The Produce Moms Podcast

"If we integrate more women and balance the boardroom, then we can have a huge impact on the environment."Julie Escobar (11:34 - 11:46)

The International Mission of Global Women Fresh

Julie Escobar has worked on an international scale with growers, consumers, and retailers in the agricultural industry for the past 20 years. Throughout her business expeditions in Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim, one factor remained constant: There were almost never any other female representatives present at sit-down meetings.

Where were all the women? This question led Julie and two close friends, Viviane Schappo and Monica Bratuti, to establish Global Women Fresh. Their goal is to help women, like you, take stronger positions in the industry for a better future in fresh produce.

"We really wanted to take it to the next level and unite people from Latin America, Europe, the U.S.A., and Asia together on one platform." - Julie Escobar (3:40 - 3:50)

Connecting, Inspiring, and Empowering Women Across the World in Agriculture

Global Women Fresh is the first global network created by women and for women in agriculture.

Connect. Lack of capital is the biggest reason women-led businesses fail to succeed in agriculture. Global Women Fresh overcomes this obstacle by strategically networking and connecting investors. They bring in private equity groups and partner with financial institutions that educate, guide, and provide loans. Global Women Fresh also utilizes recruiting agencies and talent incubators to generate more jobs and opportunities for women everywhere.

Inspire. Global Women Fresh fosters open conversations on urgent current events. The non-profit organization specifically focuses on five pillars: Food Waste, Sustainability, Social Impact, Technology, and Innovation. Discussions are inclusive to every tier of the industry, from farmers to executives. Together, we can build a better economy and face the issues of our industry.

Empower. When you walk into a grocery store, you're likely to see more mothers than fathers pushing carts down the aisle. Between 80% to 90% of shoppers are women. That's right! We make most of the consumer-based decisions in our homes. Imagine what would happen if you, and more women, directly stepped into a place of responsibility and power in the produce supply chain?

"Food is there for women, whether you're sitting in Indianapolis, Indiana, Los Angeles, California or South Africa. It's the common denominator and love language around the world."

- Lori Taylor (17:24 - 17:40)

Food brings us together in times of celebration and grief. But the vegetables and fruits brought to the table need to be handled and monitored more responsibly. You can have a direct impact on and in the produce supply chain.

Are you ready to join Julie and her team? Don't be shy! The industry needs women like you. Head over to www.globalwomenfresh.com to send an email and learn more about how you can get involved.

Represent and lead. The future of agriculture is counting on you.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"Elisabeth Watkins is 18 years old. She is the Founder of Farm Girl Chef and she won Chopped Junior on Food Network when she was a freshman in high school!"Lori Taylor (0:48 - 0:55)

Elisabeth Watkins from Farm Girl Chef.

Elisabeth Watkins is only 18, but she has already accomplished so much. She won Chopped Junior, a reality-based cooking television game show on the Food Network when she was a freshman in high school. Elisabeth has won numerous awards, including the Youth in Action: Healthy Living 4-H. She is a mainstay on live TV in the Sacramento area, appearing over 50 times. She is also the Founder of Farm Girl Chef, a blog that works to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from.

"The mission of Farm Girl Chef is to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from and how its produced."

- Elisabeth Watkins (6:08 - 6:14)

Having grown up on a farm in Linden, California, Elisabeth is intimately familiar with the diversity of agriculture in the state. She grew up all around specialty produce commodities like walnuts, almonds, cherries, peaches, and she naturally grew an inclination to start cooking with a wide variety of fresh-grown ingredients. Now, Elisabeth has been able to take her passion for cooking with locally grown produce and turn it into a communications business. She teaches consumers about food grown in California through appearances on local television, radio, and through her blog.

Farm Girl Chef's mission.

Growing up, Elisabeth was surrounded by farmers. Her family is full of farmers, and all her neighbors are farmers as well. Needless to say, she has witnessed first-hand the amount of effort farmers put it to make sure that our food is safe for consumption and of the highest quality. She also knows that the farmers don't have the time to educate the consumers about the benefits of buying locally grown produce.

For that reason, Elisabeth Founded Farm Girl Chef to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from and how its produced. She also wants to inspire people to get back in the kitchen and cook with fresh ingredients.

Elisabeth's favorite produce items.

When she's on TV in Sacramento, or when she's posting a recipe on her blog, Elisabeth focuses on ingredients that are in season. Also, the more unusual or under-the-radar the produce item, the better. For example, California used to grow a lot of asparagus, but due to various reasons, now there's only one grower left in the state. So, Elisabeth has been trying to do her part to promote asparagus.

Besides in-season and under-the-radar produce items, Elisabeth has a thing for brussel-sprouts. She's also a fan of eggplants, and she has been known to cook up some delicious eggplant lasagna from time to time.

"I want to inspire people to get back in the kitchen and cook with fresh ingredients." - Elisabeth Watkins (6:48 - 6:53)

If you're interested in learning more about produce that is grown in California, as well as across America, be sure to check out Farm Girl Chef. You will also learn about Elisabeth's farm background, and find some delicious recipes that are sure to be a hit at your next party.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
• Connect with Elisabeth on Farm Girl Chef, on Pinterest, or on Instagram.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"We have to trust in the capacity of women, not only to farm and to have kids, but to run families and … nations, and the next generation."Lorena Muro (9:02-9:11)

Lorena Muro is a powerful force, elevating females in agriculture, specifically within the fresh produce sector. She is the CEO of Mama Pacha, a ten-year-old company from Peru which exports organic superfoods from the Amazon highland, especially organic ginger and turmeric.

Lorena loves being part of the produce industry. She believes that the value she can bring to the table is the voice of all the women doing hard-working jobs in the jungle and who are not being heard.

"In order for a Peruvian woman to stand on her own feet and take care of her family - especially when there isn't a man around - we have to give her opportunities to grow economically."

- Lorena Muro (8:38-8:47)

After analyzing the situation of the 100 women who work in their processing facility in Peru, Lorena and Mama Pacha discovered that many of these women are single mothers who rent out their farms.

By opening a school to provide education and care for their children while their mothers work, Mama Pacha assists these women in managing their businesses growing ginger on the farms they already own. They then sell the ginger to Mama Pacha while continuing to work in the processing facilities.

Seventy percent of the volume of ginger that Mama Pacha now distributes to the United States has been managed directly by women. Lorena believes that there no better empowerment they can give to these women than that of economic empowerment.

The Special Meaning of the Name, "Mama Pacha"

In the Inca language, "Mama Pacha" means "Mother Earth." Mother Earth is the energy that provides and sustains life on this planet. The mission of the company is to protect the overall health of life. Mama Pacha is embracing the female creative power that exists in men as well as women in an effort to reduce the gender gap and provide greater opportunities for everyone.

"I personally consume a lot of ginger, because it makes me feel better. I juice ginger, and grate it into my vegetable dishes... let's talk about what makes it such a great choice for health and wellness." - Lori Taylor (11:40-12:15)

What Makes Peruvian Ginger a Good Choice for Health and Wellness

The ecosystem in the highland Amazon jungle where Peruvian ginger grows allows it to have three times the essential oil concentration than any other ginger in the world. This means that it also provides three times the anti-inflammatory effect as ginger grown in other regions.

Lorena's Mission

Lorena has a passion for helping Peruvian women understand that this is a beautiful and responsible business to be in that will open doors for a lot of people. She believes that by women embracing their own power, energy, and beauty, they have the capacity to create life, transform generations, and make a better world for us to live.

What better way to do this than to provide our world with life-sustaining fresh produce?

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"Plastic is not the problem. It's plastic waste that is problematic."Dave Beck (12:27 - 12:31)

Dave Beck is the National Sales Director at rPlanet Earth, a company dedicated to the mission of zero plastic waste on planet earth. rPlanet Earth is a well-capitalized, innovative manufacturer reusing post-consumer plastics as a feedstock to produce the highest quality packaging with the lowest carbon footprint.

The problem with eliminating plastic.

Today, the consensus seems to be that plastic is the enemy. Plastic isn't biodegradable, like paper, and it can hang around in the environment for a long time. A lot of plastic waste ends up in the oceans, and it harms the ecosystem.

Contrary to what we may think, eliminating plastic isn't the best answer. In the United States, we can easily access clean water, and we take it for granted. However, in many parts of the world, people rely on plastic bottles to keep their drinking water clean.

In America, plastic plays a vital role in keeping our produce fresh as it is transported from the growers to the consumer, and it prevents a significant amount of food waste. Eliminating plastic would cause produce prices to skyrocket, which might contribute to lower vegetable consumption and more diseases like obesity.

"Globally, human beings buy a million plastic bottles per minute. There are many parts of the world where people depend on plastic bottles for the basic life necessity of clean drinking water." - Lori Taylor (10:38 - 10:57)

Plastic isn't necessarily the problem. What's problematic is how we reuse plastic, and how much of it is wasted. When you recycle plastic, it typically gets downcycled into things like carpet fiber. While that's definitely better than the plastic ending up in the ocean, in an ideal world there would be a way to recycle a plastic bottle back into a bottle or container.

That's precisely what the company rPlanet Earth aims to do. Their founding vision is to eliminate all plastic waste from the planet. They've integrated recycling and manufacturing under one roof.

Their founders recognized that too much of the plastic packaging that could be reused to make new plastic was ending up in landfills. Driven by their concern and care for the planet, the rPlanet Earth founders created a manufacturing process the reuses post-consumer plastics as the raw material to produce the highest quality packaging with the lowest carbon footprint.

How rPlanet Earth is combating plastic waste for sustainability.

rPlanet Earth collects the plastic bottles and food containers the consumers throw away. They extract the PET, the type of plastic most widely used in consumer packaging products, from the waste and run it through an intensive wash cycle. Through this process, rPlanet Earth can re-produce plastic that is FDA-approved for use in creating food packaging.

Through their unique plastic processing techniques, rPlanet Earth can recycle plastic back into consumer products over and over again. So, they're reducing waste, and the need to produce new plastic bottles and containers. rPlanet Earth has partnered with Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC), a non-profit organization, to source plastic waste from all over the state.

"The biggest technological breakthrough in PET plastic recycling, in recent years, has been the ability to boost all the physical properties of post-consumer plastic to a virgin state for an infinite number of times." - Dave Beck (6:38 - 6:50)

For the sake of our planet, we need more organizations like rPlanet Earth to make elimination of plastic waste a priority. The responsibility doesn't lie with business and government agencies alone. As citizens of planet Earth, we all have the duty to join together and help care for our planet.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
• We only have one planet. To learn more about how rPlanet Earth is helping to make the world a better place, visit their website.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"In addition to a lot of international regions, especially in Latin America, in the United States, mangoes are grown in Florida, California, Hawaii, and in territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico."Eve Sapp (6:46 - 7:05)

Eve Sapp is a board member at the National Mango Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. She works to educate the U.S. consumer about the flavor, culture, and health benefits of mangos. Her family has an extensive agricultural background in the state of Florida, where Eve is currently a grower of domestic mangoes.

Mangoes are grown right here in America!

We tend to think of mango as an exotic fruit, one that is eaten in countries in Latin America or in South East Asia. While it's true that a lot of mangoes are grown in those regions, there are plenty of mango growers right here in America. In the United States, mangoes are grown in Florida, California, Hawaii, and in territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

In South Florida, there are the farmers' markets in Ft. Lauderdale. In California, one can buy locally grown mangoes from farmers in Santa Monica. However, for reasons that still remain a mystery, mango consumption in America lags far behind when compared to most other regions in the world where mangoes are available.

"If you don't like one variety of mango, try another. There's definitely a mango out there that will move your soul."

- Lori Taylor (10:42 - 10:45)

On this National Mango Day, let's try and change that. In this article, we'll take a look at how many varieties of mangoes there are, and how to select the best mangoes at the market.

What are some of the main varieties of mangoes?

There are currently 1600 (yes, that many) varieties of mangoes worldwide. And new ones are being cultivated even now. In American stores, assuming you're one of the people that do buy mangoes, you're probably most familiar with ones like Kent, Tommy Atkins, Ataulfo, and Champagne mangoes. Some of the lesser known, but still delicious and nutritious varieties are Hayden, Madam Francis, and Palmer.

The thing to note is that these mangoes have entirely different flavor profiles and characteristics. So, if you've only tried mangoes once or twice, and you weren't crazy about them, there are more than 1500 other varieties in the world for you to try. And we'd be willing to bet that one of them will move your soul.

What's the best way to select a mango when you're at the store?

While the abundance of mango varieties makes it more likely you'll find one that you love, it also makes it confusing when it comes to picking one at the grocery store. Should you select the green ones? Or is it best to go with the reddish ones? How do you know if they are ripe?

The answer is that you should follow a similar process as you would when you're buying peaches or avocados. The fruit should have a bit of softness to indicate ripeness. Contrary to popular belief, color is not the right way to judge if the mango is ready to eat. We tend to associate redness with ripeness. But mangoes get red due to sun exposure. A ripe mango could be green, yellow, or red.

If you're looking for ways to prep mangoes to serve your family, be sure to check out the National Mango Board's YouTube channel for ideas and inspiration.

"We think of mangoes as being an exotic fruit. And it is, in fact, grown in many places with what we might consider as colorful cultures. But the fruit is available in grocery stores and markets all around us, and we can bring that brightness and culture to our own homes." - Eve Sapp (20:29 - 21:02)

Mango is really one of the fruits that is a unifying force around the world. Globally, it ranks number one in consumption. If you visit markets around the world, you'll see mangoes everywhere. People are picking them, bargaining over their prices, and eating them.

While we may consider mangoes to be an exotic fruit, they are readily available in stores and markets around us. They can immediately add vibrancy to your recipes, not to mention they are incredibly nutritious.

This National Mango Day, get out there and fill up your shopping basket with a few different varieties of mangoes!

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
• Check out the National Mango Board's website, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
• For ideas and inspirations on how to prep and serve mangoes, check out The Mango Board's YouTube channel.
• Connect with Eve on LinkedIn and stay up-to-date on her upcoming book about how mangoes exemplify the concept of food as culture.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"Get into the kitchen and play. Get the children involved. Have them peel something or taste it when it's raw... we're all in it together."Brandon Fortener (31:32-32:06)

Brandon Fortener is the Product Development Chef for the Kroger company, which is the nation's largest supermarket retailer. Produce is one of the first things that Kroger's nine million daily customers see when they walk into the store.

Brandon is also a self-proclaimed Produce Dad and a big fan of The Produce Moms. He cooks a lot at home, which enables him to take all of those wonderful ingredients from Kroger's produce department and create meals for his family.

"Food is culture. It's how people celebrate. The more I meet people at Kroger, the more I'm seeing that alive within the Kroger team. -Lori Taylor (8:15-8:24)

Must-Know Produce Tips

Tip # 1: Taste it. As you're cooking any produce, taste it when it's still raw, then as it's cooking, and again right before you serve it. The flavor and texture of produce changes as it is cooking. Tasting it as you go is the best way to observe how.

Tip # 2: Keep fresh produce around. If you keep fresh produce in your refrigerator and pantry, they will be available and easy to incorporate into your meals.

Tip # 3: Look at different ways to use produce as it's going through its cycle. For example, when greens are young and tender, they're really good raw and tossed with a little lemon juice and olive oil. But when they're more mature, cook them and additional flavors such as apple cider vinegar, onion, and red pepper flakes.

Tip for Reducing Produce Waste

Kroger's Zero Hunger/Zero Waste program is part of Kroger's commitment to ending hunger in the communities they serve and to eliminating waste across their company.

One of Brandon's tips for reducing produce waste is to throw the peelings and trimmings into a gallon ziplock bag. When it gets full, dump the bag's contents into a pot of water and cook into vegetable stock.

"One in eight Americans struggle with hunger, but we're throwing away 40% of our food." - Brandon Fortener (17:35-17:41)

"Wilted to Wonderful" is a series within Kroger's Zero Hunger/Zero Waste program that provides great recipes to transform produce that's "on the edge" into delicious dishes.

Tips to Inspire Children to Eat More Produce

Tip 1: Be a good role model. Let your kids see that you're eating fruits and veggies, which will inspire them to eat fruits and veggies, too.

Tip 2: Make it easy to eat. Buy pre-cut fruits and veggies or cut them up at the beginning of the week so they're easy to pull out and eat. For produce that gets brown when cut, such as apple slices, toss with a little bit of lemon juice.

Tip 3: Cut produce into different shapes and sizes. When Lori switched from baby carrots to carrot "chips," it increased her kids' consumption of them.

Tip 4: Turn vegetables into sauces and purees. Carrots pureed into a sauce, for example, is wonderful. It's such an easy way to "sneak" extra produce into your family's meal.

Tip 5: Introduce kids at a young age to seasonings and extra flavor. Start with adding extra flavoring to something they already love. They may not love it the first time. Try again! Our children are growing and changing day by day, and may need another chance to adapt to a new flavor.

You can find many more tips from Brandon and his team at Kroger.com under the tab "Discover." There you'll see information about Zero Hunger/Zero Waste, Wilted to Wonderful videos, thousands of recipes, and many articles loaded with cooking tips.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"Qi Gong helps us get into that flow state where we feel our best selves and bring our best selves into all the activities of our lives."Lee Holden (8:56-9:08)

Would you like to be able to release stress and gain energy in just a few minutes?

By practicing a form of ancient Chinese medicine called Qi Gong, you can do just that. It's is an easy feel-good practice that can be done in just a short amount of time to access your internal energy and clear stress and tension out of your system.

Qi Gong involves stretching and breathing exercises along with flowing movements and is easier than either Yoga or Tai Chi. It is actually the most widely practiced form of exercise in the world - even though it's not well-known in the western hemisphere.

Lee Holden, a doctor of Chinese medicine and a world-renowned teacher of Qi Gong, is working to change that. By bringing it to public television and working with corporations like Weight Watchers, Lee has been able to make Qi Gong more mainstream and accessible to westerners.

"What you've done is taken this ancient practice of Chinese medicine and translated into the modern western lifestyle."

- Lori Taylor (4:47-5:03)

The key to Qi Gong's overall effectiveness is doing it consistently and habitually. Just as brushing your teeth is meant to be done at least twice a day, doing Qi Gong twice a day will bring the results you desire. Doing Qi breaks of seven minutes or so throughout the day recharges your whole system and makes you more efficient.

Lee often calls Qi Gong "mindfulness in motion." By practicing Qi Gong, we can meet life's demands with relaxation and flow instead of stress and tension. Qi Gong is a means of gaining energy to flow with life's demands and not get stressed out, tense, and depleted.

Fruits and vegetables are the ultimate Qi.

In connecting Qi Gong to fresh produce and healthy eating, Lee emphasizes that eating is really about gaining energy (Qi) to give our bodies the sustenance it needs to perform. The Qi (energy) of food is important, which is why getting organic, locally produced, and good sources of fruits and veggies is so important. They give us that Qi that we need to get us through our days and keep us healthy.

"Our bodies have tremendous healing power. And if we remove the blocks and charge up the system, our bodies heal themselves."

- Lee Holden (23:41-23:50)

In our western mindset, we often think that we need to take something to make ourselves feel better. However, in the long run, taking something can create other problems. Having tools and resources to take charge of our own health and healing is tremendously empowering. The practice of Qi Gong is one of those tools.

Visit Lee's website for 30-day Qi Gong challenge that only requires seven minutes of your time each day! It's great for moms (and dads) to do with their kids each day to give everyone a nice dose of energy and stress relief. Qi Gong will give the whole family a wonderful resource to deal with all of life's demands.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"One of the things I love about Chadwick is that he understands and practices the idea that food is how life happens."Lori Taylor (28:03 - 28:14)

Chadwick Boyd is a food and lifestyle expert. He is the host of Reel Food, the first food entertainment series in movie theaters nationwide. Chadwick also appears on TV shows like Hallmark's Home & Family, Food Network's The Kitchen, and many other shows all across the country. Chadwick's Recipe Collection, Entertaining with Vegetables, is now in its 6th printing and was chosen by TED as one of the 78 books to help you recharge your life.

How Chadwick Boyd became a food and lifestyle expert.

Chadwick Boyd, one of America's leading food and lifestyle experts, didn't start out as a chef. He began as an actor, and his primary interest was in the area of arts throughout his teens and his early career. Chadwick didn't discover his passion for food until his late twenties. However, after falling in love with food, he has grown into a leader and an innovator in the culinary arts space. Not only is he excellent at what he does, fresh produce plays a vital part in the majority of his work!

"Regardless of age or background, food is the one thing that can connect us all." - Chadwick Boyd (9:18 - 9:35)

As Chadwick grew in his knowledge of food and recognized the room for creativity within the craft, he began combining his cooking skills and his background in storytelling to create unique experiences for the audience. This innovative approach landed him on prominent networks like CBS, NBC, and the Food Network. Today, after 25 years, he continues to change the world through food and words for the millions of people through various media outlets.

How Chadwick Boyd is changing the world for good through food and words.

Reel Food - Reel Food is the first food entertainment series screened in movie theaters nationwide. Every month a new episode hits 15,000 movie screens across the country, reaching approximately 40 million people. Reel Food brings a little bit of knowledge and a whole lot of fun to the silver screen before the main show. Each episode aims to be playful, exciting, modern, and fresh, and they are only 1-3 minutes long.

Chadwick's Mission - Chadwick's mission is, "to change the world for good through food and words." That purpose informs his work regardless of whether he is on HLM talking about watermelons, or if he is advising his clients at Campbell soup. He aims to tell a story around food that helps people be better, learn something new, and connect with food, because he understands how central food is to our lives.

Fresh Produce - Fresh produce accounts for around 65% of the entire body of Chadwick's work. It's not something he has to strive to accomplish. It happens naturally because of his love for fresh fruits and vegetables. He appreciates the opportunities the produce section offers in terms of flavors, nutrition, and creativity, and he is passionate about bringing those ideas to his audience. For example, one way Chadwick helps increase the value of broccoli is by slicing it and using the stalk, instead of chopping it off and losing half of the vegetable.

"I'm always looking for little ways to help people not only get more value, but to also play a little bit more with their produce."

- Chadwick Boyd (19:35 - 19:45)

Food can be delicious, nutritious, and creative without being complicated. Simple tweaks to how we usually prepare our meals can enhance flavor, texture, and how much we enjoy them. If you want to impress the guests at your next dinner party, Chadwick's recipes are a great place to start. And make sure to check the theaters near you to catch the next episode of Reel Food.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
• Check out Chadwick's website for delicious and simple recipes.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"The interest that consumers have in understanding where and how their food was grown is only going to increase."Wendelyn Jones (30:51-31:01)

In 2017, Dow Chemical and DuPont Chemical merged with the intent of spinning out into three different companies. Its Agriculture Division forms a company known as Corteva Agriscience with a purpose to, "enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come."

Dr. Wendelyn Jones is the Global Leader of Food Chain and Brand Protection at Corteva Agriscience. Lori was privileged to meet her at the Produce for Better Health Foundation Conference and found her to be a compelling presence who exemplifies leadership in action.

"I'm going to be a better steward of agriculture with what I've learned from Wendelyn, carrying that forward as we educate consumers on all of their top questions and inquiries as it relates to agriculture and fresh produce." -Lori Taylor (36:16-36:26)

While the farmer is Corteva's main customer, they understand that they need to enrich the lives of the consumer as well as the farmer. While they continue to do the work they've traditionally done as it applies to the farm, the products that come out of the farm in the harvest of fruits and vegetables is also important to them. Farming is ultimately about keeping people healthy, active, and well-fed, and Corteva plays a vital role in this end goal.

In addition to supplying the farmer with seeds, Corteva also supplies crop protection in the forms of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides - all important tools for the farmer in producing nutritious, pest-free fruits and vegetables. The farmer strategically applies these to both organic and conventional crops to protect them from insects, weeds, and diseases.

Corteva's customer driven, global business service, Connext, links its seeds and crop protection products to farmers, food processors, food retailers, and ultimately, consumers. It provides leadership throughout the food supply chain to collaborate the work of the farmers, food processors, and retailers to meet the changing tastes and trends of the consumers.

Authenticating Products to Prevent Counterfeit and Illegal Products

About 10% of the seeds and crop protection products sold worldwide are fake, impacting sustainable development around the world and creating a serious threat to consumers. Corteva is committed to combating and stopping this criminal activity.

Authentic products go through intensive testing and regulatory evaluations before they are placed on the market, ensuring that the start of our food - the seeds that farmers plant and the care they give those plants - is genuine and authentic.

Counterfeit products don't go through any of this testing, resulting in products that cause harm to the environment, to water, to food, and to farmer yield. Illegal products cost everyone billions of dollars.

Putting a stop to criminal activity requires a joint effort. All the players in the food and ag space need to be committed to buying and using only authentic products.

Blockchain is quickly becoming the standard in this effort. Blockchain is a list of digital records contained within a QR code or other kind of label tag which contains transaction data. When food processors, retailers, and consumers scan this code from a label on a product, they can trace that fruit or vegetable all the way back through the distribution channel and know what seeds and crop protection products the farmer used to produce it.

"We play a role in helping support the consumer availability of the needed quality, nutrition, and safety."

- Wendelyn Jones (17:15-17:26)

If you want to find out more about Corteva, visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to connect with Dr. Wendelyn Jones on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out to her.

Wendelyn looks forward to accepting connections through The Produce Moms and to continuing to work with Lori in helping to drive change in food and agriculture.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!

"So much of life is centric to food, and being a picky eater can become problematic."Lori Taylor (7:00 - 7:14)

Liz Weiss MS, RDN, is the Founder of Liz's Healthy Table, where she shares healthy recipes and mealtime wisdom through blog posts, cooking videos, and podcasts. Liz has been passionate about healthy food and family nutrition for over 20 years. Her previous company, Meal Makeover Moms, received an incredible response from families and fellow health professionals over the years, and even won the 2015 Media Excellence Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics!

It is possible to overcome picky eating tendencies.

Almost all of us have picky eaters in our lives. It could be your kids, your spouse, or it could even be you that's more particular about your food choices. Picky eating is entirely normal. It could be due to evolutionary reasons that we're hardwired to be cautious about what we put into our bodies. While the tendency to be selective about food might have served us well in the caveman era, it does create some nutritional challenges in today's world.

A recent survey of over 600 moms revealed that picky eating was their biggest challenge when it came to feeding fresh fruits and vegetables to their kids. That's problematic because a diet rich in a wide variety of fresh produce is an essential element for a healthy life. And it's not just about nutrition. Food plays a central role in our social and professional lives, and being too picky could cause problems in those areas as well.

"After surveying a community of over 600 moms, what we found was that picky eating was the biggest obstacle to getting kids to eat a healthy diet." - Liz Weiss (8:57 - 9:13)

The good news is that there are strategies to overcome the tendency for picky eating. This is especially true for kids, but it could apply to adults as well. Below, we'll share some tips for parents who might be wondering what they can do to get their kids to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Tips to help your kids overcome picky eating.

Don't label your kids as picky eaters - The first thing you can do is you can stop calling your kids "picky eaters." Instead, focus on the fresh produce items they do enjoy, even if it's only a few. Maybe they only like berries, carrots, and watermelons. While the goal is to add new fruits and veggies to that list, whatever they currently eat is a great place to start. Remember, even something like guacamole, which most kids enjoy, is a fresh produce item you can start with.

"Build your own" nights - The more you involve your kids in the process of shopping and making meals, the more likely they'll be to try new things. One creative way to get your kids excited about the meal preparation process is to turn it into an art project. Schedule nights where they "build" their own meals. Even if they prepare fun items like pizzas and tacos, you can make sure that some of the ingredients are healthy veggies.

Market nutrition to your kids - You can help your kids try new things by making it more fun for them. Assign a silly name to bell peppers, like "power peppers," or take a sharpie and put a smiley face on a banana peel. One thing that works well with kids is to playfully pretend that you don't want to share with fruits or veggies with them. If you act like you don't want them to have any of your cucumber and hummus, it is sure to pique their curiosity.

"The more you can eat dinner together as a family, the more opportunities you have to be a role model. If you eat a lot of veggies, your kids are more likely to make similar choices."

- Liz Weiss (21:40 - 21:49)

Remember that everyone is unique, and they respond to different things. While the tips mentioned above are an excellent place to start, it might require some experimenting on your part. The goal is to keep trying so that your children can eventually get to a point where they are comfortable with trying new things. When you have dinner as a family, you can lead by example. If they see you eating a lot of fruits and vegetables regularly, they're more likely to emulate your behavior and start making healthier choices on their own.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
• Reach out to us - we'd love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
• For a whole host of valuable resources like coloring cookbooks with healthy recipes, podcasts, and other freebies, check out Liz's website.

If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a quick review on iTunes. It would mean the world to hear your feedback and we'd love for you to help us spread the word!