TLC Todd-versations

Avocados from California defy Ag economic gravity! With more than 3000 growers on over 50,000 acres, avocados from California have yet to reach their zenith. 

Jan DeLyser shared with Todd-versations that avocados are a heart-healthy superfood, mood booster, and toast enhancer. Other names for avocados include vegetable butter, midshipman’s butter, and butter pear. 

Eaten regularly, avocados play a role in reducing bad cholesterol, lowering blood sugar, and sorry banana, have higher potassium levels, almost 2 to 1. Mash, scoop or add them to a shake. The possibilities are too numerous to count but know that the California Avocado Commission has recipes, fun facts, and even clothes to answer your avocado quest. Avocados are not just a sixties color anymore! https://californiaavocado.com

Consensus. Dialog. Patience. They're all part of the intricate process of rule-making.

Listen as Todd-versations chats with Dr. Jennifer Tucker, Deputy Administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service, National Organic Program. She explains why rule-making at the Federal level can take so much time. Simply put, it impacts people's lives. 

We cover the Zoomathon, April 19-28, the Origin of Livestock Rule, the Organic Transition Initiative, and the NOP learning and training options found at the Organic Integrity Learning Center.

Exciting news, funding has increased for the department. Who said we couldn't add a few zeros to their budget?

Make Produce Actionable

The mantra that Produce for Better Health Foundation preaches is about engaging the collective voice of the industry and the public sector to increase consumption. Sales and access don't define consumption, says Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, but rather what makes it from the plate to the mouth. Todd-versations agrees that we have a growing produce consumption and waste problem that we need to address. Listen to this lively chat about the things PBH is doing to highlight the behavioral and cognitive changes necessary to "Improve America's Health and Happiness".

If you grow, pack, or sell cherries, melons, grapes, pears, apples, plantains, avocados, citrus, mushrooms, and more, listen up! Natuwrap by Nabaco has to get on your radar.

Nabaco leans into reducing greenhouse gases by preventing food from ending up in landfills, increasing consumption by increasing go-to-market windows, and extending the shelf life of many produce items. They recognize the universal problems of greenhouse gases, food insecurity, and food waste. They work to solve them with Natuwrap, an intriguing clay, and polymer, OMRI-approved coating. Natuwrap coated produce doesn't have a recognizable change to its look, feel, or taste.

What's up next for Nabaco? Recyclable paper packaging to replace plastics, oh my!

"Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." People have said it, even included it in songs, but the reality is that things that bring us sudden turns in our lives can rarely be predicted or anticipated.

That's what happened to Oded Brenner as he shares with Todd. It was during one of those sudden changes that led him to an invitation that changed his life. Blue Mountain, famous for coffee, is also home to cacao.

Listen to the story of how this zig in Oded's zag changed his trajectory and helped him to find what would feed his passion, reduce food waste, increase consumption, and revolutionize an industry.

Break through the noise!

Todd-versations sat down with two Merryfield powerhouses, Kim McDevitt and Joe Dickson. If you're not familiar, Merryfield is on a mission to provide thoroughly vetted, better-for-you brands, educate us as to what we need to look for, and incentivize the shopping experience by rewarding us for purchasing those brands. We leaned into topics surrounding food waste, increasing consumption, up-cycling food, and the power of your diet.

He's the publisher of Southeast Produce Weekly and host of RFD-TV's "Where The Food Comes From". As the son of a preacher, a member of a large extended family, and many storied travels Chip Carter shares what he learned, his reasons for adventuring, and why he returned to his roots. Three important lessons he shared with Todd, live like someone is watching, don't discount anyone, and realize we have more similarities than differences. Good start. Don't you think?

Lean into this Todd-versation as we chat with James White.

He's a trusted advisor, mentor, and friend. James, known as a turnaround master, is focused on bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion to businesses from the entry-level positions to the board room. Lately, he's been called a must-read author along with his daughter, Krista. Find out who inspires this man on today's episode. And get a hold of his inaugural read, Anti-Racist Leadership: How To Transform Corporate Culture In a Race-Conscious World.

This link is to a poem shared with him in high school. It has stayed with him and been a North Star in many situations. https://poets.org/poem/if

Luck of the Irish? We think not. It is all about their Kyminasi Plant Booster Technology that will get you the green and supercharge your crop’s photosynthesis. 

Listen as Todd-versations chats with Jim Kurtz, a Senior Farm Consultant at Harvest Harmonics. This concept is one of Todd’s “Coolest for 2022 Companies". It may become one of yours as well, because who doesn’t like fewer inputs, an increase in nutrient absorption, root density, and plant growth, and the big one RESULTS backed up by field trials and Harvest Harmonics’ wallet? There is no power source needed for this plant booster. It is just low-frequency waves communicating with the plant and Mother Nature.

Who does the heavy lifting?

David Weinstein shares his answers to this question and many more today on Todd-versations. He is a student of history and watches as the pendulum of time continues to change the ebb and flow of society, culture, and our food system. Ag tech, food security, continuity of interests, the politics of food, and much more are explored as we sit down to chat about all things David currently ruminates on.