Talks

The future of sustainable food sourcing

With almost 8 billion people to feed on the planet, how do we survive without comprising our oceans? Valentine discusses what sustainability really means, what are the issues we are facing and what can we do, as consumer and society to provide better solutions.

“There is however an extensive consensus that an ecological focus alone isn’t sufficient to have a long-term guaranteed regenerative ecosystem of seafood for our consumption. We must consistently consider a socio-ecological perspective if we want to effectively have a positive impact across cultures. “

Facing your own shark: How I Learned to Get Out of my Comfort Zone

The inspiring journey of Valentine Thomas, who faced severe anxiety, bullying and a fear of the ocean. By working on her mental strenght, she took the plunge into the bumpy road of entrepreneuship and self-sufficience as a spearfisher woman and advocate of sustainable seafood sourcing.

“I learned that you cannot become a better person by staying in your comfort zone, and indeed, I had to place myself in the zone that made me LEAST comfortable in order to find real meaning in my life.”

Entrepreneurship

“I remember sitting at my desk, imagining spending the next 40 years of my life doing the same thing. And I got scared. I got scared to be wasting my while life. The future was making me claustrophobic. I had the impression that, like in most spheres of my life, I didn’t belong where I was. […] so I packed my shit and I left.”

The happiness of the monkey

And if innovation wasn’t insuring our future and happiness? Imagine if the past was a better guarantor to make us happy? Valentine Thomas discuss the effect of our ADN on our hapiness and the dangers of technocological advancement creating a lack of proximity between humans and nature.

“Our level of hapiness didn’t increase with technology, it actually declined. People are more and more unhappy and miserable. If a return to the basics can seem regressive for certain people, it is crucial in order to find personal happiness and to live inharmony with our environment.”

How a market-based approach can be critical in an era of social media

Sustainability is about making the right compromises. The daily choices consumers make tread the fine and complicated line between personal preference (and education), availability and public policy. In an industry driven by profit, greenwashing and shaming advocates, personal due diligence is crucial to driving substantiative change. But in a world with so much in motion, how can personal due diligence be reliable for mass consumers? A market-based approach is continually more critical in the era of social media movements where consumer sustainability awareness is high and consumer preference can change rapidly. These rapidly evolving issue sets create vast problems and opportunities for businesses operating in the space. How do you create enough proximity to make buyers care? Can a targeted marketing budget reduce the responsibility of the supply chain to be the driver of change? What is social media’s growing role in the seafood industry?

• Proximity to the ocean created through social media content can have an immense impact on consumer’s habits.

• How a well-informed population could reduce the cost burden in the supply chain through changing consumer awareness and preference.

• Educating about seafood choices while fostering a sense of community to create a leading change in seafood consumption.

• The power of creating a movement over a moment by making sustainability appealing rather than a burden to consumers.

Previous talks

Let's work together

Join me in my travel/cooking/wild experiences as I share knowledge on how we can consume smarter.

My ambition is to collaborate with eco-aware brands who share a respect for nature and a passion for exploration so we can work together to create positive change and promote sustainable and responsible consumption.