Hello Mycopreneurs,
Tomorrow we’re hosting a round table discussion with the Founders of Open Fung and Fungaria that focuses on fungi conservation, ethics, genetics, and sustainable use of fungi globally. The zoom link to join is immediately below the infographic here.
It’s on Zoom this Friday, September 26 at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT U.S. and free to attend - the link to join is here:
Topic: Safeguarding Fungi: A Round Table Discussion on Conservation, Ethics, Genetics, and Sustainable Use in a Global Context
Time: Sep 26, 2025 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83931180218?pwd=ogaGNk331nnbi9GGlr1yisdPpbMLNt.1
Meeting ID: 839 3118 0218
Passcode: 255556
Open Fung is a collaborative outfit making the tools and resources for scaling fungal technology more accessible and functional which is partnered with Stanford University.
Fungaria is a collective of mushroom researchers, entrepreneurs, and conservationists from Chiapas, Mexico that is deeply invested in preserving indigenous fungi of the rgion as well as ancient cultural connections between inhabitants of the region and the ecosystems that the mushrooms uphold.
This meeting will be held in lieu of our regular Thursday Mycopreneur Incubator
We hope to see you there and please invite your friends.
Global Mushroom News
Here’s a roundup of mushroom news from around the world this week
So apparently two entirely different genera of mushrooms have evolved psilocybin independently of each other via two entirely different methods for reasons currently unknown.
This is my first time learning that the genus Inocybe also has mushrooms that produce psilocybin as well as the widely known Psilocybe genus.
The research around this intriguing biosynthesis anomaly is focusing on how the same compound is produced by two distinct evolutionary ‘biochemical arsenals’.
I propose that we discuss this with our resident team of analytical chemistry devotees at one of our forthcoming Mycopreneur Incubators.
In a sign of escalating global interest even in unlikely places, Reishi mushrooms have gained popularity in Iraq due to their medicinal properties. Though Iraqis may be historically familiar with the regionally endemic Terfizia ‘Desert Truffle’ genus, there is no well-documented connection between Iraqi culture and medicinal mushrooms which means that the appearance of Reishi in the local Baghdadi markets reflects a more modern awareness of the value of various medicinal fungi that are not traditionally used in the region.
Farmers surrounding the East Nimba Nature Reserve in Liberia are being trained in the cultivation of mushrooms, a move aimed at promoting alternative livelihoods and reducing pressure on the reserve’s natural resources.
The mushroom revolution in Africa is fully underway…I’m personally headed to the 3rd African Rising Mushroom Festival in Uganda in November, and numerous stories like this have emerged out of places like South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and more.
In another tangible demonstration of the ability of mushroom entrepreneurship to lift people out of abject poverty, a woman in the Bihar region of eastern India has implemented mushroom farming and entrepreneurship to significantly enhance the life of her family.
In a story that’s increasingly familiar across the world, Bina turned to mushroom farming when traditional farming was out of reach due to land and upstart resource requirements.
After receiving guidance and upstart materials from a local university, she struck gold with small scale mushroom farming and has been able to sell her product for 200-300 Indian Rupees ($2.25 - $3) per kilogram at the local market. She has even been able to enroll the oldest of her four children in an engineering program at the local college whereas before mushroom entrepreneurship they were on the brink of absolute neglect.
On September 17, the Latvian National Museum of Natural History kicked off its annual mushroom festival celebrating the heritage of fungi in the northern European nation.
Mushroom picking is an important part of Latvian culture, included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Mushroom hunters collected more than 250 kilograms of fungi during the annual mushroom-picking championship in the village of Zervynos, Varėna District, organizers said, marking a tenfold increase from last year.
Among the competitors was the oldest participant, 84-year-old local resident Stasė, who said she cannot imagine life without the forest. “If I miss even a single day, I feel unwell,” she said in the Dzūkian dialect.
Beyond mushroom hunting, participants enjoyed demonstrations of local crafts, concerts, and community gatherings. The event concluded with Varėna’s traditional Mushroom Festival, drawing crowds with folk songs, dancing, culinary heritage, and artisans’ fairs.
From our sponsors
Let’s get a big fat round of applause for Healing Herbals for their support of the Mycopreneur platform. Their team is currently in South Africa 🇿🇦 right now visiting the Kanna grow on the land that they’re leasing to vertically integrate their supply chain.
Kanna is an herb that has been used for millennia in South Africa and which also has entered modern medical clinical use, validating its medicinal properties via the gold standard Clinical Research Trial method.
Kudos to Healing Herbals for taking their stewardship over the plant to the next level considering they are one of - if not the only - brand providing Kanna extract to the U.S. market that has taken the time and energy to go directly to the source and connect in person with their farmers while integrating the cultivation into their supply chain rather than bulk sourcing anonymously online like so many vendors do.
I’ve been enjoying their Kanna very much and just topped up on some at this very moment as a reward to myself for putting three hours into this newsletter this morning. Snag a bunch for yourself below and tell me it’s not fucking amazing.
A student group at the University of Michigan has won a landmark court case ruling in favor of their right to hold the annual ‘Entheofest’ celebrating magic mushrooms. The event took place September 21st on campus and was initially denied approval from school officials before the group appealed and to the surprise of organizers was granted the right to hold the event by a court of law.
Mushrooms are actively being integrated into major corporate products at a scale never seen before. In Korea, Burger King has announced the roll out of numerous seasonal truffle themed menu items such as the Truffle Mushroom Whopper, Hot Truffle Mushroom Whopper, Deep Truffle Mushroom Double, and Deep Truffle Fries in anticipation of the ‘Chuseok’ holiday season.
Rural communities in Zambia are looking forward to the arrival of the Termitomyces titanicus, known locally as the “Giant Ichikolowa”, for sustenance as the rainy season draws nearer in the region.
Termitomyces species live in symbiosis with fungus-growing termites, which cultivate fungal gardens inside their mounds by bringing in plant material, chewing it, and inoculating it with spores. The fungus digests tough plant polymers like cellulose and lignin into simpler nutrients, which feed the termite colony, while the fungus gains steady substrate and a protected environment. In the case of T. titanicus, this partnership enables vast mycelial networks to accumulate resources, which under the right conditions (rainfall, humidity, temperature) are rapidly channeled into producing a few exceptionally large mushrooms. In essence, termite agriculture fuels the fungus with abundant food and shelter, creating the conditions for giant fruiting bodies.
Super interesting one here - you may have seen ads for RYZE mushroom coffee or tried it yourself, as it has emerged as one of the most prolific of the dozens of functional mushroom coffee brands on the market. After a ‘market monitor’ audit by a three-letter agency most of us didn’t realize had any kind of say in this matter, the functional mushroom brand has agreed to drop the health claims that it provides “all-day energy, sharper focus, healthier digestion, better immune support and better sleep” from its marketing and labeling.
The functional foods industry is growing at an exponential rate and as such the compliance issues relevant to the food and medical industry are now being extended to the largely ambiguous and massive ‘supplement category’, as evidenced by this unique case.
Speaking of mushroom coffee…I’m not making any health claims here, but I am saying that Mycroboost mushroom coffee has made a huge and measurable impact in my own life and that they have supported Mycopreneur since long before this platform had the reach it currently does - let’s grow together, order yours today and send me a pic with you and your Mycroboost for inclusion in this newsletter and circulation on social media.
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of the Mycopreneur Newsletter, and see you at the Round Table discussion with Open Fung and Fungaria tomorrow.
Dennis