Cornucopia: The Cult, Culture & Business of Food

In this episode of Cornucopia Point of View we look at whether the chaos surrounding Amazon's integration with Whole Foods is really all that newsworthy as well as how Whole Foods mastery of theatrical grocery, or the retail hand job is likely to change as Amazon takes over the reins.  

After we finished our pilot on the history of the supermarket we realized that Clarence Saunders, the man who created Piggly Wiggly, deserved way more attention. Blending PT Barnum's theatrics with Steve Jobs-like innovations so much of the grocery business even today bear his mark.  With an unabashed joie de vivre, Saunders was a self-made man who took on Wall Street and lost, but rose again. Only to lose everything another time  and a third time too. Unstoppable, brash and charismatic, he died in the 1950s while trying to develop a computer automated supermarket he wanted to call FoodElectric. Listen as we talk and laugh with Mike Freeman they guy who wrote the book on Saunders Listen and we think that you too will be wondering why hasn't anyone made a movie about this guy yet. Attention Joel and Ethan Coen. Get in touch! 

This bonus track from our Food Scientist on Weed episode features Mary Mulry who discusses the challenges weed food companies face as California shifts to legal cannabis. New rules requiring companies  to standardize the amount of THC in their cookies, gummies and chocolates is a  burden. One that isn't easy, even for food science professionals and especially difficult for those many companies who entered the business without formal food manufacturing skills. You know the type. Like your college roommate that dropped out junior year to sell pot brownies for 11 years  following the Grateful Dead all over the world. So, whether you want to learn more before mortgaging the house to start a cannabis business, or you're just a dedicated stoner who wonders why those strawberry banana gummy bears sometimes hit you nice and sometimes hit you hard, this episode is for you. Actually, even if you're someone who still calls marijuana the devil's lettuce we think you'll enjoy it too!

Food scientist Mary Mulry details the shifting landscape for manufacturers of cannabis edibles and how the shift from an underground business to the mainstream requires more science in product development and manufacturing. In addition she discusses how potency on the cannabis labels compares to alcohol, and how the pharmaceutical industry fears that the growing use of weed might be seen as an alternative to prescription drugs, like painkillers and mood medicines. 

At the age of 58 after getting laid off from a career in the lighting business my sister Nancy got a job at Trader Joe's. With humor, gratitude and a teeny bit of regret she shares what it's like stocking the aisles, ringing up customers and fetching shopping carts at Trader Joe's, a place where everyone pretends they're working on a boat and people both young and old treat the tasting station like the hunger games.. Plus one of our favorite high school teachers from Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut gets a special shout for how she treats the tasting station like its an all you can eat buffet. But we're not naming names.

After editing our interview with Chipotle's Chris Arnold we realized there was too much leftin this audible burrito that we had to do a bonus episode. Matt talks with Chris about store designs, marketing, their animated video featuring Willie Nelson and the challenges facing farmers seeking to raise food on a human scale.

While Chipotle's e-coli outbreak in 2015 severely damaged the company's image and its investment value the fast casual restaurant's was an early pioneer in creating healthier fast food, making choices that flew in the face of conventional wisdom. In this episode we talk with Chipotle's Chris Arnold about the decision to use Niman Ranch pork in their carnitas, their recent move to create a vegan option with upscale HodoSoy tofu and of course, what caused the-coli outbreak and how the company responded. Unlike many of its competitors using fresh veggies and meats made the challenge to eliminate future outbreaks a puzzle solved by a variety of techniques including, sous vide methods and extra citrus too.