project. She holds two master’s degrees, spent time at the U.S. Department of Energy fostering markets for renewable energy, and has run a Denver-based catering company for two decades. This culinary experience is significant. It provided her with an insider’s perspective on the gap between how food is cultivated, how it’s marketed, and consumer understanding of both. We spoke with her about Farm Hero’s inception, its growth plans, and why she believes informed consumers are the swiftest route to agricultural reform.

Tell us about yourself and your business.

I’m the co-executive producer and host of Farm Hero. Farm Hero is creating a worldwide movement for regenerative agriculture based on healthy soil, healthy plants, healthy animals, healthy body, and healthy planet. Our purpose is to go from conventional industrial agriculture to regenerative agriculture as fast as possible.

My background is rooted in energy efficiency, renewable energy technology, and sustainability. I have a master’s in cognitive science from the University of Denver and another master’s in environmental policy and management. I went right to work out of graduate school for the U.S. Department of Energy, where my job was to create markets for renewable energy and alternative fuels. I’m also the owner of Serendipity Catering and Events, based in Denver, and I’ve been in the food industry for two decades.

What was your inspiration for starting the business?

Serendipity became the trailblazers for regenerative agriculture back in 2020 in Colorado. We had always pushed the envelope on sustainability, but the next step had to be regeneration. I met Anthony Mynt with Zero Foodprint; that was a game changer. Then I met Richard Lackey, who was already producing TV shows in Africa that all centered around regenerative agriculture.

I already had this viewpoint of, “What can we do about this situation?” There was a disconnection between food, health and soil. How do we make the connection? The solution is media. The solution is: how do we communicate at the correct order of magnitude to make a change? We didn’t want to do a one-and-done documentary. We wanted to do a TV series with campaigns, messages, concepts, and ideal scenes.

How and when did you launch the business?

Farm Hero started with me connecting an investor and consulting. I was working on other projects, and I originally said, “I can’t be day-to-day. I will consult.” But it became very serendipitous. Between my background, my relationships, Serendipity’s work in the food system, and the connections we have, it came together with me as the host.

What was your first year in business like?

The first year became every waking moment. We were trailblazing and asking, “How do you scale regenerative ag technology? How do you scale living soil?”

We were also setting the bar for season two. We went heavy on culinary, and we always want to finish around a bountiful table with producers showing off their beautiful regenerative agriculture produce and proteins.

A lot of the work was showing people what can be done. What can a consumer do? What can a farmer do? What can a consumer product group do? People need role models, and they need to know where they can go or how to transition.

What strategies did you use to grow the business?

Our strategy is to create the whole ecosystem. The farmers need the market, the demand, and the commitment to buy (“guaranteed offtake”). The consumer product groups need to know how to transition to supply what the consumers are demanding – more than certifications, they want the story behind their food.

We want to work with consumer product groups, General Mills,Tyson Foods, PepsiCo, Nestle and Kraft (to name a few) of the world, and help them deliver on regenerative agriculture promises.

We don’t want to focus on how bad some of the products in their consumer lines are. If they want to change truly and sincerely, we want that story out to consumers. The fastest way to change is an educated consumer demanding with their dollars and the suppliers ready to meet that demand.

We also build around education and public awareness. We’re creating a worldwide movement caused by education and public awareness, and the goal is to create the marketplace while assisting where we can to scale regenerative agriculture.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

The biggest challenge has been education, knowledge, and taking responsibility. The problem has been unawareness and being sold a false bill of goods. People say, “The food system’s broken,” but what do we do about it? Our point is to empower, which is a fancy word to say, “What do I do about this?”

A farmer’s obstacles include cost of entry such as land, equipment and infrastructure such as water supply.  Even if I wanted to change Serendipity Catering to 100% regenerative ag produce and proteins tomorrow, I couldn’t do it. There aren’t enough people producing, not enough people with the awareness, and not enough clients demanding it.

What have been the most significant keys to your business’ success?

The most significant key has been our connections. We have Will Harris, White Oak Pastures, TomKat Ranch, the Savory Institute, EarthX TV, chefs, Native American ties, and others.

That network is important because we did this to lead the way. We know we can take the responsibility to move this whole thing.

What separates your business from your competitors?

We don’t want to be just another little piece of this dispersed movement. Farm Hero’s positioning needs to be the authority, the umbrella over all others, working to bring about health through soil, farms, ranches, and nutrient-rich, organic food.

We need systematic, fast change, and that is one of our real strengths: seeing the ideal scene and then organizing to achieve it.

What is your favorite quote?

“What would nature do?” It always comes back to that. Nature is not timid. Nature flourishes and prospers.

What are your future plans for the business?

In 10 years, I don’t think we’ll even use the term “regenerative agriculture.” It will simply be agriculture—because ultimately, that’s what agriculture should be.

To get there, we have to prove that regeneration can scale and that it makes economic sense. Farmers need to be profitable. Regenerative businesses need to grow. And we need to build a food system capable of supplying what increasingly educated consumers are demanding: food that is better for the soil, better for our communities, and better for the future.

We also want to take these proven solutions to governments and policymakers around the world, because we now have an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate regenerative farming and restore soil health on a global scale.

And Farm Hero is a big part of that vision. We want to take Farm Hero international—telling the stories of farmers and food systems around the world, sharing solutions that work, and inspiring the next generation.

Most importantly, I want agriculture to become an industry that young people are excited to enter—an industry associated with innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, purpose, and opportunity.

That’s the future of agriculture. And that’s the future of food.

What are some of your favorite books, blogs, podcasts, or YouTube channels?

Kiss the Ground is a big one. It really brought regenerative agriculture to light in 2020, and I always tell people, “Please watch it” when they don’t know where to start.  Will Harris’ book, A Bold Return to Giving a Damn, is also at the top of the list. Will has become a friend, and he is one of the most admirable, and damn nice, opinion leaders on this planet for regenerative ranching.

Dr. Eric Berg is another one I reference because he can take the most complex concepts and explain them to consumers.