Fresh Takes On Tech

What if you could oversee and make adjustments — brushing every bug away or providing nutrients at the exact moment they are needed — at every stage of growth for a single fruit or vegetable?  

It may sound like a pipe dream — but robotics and ai are making it a reality.  

Gabe Sibley, Lawrence Ibarria, and Curtis Garner, the founders of Verdant Robotics, join the show to share how robotics as a platform is revolutionizing agriculture. 

Join us as we discuss:

Why solving agricultural challenges appeals to technologists

The unprecedented control robotics and automation give agronomists

Why robotics is the best tool for sustainable, organic agriculture  

To hear all the freshest interviews in the produce industry, subscribe to Fresh Takes on Tech on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.  

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Companies are fighting to end food waste in more ways than one, from packaging technology to supply chain innovations. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED, who discusses the scope of the food waste problem and effective solutions, and Aidan Mouat, CEO and C o-Founder of Hazel Technologies, Inc., who talks about the role of innovation and new technologies in reducing food waste throughout the supply chain. 

Join us as we discuss:

• New and emerging technology in the war against food waste

More information about guests Dana Gunders and Aidan Mouat:

• Dana Gunders’ LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-gunders/ 

Organizations have long paid lip service to sustainability…  

But these days, people are paying attention and it’s no longer enough to talk the talk. 

If you can’t walk the walk on sustainability, you are putting your business at risk. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Joel Makower, Chairman and Co-Founder of GreenBiz Group, who shares why sustainability matters more than ever and how you can start sustaining your business for the long-haul by becoming more sustainable.  

Join us as we discuss:

• How sustainability mitigates risk

Today’s conversation is with Dana Worth, Senior Vice President at Plenty. Prior to Plenty, Dana spent nearly 6 years as VP of Sales and in Business Operations at Impossible Foods. Dana is a wealth of information on commercializing products in mission driven companies in high growth stages. We talk about the push and pull of retailers and consumers for healthy, nutritious food and looking for the “plant-based food moment” for CEA.

This podcast dives deep into genetics and CEA. I talk to Mohammed Oufattole, the newly named Chief Tech Oufattole at Revol Greens. Revol Greens is a CEA lettuce producer with locations in MN, CA, TX and GA. Their growth goal is to supply greens to the continental US consumer within 24 hours of harvest from one of their many locations. Mohammed has a deep background in genetics and brings experience of building new teams in R&D to Revol. He talks about the gains that can be made through breeding and why he is enthusiastic about CEA. Geek alert: This is one of my favorite topics but we keep it general enough I think all can enjoy!

Hear from two professionals at Wells Fargo discuss this season’s topic: CEA.

AeroFarms is one of the early, venture funded Indoor Ag companies. In this episode, you will hear the interesting, long version of the origin story of the company. We also discuss the many partnerships and collaborations of AeroFarms and how the culture is built to support that.  Roger Buelow, CTO + Stacey Kimmel, VP of R&D expand on AeroFarms innovations and vast R&D programs along with the building of the largest R&D indoor farm in UAE.

Sonia Lo is an indoor farmer, a chef, an angel investor and a mother of two who speaks seven languages and holds a third-degree black-belt in Tae-Kwon Do. Sonia has over 32 years of combined agriculture, technology and business experience. In the industry, Sonia was CEO of Crop One Holdings, Inc., a vertical farming company that owns FreshBox Farms and a joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai. Most recently, Sonia was the CEO of Sensei Ag, an AgTech company focusing on CEA founded by Larry Ellison in Hawaii. This conversation goes where most do not in indoor Ag with Sonia’s unique experience and view of the industry.  We spend time on business models and financing which are daunting issues in CEA right now. But we also talk about the political economy of CEA, the problems with lack of diversity, creating an ecosystem and how the industry needs to openly monitor, share and compare data on cost structure and carbon footprint.

This is the first episode in the last season of 2021 and is focused on Controlled Environment Ag. Nate starts off explaining CEA; it’s benefits and challenges. We talk about how Plenty improves food security, safety and availability. Unlike most vertical farms, Plenty grows on vertical towers instead of flatbeds. Nate has a great description on how this came about and the advantages. We also have an enlightening conversation on breeding for vertical farms. Whether you are a practitioner or are new to vertical farming, you will learn something from this engaging discussion. 

As the federal government invests into carbon sequestration and as entrepreneurs explore "green financing," "negative foods," and carbon credit trading, what are the potential opportunities for producers of specialty crops? Are producers sitting on a gold mine, or is this fool's gold? We will explore these and other questions during this week’s Virtual Town Hall.