79. The Environmental Impact of Backpacking Meals with Backpacker's Pantry

In episode 79 of the Outdoor Minimalist podcast, we discuss backpacking meals. We’ve discussed backcountry eating in terms of planning and low-waste efforts, but what goes into the manufacturing of pre-made backpacking meals?

As someone that only recently started to try backpacking meals, I had a lot of questions about sourcing, packaging materials, and the general carbon footprint of these convenient backcountry options. There are so many backpacking food companies out on the market today it is hard to know what will taste good and which companies are also considering their environmental impact while they craft their meals. For me, the best place to start was to sit down with the CEO, Duane Primozich, and one of the founders, Soraya Smith, of Backpacker’s Pantry, a pioneer company in the world of backpacking food.

With more than 20 years of natural food experience, Duane joined the Backpacker's Pantry team in the Fall of 2022 as CEO. Prior to joining American Outdoor Products (AOP), the parent company of Backpacker’s Pantry, Duane had a decades-long career founding, building, advising, and sitting on the Boards of more than 20 natural foods companies. He has been involved with Silk Soymilk, EPIC Provisions, Hope Foods, REBBL, High Brew Coffee, Bonafide Provisions, Bobo’s Oat Bars, and several others, while also having co-founded Pixie Mate, a Boulder-based Yerba Mate tea brand and two natural foods-focused investment funds. Duane is committed to furthering Backpacker’s Pantry’s commitment to sustainability, the environment, the preservation of wilderness, and sustainable food industry practices.

With over a decade of product and recipe development for Backpacker’s Pantry, Soraya Smith is a passionate advocate for the outdoors and food. Luckily, she gets to marry these two interests in her work. Soraya is President of the company’s Board of Directors, she is licensed through the Colorado Bar Association and is an accredited culinary professional. Her expertise in food innovation and passion for our planet’s sustainability guide her work in addressing sustainable supply chain, food insecurity, and outdoors access as personal goals.

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BACKPACKER'S PANTRY

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