Background:

From the age of three, John was blessed to spend his summers playing among the tide pools and forests of the Pacific Northwest. When a truck driver dumped nuclear waste nine miles from the Roulac home, John began his central life journey--to study natural systems and discover practical solutions to pressing environmental challenges.

As an avid street basketball player, he learned to incorporate the use of natural foods, yoga, and acupuncture as ways to improve his game and overall health.

John has been a passionate advocate of holistic living for more than twenty years, working in the areas of whole foods, natural healing, organic farming, forestry, water and energy conservation, recycling and composting, and hemp agriculture. Founding Nutiva was a natural extension of John’s dream of a society that places people above profits, one where access to wholesome and organic food is a God-given right for people everywhere.

 

Founded three successful businesses:

1999 - Nutiva

Introduced America’s first hempfood bar and successfully challenged the US DEA’s attempt to embargo legal hemp foods. Today Nutiva is America’s leading hemp foods brand.

1994 - Hemptech

Hemptech.com was a leading portal site for the industry with news and hemp products directory and published six books and reports on hemp.

1987-Harmonious Technologies

Harmonious Technologies helped jump start the modern day home  composting movement, with educational programs and sales of compost  bins to government agencies. In 1991, Seattle was the only US municipality providing compost bins to its residents. Despite initial resistance by government agencies, Roulac’s “compost evangelism” helped convinced 700 municipalities to distribute home compost bins to residents. By 2006, over 3 million compost bins have been distributed to American homes via these programs.

 

Founding member of four non-profits:

1997- Fiber Futures

Fiber Futures produced an international conference, trade and fashion show highlighting sustainable ag fibers of hemp, flax, bamboo, organic cotton, and sisal.

1996- North American Industrial Hemp Council

A coalition of industry, agriculture, academia, entrepreneurs and researchers working to re-commercialize industrial hemp. www.naihc.org.

Back in time-read about the 1996 Visalia, California hemp conference in California's San Joaquin Valley by John W Roulac.

1990- Forest Forever

This forest protection group placed the California Forest Protection Act of 1990 or Prop 130 on the California ballot in 1990. Raised 6 million dollars in campaign funds to ban clear cutting of California forests, and to protect Headwaters forests. Timber industries spend over 50 million dollars and defeated Prop 130 on a close 52.7% to 47.3% vote

1989 - Arroyo Seco Council

This Pasadena California watershed group works to improve the health of the Arroyo Seco watershed that runs through the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Rose Bowl. The council produced Southern California’s largest Earthday festival- the 1990 Arroyo Seco Earth Day (40,000+ attendees) and planted hundreds of endangered native oak trees with student participation.

 

Board of Directors:

North American Industrial Hemp Council 1997-2001

California Composting Council 1994

Eco-home 1987-1989

 

Author:

1999- Hemp Foods & Oils for Health: Your Guide to Cookng, Nutrition, and Body Care

1997- Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the Worlds’ Most Promising crop

1995- Industrial Hemp : Practical products- Paper to Fabric to Cosmetics

1991- Backyard Composting : Your Complete Guide to Recycling Yard Clippings (850,000 books sold; worlds’ #1 best selling book on composting)

 

Media Coverage:

Roulac is a recognized expert in composting and industrial hemp and is widely quoted in the media ranging from Wired Magazine to the Los Angeles Times to the Wall Street Journal.

He has been interviewed on over 150 radio programs and is often used by the media for technical editing and fact checking on industrial hemp articles (i.e. Time Magazine, Audubon Magazine, National Geographic Canada, etc)