Bites and Bytes Podcast

What happens when we stop asking where our food comes from — and what we lose when we do?

In this season-closing episode of the Bites and Bytes Podcast, your host, Kristin King, sits down with Fiona Delaney, an award-winning agri-food technologist and founder of Origin Chain Network, for a reflective, story-driven conversation about food systems, agriculture, technology, and trust.

Recognized across Europe for her work at the intersection of agriculture and technology, Fiona brings a rare perspective shaped by lived experience, landscape, and community. Throughout the episode, she weaves technical insight with storytelling rooted in Irish culture and oral tradition, offering a thoughtful and grounding lens on modern food systems.

Together, Kristin and Fiona explore how food systems have become increasingly opaque, why context and trust matter more than tools alone, and how the stories we tell about food and technology influence the systems we build and accept — from digital infrastructure to cybersecurity parallels.

This episode closes Season 2 by slowing down and inviting listeners to reflect on what we choose to remember, and what we quietly forget about the systems that feed us. Whether you’ve followed the season from the beginning or are just joining now, this conversation brings the year’s themes in food and agriculture into a single, thoughtful moment.  Enjoy.

---------------

Guest Contact Information & Notes

Fiona Delaney
Founder, Origin Chain Network

🌐 Website: https://originchain.network/
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgdelaney/

*Fiona references the Irish “Salmon of Knowledge” — a myth where wisdom comes not from power, but from care, chance, and connection to food and land.

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:01:41 — A First Food Memory: Fishing, Family, and the Meaning of Food
00:03:36 — The Salmon of Knowledge and Irish Storytelling Traditions
00:08:44 — From Software Engineer to Agri-Food Systems Builder
00:12:02 — Why the Food System Is a Giant, Fragmented Black Box
00:16:08 — Farming as Community, Not Just an Industry
00:19:04 — Trust Isn’t a Buzzword: How Farming Communities Read Risk
00:21:46 — The Demise of Local Food Systems and What Replaced Them
00:26:02 — “We Are Nurtured Into Not Looking at Where Our Food Comes From.”
00:27:08 — Why People Can’t Absorb the Full Complexity of Risk
00:43:46 — What We Choose to Remember, and What We Choose to Forget

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us:  Cybersecurity in Food and Agriculture,” here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

AnzenOT:  Industrial Cyber Risk — Simple.  Smart.  Swift.
AnzenOT is the SaaS risk management platform built to bring clarity and control to Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity.  Designed for critical infrastructure sectors, AnzenOT translates technical risk into clear, actionable insight for decision-makers.  Explore the platform at anzenot.com.
For demo requests or inquiries, email [email protected] or [email protected]

In this episode, Kristin King sits down with Serg Masis, a data scientist at Syngenta, to explore how AI, data, and digital agronomy are reshaping modern agriculture (Agronomy is the science of how crops are grown—soil, climate, plants, and farming practices working together).

Serg brings an engineering mindset to AI, explaining it less like science fiction and more like a murder mystery,  where multiple perspectives, incomplete information, and interpretation matter just as much as the data itself. Rather than treating AI as a black box, he breaks down how understanding why a system makes a decision is just as important as the decision itself.

Together, they talk about decision-making in farming,unintended consequences in complex systems, and why changing one thing in agriculture often creates ripple effects elsewhere. If you’re curious about how technology is quietly influencing what we grow, how we farm, and what ends up on our plates, this conversation will change the way you think about food and data.

---------------

Guest Contact Information

Guest Info — Serg Masis

Website: https://www.serg.ai/#about-me
Books & Writing: https://www.serg.ai/writing/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smasis/
Employer (Syngenta): https://www.syngenta.com/

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:11:00 — Why AI Is About Better Decision-Making, Not Replacing Humans

00:13:19 — The Three Inputs of Agriculture: Environment, Genetics, and Decisions

00:17:20 — Sustainability, Ecosystems, and Runaway Effects in Farming

00:25:33 — AI as a Murder Mystery: Interpretation, Bias, and Perspective

00:34:26 — Crop Collapse, Monocultures, and Why This Isn’t Science Fiction

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s Book, “Securing What Feeds Us:  Cybersecurity in Food and Agriculture,” here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

MerchShop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

AnzenOT:  Industrial Cyber Risk — Simple.  Smart.  Swift.
AnzenOT is the SaaS risk management platform built to bring clarity and control to Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity.  Designed for critical infrastructure sectors, AnzenOT translates technical risk into clear, actionable insight for decision-makers.  Explore the platform at anzenot.com.For demo requests or inquiries, email [email protected]or [email protected]

What does a deep fake phone call scamming your grandma have to do with food manufacturing?

In this episode of Bites and Bytes Podcast, host Kristin King and James Slaby discuss the operational technology challenges in food production—from legacy systems running Windows XP to ransomware threats when production lines go down.

James is Director of OT Solutions GTM at Acronis and brings over 20 years of cybersecurity and industry analyst experience from Forrester Research, HFS Research, and technology companies. The conversation covers why food plants can't update their systems, the growing threat of social engineering and deep fakes, and practical strategies like the family password defense.

Topics include:

Whether you’re in food manufacturing, cybersecurity, or just curious about the systems behind your food supply, this episode reveals the realities of keeping production running while managing cyber threats.

---------------

Guest Contact Information:

---------------

Episode Key Highlights:

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us:  Cybersecurity in Food and Agriculture” here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

Why does your avocado cost $3? And what does that have to do with climate change, cybersecurity, and geopolitical conflict? In this fascinating conversation, host Kristin King sits down with Francisco Martin-Rayo to connect dots most of us never see, revealing how our food system is far more fragile and interconnected than we realize.

Francisco's journey is unconventional: from studying radicalization in refugee camps in Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, to starting an NGO providing university scholarships, to now working at the intersection of AI, climate risk, and food security as CEO of Helios AI. But is the thread connecting it all? Solving complex, urgent problems that affect real people.

In this conversation, you'll explore:

This isn’t just about predicting prices, it’s about understanding the fragile systems that feed us, the people behind our food, and how we can build a more resilient future. Whether you’re concerned about climate change, fascinated by supply chains, or simply want to be more mindful about your meals, this conversation will change how you think about food.

---------------

Guest Contact Information:

LinkedIn:  Francisco Martin-Rayo

Company:  Helios AI - Helios is your ultimate partner for predicting price and supply availability for agricultural commodities.  Our approach is intuitive yet powerful: we equip our customers with the market intelligence they need to get ahead of price movements and supply disruptions.

📰 Article: “The Rise of Mangoes in Sicily:  Adapting Crops to a Warmer Europe”

📘 Francisco’s book: “Winning The Minds: Travels Through the Terrorist Recruiting Grounds of Yemen, Pakistan and the Somali Border” (Link)

---------------

Help people who are experiencing food insecurity: 

Local Harvest (Link) – sponsor a family with a crop or farm share program.

Find Help (Link) – find your local food bank or pantry, or other food assistance services.

Donate meals, support hospitality groups at your place of worship, or at schools.

Episode Key Highlights

00:01:23 — Food & Family Connection

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

In this episode of the Bites and Bytes Podcast, host Kristin Demoranville sits down with Jake Leguee, a third-generation farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada, to explore the intersection of tradition, technology, and risk in modern agriculture.

From “tractor naps” as a kid to operating GPS-guided combines, Jake reveals how precision agriculture has transformed aspects of farm life. However, with increased connectivity comes new vulnerability: cyber threats that farmers are aware of but don’t yet know how to defend against.  Jake’s message is clear: agriculture needs the cybersecurity community’s help, but farmers don’t know where to start.

Whether you work in cybersecurity, food systems, or simply want to understand the human side of modern farming, this episode offers hard-won lessons on resilience, risk, and why securing our food supply has never mattered more.

Jake’s Links:

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:01:18 – Favorite Foods & Global Connections

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

On this episode of Bites and Bytes Podcast, Kristin Demoranville talks with Kylie McClanahan, Chief Technology Officer at Bastazo, about what food and agriculture can learn from the electric utility sector. With nearly a decade of experience in the electric utility sector and a PhD in computer science, Kylie brings a systems-thinking perspective to securing the technology that underpins food and agriculture.

From chicken houses and precision farming to rural broadband and GPS-dependent tractors, Kylie explains how cyber risks in agriculture are more tangible than many realize. She shares why treating people as the strongest line of defense and building community support models like mutual aid may be the key to keeping our food supply secure.

This episode is a reminder that cybersecurity in food and agriculture isn’t abstract: when the technology behind farming fails, the impact reaches every dinner table.

---------------

Guest Contact Information

Kylie’s LinkedIn

Where Kylie works:  Bastazo

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

In this episode of the Bites and Bytes Podcast, host Kristin Demoranville sits down with Gerry Friesen, also known as The Recovering Farmer. Gerry grew up on a grain and poultry farm in Manitoba, Canada, later running a hog operation with his brother, before transitioning into mediation and mental health advocacy. His personal journey through financial challenges, anxiety, and depression led him to co-found the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program and write his book, The Recovering Farmer.

Together, Kristin and Gerry explore the unique mental health struggles in agriculture, from the isolation of farm work to the pressures of identity, technology, and resilience. They talk about the weight of decision-making, the stigma around seeking help, and why community is essential for farmers and those supporting our food systems.

This candid and heartfelt conversation is a must-listen for anyone in agriculture, food production, or critical infrastructure, along with anyone who wants to better understand the human side of farming. Gerry’s honesty and wisdom remind us that it’s okay not to be okay, and that talking openly can be the first step toward healing.

---------------

Connect with Gerry Friesen — The Recovering Farmer

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:03:05 – Gerry’s diagnosis of anxiety and depression while farming

---------------

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

Most people talk about farming. This time, we talk with someone living it.

Kristin Demoranville sits down with Jonathan Lawler, also known as the Punk Rock Farmer. He’s a full-time American farmer based in Indiana, a food security advocate, and an agricultural filmmaker who doesn’t pull punches.

Jonathan doesn’t speak in soundbites; he tells stories. About what happens when operational tech fails. About the emotional toll of farming through crisis. About how activism, algorithms, and food marketing have warped our view of modern agriculture.

This isn’t a polished farm-to-table fantasy. It’s real, raw, and exactly the kind of conversation we should be having, because how can we protect something if we don’t understand it?

You’ll hear:

If you care about food systems, or just want to hear what it’s like to farm without all the  BS… start here.

---------------

🔗 Follow Jonathan Lawler, The Punk Rock Farmer

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:04:32 – How Feeding the Hungry Became a Mission

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official Website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Substack: Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry.

Schedule a Call with Kristin: Share Your Thoughts

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; BlueSky

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a women-owned cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

---------------

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to Speak

To invite Kristin to speak at your conference, corporate event, webinar, or workshop, visit the website and submit a request.

What does it take to build a cybersecurity workforce capable of protecting the systems that keep the lights on and food on our plates?

In this episode, host Kristin Demoranville is joined by Nathaniel Smith, Co-Founder and VP at SR2, a purpose-driven recruitment firm. Nathaniel, who specializes in hiring OT/ICS, brings over 14 years of recruiting experience and a refreshing dose of honesty to the challenges of hiring in critical infrastructure.

Together, they explore what makes a strong Operational Technology (OT) candidate, why culture fit matters as much as technical skills, and how broken hiring processes often keep the best people out. For sectors like food and agriculture, where operational technology is directly tied to safety, production, and public trust, getting the right people into the right roles isn’t just important. It’s essential.

---------------

Show Notes:

Mike Holcomb’s Episode (here)

SEC Ruling on Disclosure of Cyber Incidents (here)

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to speak at your conference, corporate event, or workshop.

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

00:04:50 – OT as Public Service

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official Website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; Substack

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a women-owned cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

AnzenOT

Sign up for a free trial (here)

In this episode of Bites and Bytes Podcast, Kristin sits down with Colson Steber, co-CEO of Qlarity Access, Ag Access, CEO of Vet Access, and a voice for intentional, human-centered innovation in agriculture.  With nearly two decades of experience conducting market research for some of the biggest names in agriculture, Colson shares why understanding farmers is essential before offering them another piece of tech.

Together, they discuss how agriculture has evolved, particularly with the rise of precision technology, the aging workforce, and the pressure on first-generation farmers to do more with less. From the hidden costs of AgTech adoption to the overlooked value of legacy knowledge, Colson breaks down why empathy, trust, and real feedback matter more than ever.

This episode touches on everything from the future of food traceability and sustainability to what farmers are actually thinking when you pitch them the “next big thing.”

Whether you're in AgTech, food production, or just curious about how our food systems are shaped by research and technology, you’ll walk away with a richer understanding of what it really takes to serve the people who feed us.

📘 Sign up for early updates, exclusive previews, and launch news of Kristin’s book, “Securing What Feeds Us” (working title) here.

🎤 Book Kristin Demoranville to speak at your conference, corporate event, or workshop.

---------------

Episode Key Highlights

---------------

🎤 Bites and Bytes Podcast Info:

Website: Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official Website.  

Merch Shop: Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear!

Socials:  TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn; Substack

---------------

🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a women-owned cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Their services include:

Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

AnzenOT

Key features include:

Explore the platform at anzenot.com