If you fit the typical Landish customer profile you’d qualify as a modern conscious consumer, looking to make the smartest possible choices for your health and the environment.

In the 2020s, making these smarter choices has never been more achievable because of an unprecedented access to information but also, in other ways, more difficult and cumbersome for this very reason. We have so many more concerns than we used to, not because these concerns should not have previously existed, but simply because we had access to and perhaps sought less information, making the decision-making process so much less involved.

One of these areas of critical thinking and heightened awareness when it comes to personal consumption relates to our oceans, and rightfully so.

Our oceans are precious. They are not only a source of subsistence for countless peoples around the globe, but their health as ecosystems is also critical to our environment as a whole, closely connected to climate and everything that this entails.

This is why I want to cover this topic in detail. From our spirulina and water lentil, to our fair trade cocoa, cricket powder, functional mushrooms and roots, upcycled fruits and veggies, and other plant-based ingredients, we source the best, cleanest, most responsibly produced foods.

Now, let’s talk about our Nova Scotia-made marine collagen.

WHY OUR MARINE COLLAGEN IS A NET POSITIVE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

LANDISH MARINE COLLAGEN DRIVES NO FISHING

Our Canadian-made marine collagen does not cause fishing. It’s extracted from the skins and scales of North Atlantic fish such as cod, haddock and pollock (byproducts only). In this case, fishing is entirely driven by the demand for fish fillets. Check out my "Wood Chip Analogy" a few paragraphs below for a mental model that you may find useful.

PREVENTS WASTE AND REDUCES GHG EMISSIONS

Years ago, a large amount of these fish byproducts would have been dumped at sea or in landfills, not only being wasted as a source of exceptional collagen protein, but also decomposing and releasing methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more powerful than CO2 over a 20-year period. Now, the production of marine collagen adds tremendous value to these byproducts, eliminating waste and the release of methane into the atmosphere.


BYPRODUCTS OF STRICTLY REGULATED FISHING ONLY

Despite using byproducts only and not driving any fishing, we still believe it is very important to purchase only from a strictly regulated supply chain. The fishing byproducts used to produce our collagen are purchased only from fish processors that are government registered to ensure not only food safety but records for catch and compliance with strict quotas that are reviewed annually. Landings and biomass are vetted to ensure conservation.

THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE FISHING

The Landish team eats less fish (and other meat) ever since we started consuming our marine collagen (and our cricket powder). We call ourselves “modern omnivores” and have absolutely found our health to be optimal when we consume a mix of plant proteins and some animal proteins. Collagen is a particular protein that is not found in plants, but we now have this clean, responsible source of collagen in our diets which causes a zero net increase in fishing.


THE WOOD CHIP ANALOGY

Prior to co-founding Landish, I had developed a specialty for financing large renewable power projects with one of the big Canadian banks. Three of the plant projects I helped finance (namely Index Energy in Ajax, Ontario, and two BC-based plants, in Fort St-James and Merritt) turned biomass waste into energy through a clean burn, using advanced filters to trap any harmful pollutants. This process produces energy for Canadian households and industry, and prevents biomass waste from decomposing and releasing methane into the atmosphere (again, the much more potent of the GHGs). Ash, which is the by-product of this process, is then sold as fertilizer, allowing it to return to the earth and back into plants.

The two BC plants specifically process waste from the forestry industry, that is mainly wood chips from sawmills and other forest biomass that is not useful to the industry.

This provides a good analogy for the use of fish byproducts (skins/scales) to produce marine collagen for human nutrition. The folks producing the energy from forest waste are not cutting down trees, nor do they have any direct say in how many trees are allowed to be cut down. They simply purchase biomass from companies that are complying with all Canadian laws and quotas, but that would otherwise dispose of their waste less responsibly.

Here’s why this is a sound analogy:

• Both processes collect byproducts that would be produced independently regardless

• Both processes reduce waste

• Both processes reduce methane emissions

• Both processes create a high-value-added product (in one case energy, in the other protein, both for human consumption)

• Both processes can reduce the use of these resources elsewhere (again, in one case energy from non-byproduct sources, and in the other protein from non-byproduct sources)

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

LANDISH MARINE COLLAGEN IS EXCEPTIONALLY PURE AND SAFE

Every batch of Landish marine collagen is third-party lab-tested to ensure purity and safety. When it comes to fish, the main concern would be mercury, but rest assured: every single batch of Landish marine collagen is lab tested and mercury is never detected at a sensitivity of 0.02 parts per million (ppm), which is 25x below the Canadian health standard for fish of 0.5 ppm. All other heavy metals and potential pathogens are also tested and are non-factors.

So not only is our marine collagen recouping exceptional quality collagen from byproducts, it’s the cleanest and purest collagen you could possibly find, and it can be consumed every single day with no long-term concerns whatsoever over purity and safety.

WHAT ABOUT THE LONG TERM?

Landish has partnered with a renowned company that has developed an extremely innovative and disruptive protein production technology to launch one of the world’s first animal-free animal proteins. Yes, you heard right! This protein will be identical to one of the most commonly consumed animal proteins and will be made with absolutely no animal products. This protein already exists, and the Landish team has been consuming it, but it will take some time to prepare for a commercial launch. This protein is absolutely safe for consumption and we can’t wait to introduce it to you!

Within the next decade, we expect to be able to do the same for collagen. The technology exists, but more development needs to happen and production would need to be scaled significantly before this type of product could be launched commercially.

In the meantime, in a world where there is fishing and the industry is producing byproducts, creating clean, high-quality protein for human consumption is the most responsible thing to do with these byproducts.

I hope that after reading this you believe in our sincerity. When you buy from Landish, you are not only buying responsibly and giving back to the environment, you’re supporting a smarter food supply chain today and the innovation that will produce tomorrow’s smarter food. We are putting a ton of thought into everything that we do, and we can’t thank you enough for being a part of the conversation.