Kreatures Of Habit Podcast: “You’re Eating Meat Wrong: The Truth About Where It Comes From” with Robby Sansom

Host: Michael Chernow
Guest: Robby Sansom, CEO and Co-Founder, Force of Nature Foods
Date: February 4, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the often-overlooked journey of meat from farm to table, challenging common assumptions about meat consumption, production, and its impact on health, land, and culture. Host Michael Chernow explores these themes with Robby Sansom, a thought leader in regenerative agriculture and founder of Force of Nature Foods. The conversation covers the realities of the meat industry, the meaning and potential of regenerative farming, consumer consciousness, and the spiritual and communal aspects of eating meat with intention.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Disconnection from Meat’s Origin

• Modern detachment: Michael and Robby discuss how most people have lost touch with where their meat comes from, attributing this to modern convenience and discomfort with mortality.
  • “In the last 200 years, human beings have completely lost touch with where these things come from and how they have made, how their journey to the table.” (Chernow, 00:00)
• Moral responsibility: Robby emphasizes consumer complicity: wherever you buy your meat, you are part of the animal’s journey and have a moral stake in its life and death.
  • “You are complicit in whatever happened prior to your interaction with that animal. You chose that, you approved it, you signed off on it at the register when you voted with your dollars.” (Sansom, 26:57)

2. Industrial Meat Production vs. Regenerative Agriculture

• Feedlot realities: Robby explains the conventional US feedlot system—large, confined, unsanitary, reliant on antibiotics (~80% of the country’s antibiotics), and focused on maximizing cheap, marbled meat.
  • “You can go for miles and miles just see thousands or millions of head of animals standing shoulder to shoulder in no way resembling a natural environment...80% of antibiotics in the country tend to go into these systems.” (Sansom, 03:20–05:45)
• Nutritional impact: He notes that grain-fed, feedlot beef is larger and more marbled but less healthy nutritionally, lacking the “depth and richness” of meat from animals raised as nature intended.
• Regenerative model: True regenerative, pasture-raised systems take longer, produce less fatty, more nutrient-dense animals, and focus on land, animal, and community health.
  • “It’s about nurturing and fueling the energy cycle, the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and improving the land...while also improving the health and wellness of the animal.” (Sansom, 08:20)

3. Consumer Awareness, Palate, and Misconceptions

• Taste conditioning: Michael argues that Americans are conditioned to prefer grain-fed meat, but returning to more natural flavors is better for health and environment.
  • “We've been sort of groomed and cultivated to have these palates that need to have this explosion of flavor every time...I wholeheartedly disagree.” (Chernow, 14:25)
• Marketing misdirection: Robby warns that many “grass-fed” or “organic” labels can be misleading, and real transparency is demonstrated by passionate, committed producers rather than hollow brand claims.
  • “If all you’re looking for is a claim, it’s a reductionist way of living your life...None of those claims deliver on everything that you’re looking for.” (Sansom, 44:43)

4. Building Force of Nature & Mission

• From Epic to Force of Nature: Robby’s transition from Epic (meat-based snacks) to addressing the mainline meat industry was about scaling positive change across the system—not just for consumers, but land, animals, and farmers.
  • “We took that mission and we took that set of values and brought it into this industry where we said, ‘Hey, we can take our mission from ounces to pounds.’” (Sansom, 15:32)
• Sourcing: Force of Nature works with a diverse network of farmers and ranchers, from the US and globally, committed to regenerative practices. They focus on relationship-building with both suppliers and consumers (42:46).
• Convenience and variety: Products range from beef, bison, venison, elk, and chicken, available in multiple formats (ground, steaks, sausages). Force of Nature sells through grocery, direct-to-consumer, and restaurants, aiming for accessibility and quality at every point (40:10).

5. Respecting the Cycle of Life and Communal Eating

• Spirituality and reverence: Both speakers stress the importance of pausing to give thanks for food, cultivating gratitude, and reconnecting with the cycle of life, especially when harvesting animals.
  • “Prior to dressing the animal, all three of us sit with our hand on it and pray and thank the land, thank the animal...It's a miraculous thing, almost, right? Truly, truly miraculous.” (Chernow, 30:47)
• Community: Michael reflects on his past with communal eating (e.g., Thanksgiving, restaurant life), and how food at its best nourishes not just the body but also the soul and relationships (22:36).
  • “That energy that you're talking about in and of itself is nourishing. It's not just the food.” (Sansom, 24:01)

6. Industry Challenges & The Human Cost

• Mental health and farming: Robby shares a sobering fact: the suicide rate among farmers is higher than veterans. The industrial system is “killing us” physically and emotionally, by making food production a hopeless, marginalized pursuit (38:06).
  • “We've created an environment for our food producers that is hopeless. And so, yeah, it's directly and indirectly, that system is killing us.” (Sansom, 38:34)
• Education and accessibility: Biggest challenge for Force of Nature is educating consumers on nuance; labels like “organic” often fail to capture true quality or sustainability (50:53).
• Resilience: COVID, supply chain disruptions, and price fluctuations have made the business difficult, but Force of Nature persists to “serve consumers and serve producers.” (51:22–54:14)

7. Consumer Guidance for Better Choices

• What to look for: Prioritize brands with transparent sourcing, the willingness to engage and educate—not just those with convenient claims (44:43).
• Economic argument: Even though Force of Nature is premium-priced, Robby asserts their ground meat plus organic veggies is still healthier and cheaper than fast food or convenience store meals (51:22).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On consumer complicity:
  “You are always behind the trigger. It doesn't matter if you got it from a restaurant or from a grocery store or from a local farmer or butcher, or you went and hunted it for yourself. You are complicit in whatever happened prior to your interaction with that animal.”
  —Robby Sansom, 00:53/26:57

• On American beef culture:
  “The average weight of a cow in the United States at slaughter...has gone up 1% a year each year for the last 70 years. So despite having fewer animals right now, we're still getting the same poundage of meat that we did.”
  —Robby Sansom, 11:00

• On small farm struggles:
  “The rate of suicide in farmers is greater than the rate of suicide in veterans. So absolutely, it's killing us.”
  —Robby Sansom, 38:34

• On transparency:
  “A key demonstration that you care about somebody is a willingness and proactive desire to actually engage and relate with them.”
  —Robby Sansom, 44:04

• On food and legacy:
  “When you're a fetus in the womb, if you're a female, your mother is feeding you the nutrition that will create all of the eggs you will ever have in your entire life...three generations from your mother were dictated by what she was, how she was living and what she was putting in her body.”
  —Robby Sansom, 50:08

Segment Timestamps

• 00:00 – 02:21 | Disconnection from the origin of meat
• 03:20 – 10:20 | Conventional vs. regenerative beef production, antibiotics, marbling, and U.S. feedlot system
• 13:16 – 15:32 | Regenerative farming, taste, and palate conditioning
• 15:32 – 19:20 | Evolution of Force of Nature's business model & core values
• 22:36 – 30:47 | Communal eating, spirituality, gratitude, “always behind the trigger”
• 34:44 – 44:31 | Force of Nature’s consumer, challenges with education, label confusion
• 47:45 – 48:54 | Sourcing wild game and exotic meats (elk in New Zealand)
• 50:46 – 54:14 | Business challenges, COVID, economics of better meat
• 54:14 – 57:23 | Practical advice for sourcing better meat, Force of Nature’s products and standards
• 57:31 – 59:39 | Where to learn more about Force of Nature, educational resources
• 59:40 – End | Closing thoughts on consumer impact, changing food culture, and appreciation

Final Takeaways

• The disconnect between modern consumers and the reality of meat production has moral, environmental, and health consequences.
• Regenerative agriculture offers a genuine alternative—nurturing land, animals, and people, but requires re-education and an open mind.
• Labels alone are insufficient; real change comes from seeking brands/people who actively engage in transparency and stewardship.
• Eating with reverence, gratitude, and consciousness not only honors the animal and the land but strengthens community and personal wellness.
• You vote for a food system with every purchase: more knowledge equals better choices.

How to Learn More or Support

• Website: forceofnature.com – Product ordering, blogs, sourcing info, educational resources
• Social: @forceofnaturemeats (lots of educational content)
• Podcast: Where Hope Grows (episodes on regenerative agriculture, protocols, and more)
• Newsletter available for ongoing education and updates

Share this episode if it resonates—and, most of all, consider how your food choices shape your health, your community, and the world.