Mushrooms weren't a part of Andrew Griffin's ('18) career plan. As an undergraduate student at UW–Madison, he majored in communication arts and economics with the hope of finding a job in science communications. It was an internship at Slow Food UW that sparked Griffin's interest in food production and consumption.
"I developed a greater sense of appreciation for how many parts of the food system there are, and that inspired me to get into foraging," Griffin says. "I wanted to learn more about what Indigenous people had been eating in Wisconsin for thousands of years before it was colonized."
After working at an organic produce farm in the greater Madison area during the pandemic, Griffin gained the confidence to open his own urban mushroom farm, MicroMyco Growers.
MicroMyco Growers is an urban mushroom farm that prioritizes sustainable food production and consumption. The farm partners with businesses and farmers in the immediate Madison area.
"I started foraging plants and the more you learn about plants and ecosystems, it becomes pretty obvious after a while that mushrooms are an integral part of those natural processes, so that sparked my interest in mycology," Griffin says.
The urban mushroom farm sits in an old call center building on Madison's east side, which Griffin started refitting in November 2020.
Urban farms are a sustainable alternative to rural agriculture, because they utilize unused spaces in cities reducing the land needed for rural farming. Additionally, urban farming reduces carbon emissions, since produce does not need to travel as far to reach consumers, Griffin says.
But Griffin's urban farm goes beyond environmental sustainability and offers a nutritious, affordable protein source to the public.
"My primary interest is sustainable food production, but also mushrooms make really great medicine, they make really great pharmaceuticals, and make really good biodegradables," Griffin says. "With the convergence of all these different problems that people are facing right now, mushrooms seem to be a part of the solution."
The varied uses for mushrooms have sparked an increase in interest and consumption of mushrooms. As a result, Madison has yet to reach market saturation even with several mushroom farmers in the area.
Mushroom farmers in Madison harvest the produce in different ways, and they're working to learn the most sustainable and efficient processes. Due to the collaborative environment, Griffin says there is little competition between vendors.
"Most people interested in organic farming, regenerative farming or low-impact farming are all on the same team," Griffin says. "We all have the same goals of figuring out how to feed people in a better way."
The heightened interest in mushrooms and applicability to other fields has made it relatively easy for Griffin to buy into partnerships with Madison businesses. He has partnered with bakers, gardeners and bioremediation groups in Madison.
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of urban mushroom farms, Griffin also uses his business to educate Madison business owners and community members on sustainable agriculture. Griffin holds tours of his urban mushroom farm, conducts workshops with the Madison Mycological Society and uses his expertise to educate local citizen groups interested in bioremediation.
Griffin also educates community members on a personal level by attending the Madison Eastside Farmers' Market. Through this, Griffin meets buyers and answers questions regarding his mushroom farm.
"I think there's this nice level of trust that I'm talking to people and interacting with them as a community member they know. They've got a little bit of trust in me to do things the right way and to grow this food they're eating," Griffin says. "It's nice to be able to assure them things are being done the right way."
Moving forward, Griffin plans to expand MicroMyco Growers by moving his farm to a larger urban space, where he can produce more mushrooms without disturbing the environment.
Source: ls.wisc.edu