Founder

Samantha Jewel is the founder of ClimateFood and Urth, with over 20 years dedicated to researching and advocating for regenerative agriculture.

She grew up inside one of Australia's most iconic startups—The Pancake Parlour, founded by her parents Allan and Helen Trachsel in 1965. Her father, descended from four generations of Kansas wheat farmers who survived the 1930s Dust Bowl, passed down a deep empathy for farmers and food systems.

In 1998, moved by the UK’s mad cow disease outbreak, Samantha began championing organic food and was sponsored to attend agricultural and food system conferences around the world.

In the 2000s, she left the restaurant industry to focus full-time on regenerative land use. She self-published three children’s books on climate and agriculture, now available in seven languages.

In 2006, Samantha became the first person to purchase a voluntary soil carbon credit in Australia, a pioneering act that helped stimulate national recognition of the soil carbon market.

Her lifelong passion links soil health, microbes, and human wellbeing—and she continues to advocate for farmers through storytelling, systems strategy, and global finance.