GROUNDED Live - 2025: Mitchell East & Will Grothum - There Is No Away: Waste Not Want Not

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited session recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.

When we talk about waste, it’s often framed as inefficiency — a waste of time or resources. But food waste carries a deeper cost. It represents lost farmer effort, squandered natural resources, and a profound disrespect for the land and labour that produced it. Globally, it’s estimated that more than 40% of food grown for human consumption is never eaten — a staggering figure that demands better solutions.

In this session, we explore why food waste happens — and, more importantly, how people are actively doing something about it.

Will Grothum, a chef by trade, works closely with local farmers and businesses to intercept surplus and by-products, transforming them into new, high-quality foods. Through ventures like his bakery, he turns what might otherwise be discarded into products people genuinely want to eat.

He’s joined by Mitchell East, a passionfruit farmer who faced a familiar challenge: produce rejected by markets for cosmetic reasons despite being perfectly edible. Rather than accept waste as inevitable, Mitchell found ways to turn this surplus into value-added products that honour both the fruit and the work behind it.

Together, they share practical, hopeful examples of how rethinking waste can strengthen food systems, support farmers and respect the full journey of food from paddock to plate.

Settle in and enjoy this session with Will Grothum and Mitchell East on GROUNDED Live.

GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm.

GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers.

In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine.

Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.