logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
1h 3m

S12E162 John James Staniszewski/Fungitar...

Harry Duran
About this episode

Ever wondered how a mushroom farm could revolutionize the food industry? I sat down with John James Staniszewski, the creator of the fungitarian lifestyle and a pioneer in the vertical farming space, to uncover the secrets of his success.

John's journey from nightclub manager to mushroom mogul is as fascinating as it is inspiring. He shares how he built a thriving mushroom farm from scratch, producing up to 35,000 pounds of mushrooms per month and supplying over 350 grocery stores.

In this episode, we dive deep into the challenges of starting a vertical farm, the importance of hands-on leadership, and John's vision for creating 10 million fungitarians by 2027. John reveals how his past experiences in bodybuilding and personal training shaped his approach to the mushroom industry.

We also explore the parallels between vertical farming and bodybuilding, the potential of mushrooms in addressing childhood health issues, and John's upcoming launch of bioavailable mushroom tinctures and gummies.

If you're curious about the future of food, the potential of mushrooms, or how to build a successful vertical farming business, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in to gain insights from a true innovator in the field.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Key Takeaways

5:42 Transition from nightclub scene to bodybuilding

11:15 Spiritual journey and discovery of magic mushrooms

16:59 Building a mushroom farm

22:31 Challenges of vertical farming and industry insights

28:15 Developing fungitarian food products and business growth

39:33 Current business operations and partnerships

45:46 Defining success: Goal of 10 million fungitarians by 2027

50:57 Leadership growth and employee management strategies

Tweetable Quotes

"I've always been a weirdo, so in all reality it was for me I've been on this like universal timeline where all the things that I want to embody and do have just been ahead of time."
"I believe that I have the opportunity, which you don't get in another lifetime, to be able to gear people towards a new food."
"I'd rather have somebody that knows nothing and wants to learn everything than somebody who thinks they know everything."

Resources Mentioned

Website - https://windycitymushroom.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-james-staniszewski-0728312ab/

Connect With Us

VFP LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/verticalfarmingpodcast

VFP Twitter - https://twitter.com/VerticalFarmPod

VFP Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/direct/inbox/

VFP Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/VerticalFarmPod

Subscribe to our newsletters!

AgTech Digest - https://agtechdigest.com

The Indoor Farmer -

Up next
Nov 21
178: Why Modular Vertical Farming Holds the Key to Scalable Food Security with Fischer Farm's Tristan Fischer
<p>Ever wondered how to scale your vertical farm without breaking the bank—or your nerves?</p><p>In this episode of the Vertical Farming Podcast, I sit down with Tristan Fischer, CEO of Fisher Farms, one of the pioneers in modular farming technology. Tristan brings over 25 years ... Show More
1 h
Oct 31
177: How Mary Wetherill Discovered the Business Model Shift That Makes Urban Farming Profitable
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched passionate urban farmers burn out because their business model wasn’t sustainable—what if there were a better way?This week on Vertical Farming, I sit down with Mary Wetherill, founding president and CEO of Green Food Solutions, for ... Show More
54m 59s
Oct 10
176: From Panic to Prevention: Pathogen Management Strategies for Indoor Growers
Are you worried about potential pathogens lurking in your indoor farm's water system or substrate? I've got you covered with insights from an expert in agricultural analytics.I sat down with Taylor Robinson, Chief Scientist and founder of Rimrock Analytical, to discuss the critic ... Show More
45m 22s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Seeding Sustainability: Agriculture Innovations to Feed Future Generations
<p>The agriculture industry will need to feed a projected 10 billion people by 2050. To meet this demand, project teams are transforming production—finding climate-friendly ways to maximize yields. Guests share how they’re helping agriculture giants like Cargill reduce carbon emi ... Show More
25m 19s
Aug 2024
S5E31 Jad Allam | Manufacturing Yields, Growing Young Engineers, & Engineering Analytics
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/995575/open_sms">Send us a text</a></p><p>In this episode, Jad Allam discusses his journey into engineering, starting as a process engineer at Applied Medical and eventually becoming a Group Vice Presiden ... Show More
47m 48s
Oct 1
The World Reacts to Sora 2, Slop vs. Farming Debate | Reece Chowdhry, Jim Gao, Fan-Yun Sun, Carl Pei, Shehzan Maredia, Victor Riparbelli, William Fedus, Jayanth Madheswaran
(05:21) - Slop vs. Farm Debate (11:40) - Ben Thompson's Sora 2 Analysis (35:37) - The Timeline Reacts to Sora 2 (01:34:31) - The Stablecoin Duopoly is Ending (01:42:14) - Reece Chowdhry, Founding Partner of Concept Ventures, recently announced the launch of their latest $88 milli ... Show More
3h 17m
Oct 3
The Future of Food
Food is also what connects farming to human health and our natural environment. In this episode of The Science Behind Your Salad, we ask you to close your eyes and listen: the steady hum of bees, the deep boom of a rare bittern, and the people creating the future of the food on y ... Show More
27m 16s
Jul 2022
The future of supply chain with Ox's CEO Charu Thomas
<p>Ox optimizes fulfillment operations by automating manual tasks and increasing workforce efficiency. Ox's CEO Charu Thomas started thinking about this space in college and then ended up founded a company in Northwest Arkansas!</p><p>As a second-year undergraduate, Charu took he ... Show More
33m 51s
Aug 2024
Driving Supply Chain Solutions for Life Sciences with AI - with Andrei Tadique of Takeda
Today's guest is Andrei Tadique, Director and Head of Manufacturing Science at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Andrei joins us on today's podcast to discuss the biggest challenges for Life Sciences leaders in driving logistics and supply chain workflows. In the course of his conversation ... Show More
24m 19s
Aug 20
Carbon Robotics on a New Era of Farming with Robots and Sustainable Innovation - Ep. 270
Paul Mikesell, Founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics, shares how combining artificial intelligence and lasers is transforming modern agriculture. From identifying and eliminating billions of weeds without chemicals to boosting crop yields and reducing operational costs, AI-driven ro ... Show More
34m 57s
Jul 2024
Why Sustainable Farming Will Save The World with Peter Ballerstedt, PhD : 1178
<p>In this episode of The Human Upgrade, Dr. Peter Ballerstedt, a leading expert in ruminant animal agriculture, discusses the essential role of ruminant animals in sustainable farming. You'll learn about the critical importance of animals like cows and sheep in maintaining soil ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2023
Saving Crops with AI
AI can solve some of today's most complex challenges, and over the years this has become reality even in the agricultural industry. Due to environmental factors and other threats, sustainable farming is becoming more at risk, and by harnessing the power of AI, tools to help local ... Show More
35m 27s
Nov 13
How AI Will Accelerate Breakthroughs in Biotechnology with Benchling CEO Sajith Wickramasekara
Bringing new drugs to market is a costly, time-consuming endeavor. On top of that, most medicines fail at some point in the research and development phase. Sarah Guo is joined by Sajith Wickramasekara, co-founder and CEO of Benchling, a company that has not only become the centra ... Show More
48m 13s