3c hapter - Index of

154 Locavesting
is,” says Lindstrom, who has pledged to invest a large chunk of his
wealth in small scale, sustainable agriculture. “My principle desire is
to make change. And shifting money towards sustainable enterprise
and local business would have a huge impact.”
Lindstrom, a grandson of David Rockefeller, has unique motivations
as well. When Standard Oil, the source of his family’s vast
wealth, was broken up in 1911, much of the stock was transferred to
the Rockefeller Foundation. The foundation, he says, had a hand in
promoting modern petroleum- based agriculture—synthetic fertilizer
and pesticides and seeds that were resistant to them—which (not
coincidentally, he believes) benefi ted Standard Oil founder John D.
Rockefeller’s remaining oil interests. “I’m very aware of my family
connection to the oil paradigm,” he says. “I’ve fi nancially benefi ted
from it, but I’m also inheriting a world that is falling apart.” That
karma, he says, fuels his desire to help move the economy toward
renewable energy and sustainable practices. Still, he says, investing
in local agriculture takes a huge amount of work. And it can feel like
taking a leap into the abyss. “It’s always that way when you are taking
money from something secure to something more risky.”
The economics of food and agriculture may pose special challenges,
especially for investors who are not Rockefeller descendants.
The wider returns are often a key part of the equation. But that
doesn’t mean there are not high- growth businesses with the potential
to richly reward investors who take a chance. One need look no
further than Ben & Jerry’s, Stonyfi eld Farm, Niman Ranch, Whole
Foods, or Odwalla, among many other success stories, to see that the
food and ag sector can spawn high- growth, high- profi t companies.
These enterprises all had clear values. But they were all well positioned
for growth and run by management that could execute on the
opportunity—with the help of a little creative fi nancing. Amid clamoring
demand for everything local, organic, and sustainable, there is
fertile ground for a new generation of break out successes.
A Dairy Farmer’s Financial Education
I fi rst met Dante Hesse, the subject of this book’s introduction,
at the Slow Money gathering in Santa Fe. I had the sense that
he’d rather be tending to his herd, but there was a determination