A Conversation with Nell Newman
(The complete Flip interview, with only minor edits, not found in the book)

The daughter of actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Nell Newman (www.newmansownorganics.com) had an early introduction to natural foods at their rural Connecticut home.  The family had a garden and Nell was taught to cook by her mother, as well as spending many hours fishing with her father.  She was the executive director of the Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary, which worked to reestablish the bald eagle in central California.  After two and a half years, she left Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary and began fundraising for the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.  In 1993, Nell launched Newman’s Own Organics: The Second Generation – a division of her father’s company, Newman’s Own – with business partner Peter Meehan.  The company, of which she is now the president, has been independent since 2001.

We were interested to learn how the child of two famous actors managed to avoid the lure of Hollywood and instead focus on environmental health and organic foods.  “I was lucky because every other year we lived in Connecticut,” Nell remembers, “and the majority of my life was spent growing up on a river with a pack of dogs, fishing.  We recycled and raised chickens, so it was a more grounded experience than some kids get.  The movie star thing was always there but certainly not a permanent aspect of my childhood.  When I was about eight, I realized that the peregrine falcon, my favorite bird of prey, was almost extinct in the United States due to the use of DDT.  The thought of extinction and that it might be occurring in my lifetime was a totally mind-boggling concept.  So that was the catalyst for my environmental interest, leading me to become involved with several non-profits later.

“I did a peregrine falcon release in Boise, Idaho and one in Vermont.  And I was on the board of the Peregrine Fund while I attended college in Bar Harbor, Maine.  After I finished college, I moved out to California.  Brian Walton was also a Peregrine Fund board member and ran the predatory bird research group there.  He said, ‘We have a little non-profit that’s working out of our office on a bald eagle project.  Would you like to be their executive director?’  That’s how I got started as a non-profit fundraiser.  I was completely naïve.  I had no idea what I was doing.”

Nell reports that her organic food company was inspired by moving to the beach town of Santa Cruz, California.  “I had never seen a farmer’s market that was 80 percent organic before then.  I was immediately inspired to make an organic product line.  Then I just had to convince Dad, which was a little more complex.  People just had a bad image of what organic was.  My dad thought ‘organic’ meant the nut-loaf with yeast gravy that my mother used to make the seventies.  We were looking for a simple product to start changing that perception.  So our first product was pretzels because it was my dad’s favorite snack when I was growing up.  I knew he would go for it.

“When I first came to the Bay Area, I ate at Chez Panisse, the first five-star organic restaurant in Berkeley.  You don’t walk out of Chez Panisse saying ‘This is the best health food meal I ever had.’  You just walk out saying, ‘God, that was the best food I’ve ever had.’  And it’s because Alice Waters utilizes such incredibly good ingredients.  This inspired our motto ‘Great tasting products that happen to be organic’ – so you don’t have to convince your children that our cookie is healthy and whole wheat.  Instead you say it’s just like an Oreo but different, wholesome.”

Was it difficult for Nell to get her organic products into traditional groceries?  “Groceries have become our largest sales,” says Nell, “though in the beginning we would get a lot of ‘Hey, come on in a visit me!’ from people who just wanted to meet Paul Newman’s daughter and weren’t really interested in picking up the new organic line.  But, bit-by-bit they have seen the success of it, as it has grown to work.”

We asked about Nell’s new pet food line.  “That was actually one of the first products I wanted to do,” she responded,” but there just wasn’t enough organic meat around at the time.  So, it was something we kept in the back of our heads until we were approached about an opportunity to try some vet-designed products.  The line has been a wonderful success.”

Paul Newman is well-known for his philanthropy, and specifically for donating all of the profits from his original Newman’s Own corporation to charity.  We asked if Nell’s Newman’s Own Organics was following the same model and how the company was impacted.  “Like Newman’s Own,” replied Nell, “Newman’s Own Organics pays a royalty to Dad, and he in turn donates the money to charity.  But both companies are for-profit.”  She laughs.  “It’s not really a model I would recommend to anybody.  When you think about it, you can’t grow it and sell it.  I don’t think many people would want to buy a company and then give that royalty to charity.  I know there are more progressive organizations working on trying to set up a good model.  Because in this particular case, unless you have a separate stream of income to balance out all of the money you’re giving away, you just end up paying a lot of taxes.”

What’s next for Newman’s Own Organics?  “We don’t really have any big plans,” confesses Nell. “I wish we did, but I haven’t had time to think about it.  We’re this little company that’s – fortunately – been very successful.  I’m proud of the products we produce and the contributions we make and the fact that we are able to treat our employees well.  Dad gave us our start by providing a small salary and covering our research expenses for one year, while we came up with our first item.  Since then, we primarily just come out with new products every year and keep running as fast as we can.”

And what is Nell’s vision of the future of food?  “It’s a tough question.  Despite my pessimism, organic farming has experienced sustainable double-digit growth, and so has land farmed organically.  It is important that the double-digit growth continues.  The standards of organic food were written by the organics industry, so they came from the right intent.  We pretty much got what we asked for.  We need to be aware that the Bush administration continually tries to dilute them.  The challenge is to make sure organic standards are maintained at the highest level.  But based on strong consumer demand and the adoption by the large grocery chains, I am hopeful we will continue to move forward in a positive direction.”

###

The Flip, by Jared Rosen and David Rippe, illuminates a clear path to a vibrant enlightened world where millions of people already live and thrive. It describes in vivid detail and real examples evidence of an upside down world in decay and a Right Side Up world of authentic beings bright with possibility.
The Flip is an owner’s manual for the twenty-first century full of insights, conversations with recognized experts, thought leaders, and visionaries, and actionable exercises and tips you can use to begin your own personal flip.

To read more about The Flip and additional interviews from other luminaries, experts and bestselling authors, please visit www.theflip.net

The Flip is available at your local bookstore or online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Joseph-Beth, and Borders.