My background is in biology. Before getting into the family business, I worked at the Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California at Santa Cruz, fundraising for them.
It's so gratifying to see people face to face who get to meet the people who are giving them a fair price for their work. They can now provide medical support for their kids, give them better education and in general have a better standard of living. God knows they deserve it.
I think all family businesses are difficult and fraught with problems because you have that family relationship to get over. But my dad has been so supportive, we've managed to work around that.
Education is very important, and the botanical garden is the place to do that. I grew up in a semi-rural area and learned from that being my playground.
By the time I grew up, acting just seemed like something I'd already done. I had absolutely no interest in it, even though some people thought it would be my calling.
Basically, what we've done is, every year we take half the money and allow people who've helped us in the industry to give it away. One year, the ladies who put the pretzel bags in the boxes got to give it away.
Barley malt has a really deep, rich taste. A lot of manufacturers have switched over to corn syrup over the years because it's a cheaper sweetener, but it doesn't have the flavor.
Adopting big-business practices is one thing, and adopting agribusiness practices that would dilute the meaning of 'organic' is another. On the whole, I think we're doing a pretty good job of preserving the integrity of organic foods.
After getting recognized in public from my picture on our pretzel bag, I can understand not wanting to be in the public eye. It has given me a public persona I had always avoided as a child. I do it because it's for a good cause.
