Mana Mushrooms

From the UNEP Convention on Biodiversity – not the most fun article to read, but very informative and informational. This document is a great example of the broader, global vision into which Mana Mushrooms hopes to assimilate.

Since this may feel like a cognitive leap, I encourage the reader to think in terms of systems. In particular, natural systems 'hold the planet together'. Any man-made systems that do not sync with natural systems will ultimately be at a competitive disadvantage, using more resources and energy than systems which work in concert with nature.

I will take more liberties in my blogging, opening the connections and taking more time to explain the "30,000-foot overview" of Integrated Farming and Waste Management Systems and how mushroom cultivation can play a part as a fiscal cornerstone for such systems (IFS) without following the traditional fuel intensive model. One adaptation to the traditional model is to harvest wasted energy from industrial partners.

Mana Mushrooms is working with industrial partners on a proof-of-concept program to implement a heat exchanger, which will enable us to recapture heat otherwise released into the environment and put it to use in our cultivation process. By taking this approach, we can reduce risk to investors by using a more established method of sterilizing substrate while not directly contributing to resource-intensive cultivation methods. I believe such stewardship efforts are a necessity, not a luxury.

In such partnerships, our long-term goal is to help transform the systems of industrial partners to help them realize benefits of more sustainable practices. One example would be biomass heat generation, using dried spent mushroom substrate, a byproduct of our production. Any extraction business is inherently unsustainable. Again, for more on this, keep an eye out for pending blog entries.

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