304 - Demystifying Cannabis and Food with Manny Mendoza
304 - Demystifying Cannabis and Food with Manny Mendoza
Listeners, we are back this week with Manny Mendoza
Chef Manny Mendoza is the founder and chef of Herbal Notes: A culinary cannabis experience & collective that aims to use food, cannabis, music and the arts as a means to bridge all walks of life closer together. Chef Manny is also an edible specialist with a license to infuse and manufacture products in Illinois — being among the first new Latino owners and operators in the space. The Herbal Notes mission is to use cannabis and enjoyment as a medium to bring awareness about social justice, mental health, holistic practices and restorative efforts to Black and Brown communities. You can find Chef Manny in action representing Chi-Town on Netflix’s “Cooked with Cannabis” episode 6.
During our conversation we talked about:
02:04 - His heritage
03:06 - Growing up finding his identity
04:13 - “I have to choose the best possible outcome for me everyday”
05:20 - Starting to see the community’s reality as a teen
17:44 - “I had no idea of who I was”
18:59 - “The concept of nation has made it hard for human beings to connect”
27:12 - His introduction to weed
29:17 - Weed and food
30:28 - “Those seeds move throughout the world with food”
31:11 - The stigma around weed
32:02 - “a way to further isolate and cripple different communities was to prohibit and outlaw what they use”
35:40 - Herbal Notes
39:05 - What’s next
41:08 - “I’m trying to introduce healthier options for our elders”
43:42 - “Cannabis industry has been white-washed”
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