Founder update: Why thoughtful trade matters
Later this year, I’ll be transitioning out of my day-to-day role at PB to focus on independent journalistic work. I'll be researching, reflecting on, and writing about the forces that shape our food system and the possibilities we have to reimagine it. I believe storytelling can do more than highlight what's broken – it can challenge assumptions, reframe our roles within the system, and illuminate a better path forward.
In honor of Earth Month, I’m kicking off a special series that offers a preview of what’s ahead for me and spotlights the important work happening at the intersection of agriculture and climate action.
Last week, I touched on a somewhat dense yet highly important topic – Integrated Pest Management (thanks for sticking with me!). This week, I’m zooming out and talking about the real-world challenges that mission-driven business owners are navigating right now.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on what it really takes to grow food thoughtfully – food that nourishes us, tastes better, supports the land it comes from, and strengthens farming systems that are better for the climate. The kind of food PB has always stood for.
Every mission-driven brand I know is constantly walking a tightrope – trying to make thoughtfully sourced food accessible while ensuring the people behind it are paid fairly. It’s a delicate and constant recalibration between values, survival, and impact. (I explored this in a previous blog post.)
And just when you think you’ve found your balance: tariffs.
These policies disrupt the delicate balance of global trade, injecting a nationalist energy into an agricultural spirit that has long thrived because of exchange – between cultures, climates, communities, and generations of shared wisdom (Fly by Jing and Diaspora Co. have beautifully expressed this).
Often framed as a necessary corrective to the harms of globalization – like the inundation of local markets with cheap, standardized food, as Dan Saladino documents in Eating to Extinction – tariffs, in many ways, present a false solution. In reality, tariffs don’t just slow the flow of goods, they interrupt the vital exchange of culture, knowledge, and relationships that farmers around the world rely on to cultivate resilient, diverse, and culturally meaningful crops.
I’ll never forget my first conversations with our incredible farm partners in Mexico – already thriving in their local markets, but eager to expand into the big, powerful US one. For them, working with PB offered a rare opportunity: to grow their reach without compromising their story or commitment to quality and freshness. Being able to pay fairly and honor their values felt like a dream – one rooted in mutual respect and possibility.
Currently, there are no tariffs on products from Mexico. But with the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) up for review next year, uncertainty is already in the air. No matter the outcome, PB has no plans to raise prices or pay our farmers any less in response to potential tariffs.
Growing unique crops responsibly takes resources and risk. It requires practices that build soil health, protect biodiversity, and adapt to – and even help heal – a changing climate. But without fair pay, stable markets – or when something like high tariffs come along – farms start to question whether they can keep going. They often have to abandon the “good stuff” and pivot to crops and practices that are cheaper, less risky, and backed by the commodity system.
And the result? We all lose – flavor, diversity, and the very resilience our food system needs, a stark contrast to the values we champion this Earth Month.
Could I source all our beans here in the US – the outcome that policymakers are pushing for? The answer is yes. But we’d give up the incredible history, culture, and flavor of regional beans from these incredible farms.
What we need isn’t more walls. It’s thoughtful, values-driven trade – trade that strengthens connection and honors both tradition and innovation. One that makes space for a different kind of food future.
Thanks for reading. Next week, I’ll be sharing my ideas for how all of us home cooks can take part in the food and climate conversation.
Lesley
