Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern sat down with Hampton Creek CEO and founder Josh Tetrick on Saturday for a talk about our food system.

The panel, “JUST Food: What it Looks Like When We Start Over,” discussed more than just the hypothetical, it talked about what is being done, in companies, nationally and individually.

There are a lot of systems in the world, Zimmern said, but Tetrick started with food. He changed his diet following a childhood of bad foods when he was diagnosed with a heart condition that has been fatal to many athletes.

“It gave me an understanding that life is really short,” he said.

He didn’t know much about food when he started, but knew that he wanted it to be better for the consumer and more affordable.

Today, his brand has boomed, and its more environmentally friendly version of mayo will soon be, not only in Whole Foods, but many stores, including Target and Walmart, he said.

But more than expand his brand, Tetrick says he wants to help restart the food system around the world.

“You told me that for you food is a story,” Tetrick said, addressing Zimmern. “People think sometimes my food is about food. It’s not. It’s about communities, it’s about stories, it’s about identities. I see that every day at Hampton Creek more and more.”

Currently, he says there is no (or few) food policy.

He says companies like his can help by creating a “legislative piece of business” that government to respond to. He says he wishes to draw up government proposals himself.

“All we’re asking for is they stand up and take some leadership in this big system of food,” he said.

And all the systems are connected, he said. The food system affects other systems like education. One of the food problems around the world is when schools cannot provide food for students. In some cultures, the kids must stay home to help the parents farm so they have food for survival.

Another problem is food waste. Forty percent of food is wasted, Zimmern said. How do we get this food and give it to someone who needs it?

Both Tetrick and Zimmern agree that these are not just U.S. problems, but problems with a worldwide system.

And what can individuals do to reshape the food system? Zimmern says learn how to cook, and do so often.

“By learning to cook more things, by the end of the year, you’re no longer putting hands in the processors of food that isn’t that great for you, you’re putting hands in farmers and (local food economy),” Zimmern said.

See our video: Andrew Zimmern talks to Josh Tetrick about his company, and how it can make a difference: