Chocolate  might be a beloved indulgence but its production is an ethically questionable one.
Kelly Go, co-founder and managing director of Auro Chocolate, is trying to change the status quo and has created a company that not only directly works with farmers, but also produces its products in the country it sources its cocoa from: The Philippines.

In this episode, she tells us about the challenges of working in the Philippines, what it is like being a young female founder and what Auro Chocolate is doing to make a difference.
We also learn about chocolate itself, myths and misconceptions and what truly makes it good.

• Did you know that dark chocolate is not necessarily vegan?
• Or that there is a huge variety of flavours within cocoa that influence how each chocolate tastes? 

Talking about made-up labels, taste buds and combining chocolate with dried fish, Kelly lets us catch a broad glimpse of her world. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

What does it take for a farmer to convert to organic? What are the main hurdles and why is it so hard sometimes? 

We talk to French vegetable farmer Tiphaine Quemener and Spanish almond farmer Pedro Liñan to learn about their personal experience with the conversion process as well as to Maxime Durand, co-founder of the French “conversion brand” BioDemain about the motivation behind his venture.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

PREDIMED author Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez-González discusses the keys of the ”real” Mediterranean Diet and the role of extra virgin olive oil in preventive healthcare with us. 

• Can the Mediterranean Diet help us live longer? 
• What does extra virgen olive oil have to do with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and breast cancer? 
• What are some of the best and worst things we can eat from a health perspective?

We tackle some common myths, such as whether the famous digestif really helps with digestion, that the healthiest diet is low-fat or that you shouldn’t fry with olive oil.

In this episode we do something we usually never do - talk about health and diet. 
The only reason we decided to make this exception is because we got a true expert, an internationally recognized eminence in his field, to share his knowledge with us: Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez-González is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Navarra, Visiting Professor at Harvard, a cardiologist and one of the leading European researchers in the field of preventative medicine and nutrition. He has led the Predimed trial, the largest study conducted to date on the effects of the Mediterranean diet and health habits, which included over 7,400 participants. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

Alfonso Chico de Guzman, regenerative agriculture expert, farmer and co-founder of La Junquera, shares his journey to regenerative farming and explains how he was able to start transforming various plots of his dry and arid lands into thriving fields .

• How can we fight desertification?
• What are the main arguments for and  against regenerative agriculture?
• Why is  the "one size fits all" approach bound to fail?
• What are the minimum criteria for farming to be considered regenerative?

"I see regenerative agriculture as farming that is organic (...) and that improves [verifiably!] the water, the soil and the biodiversity in the short-term, medium-term and long-term."

This inspiring chat with Alfonso gives us a glimpse into the possible future of agriculture and offers some hope in a (farming) world that often seems to be going in the wrong direction.

"Everything really is so much more connected than we thought."

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Maria Palacio, CEO and co-founder of Progeny Coffee, about one of the world's favourite beverages. She shares her story and lets us in on the secret to quality coffee beans.

• Did you know that coffee is rated by a score that goes from 1 to 100?
• What is the criteria for coffee to be considered specialty coffee?
• How can you tell if a coffee is overroasted? And what does roast have to do with the quality?
• Why does the fairtrade label does not necessarily affect the coffee bean growers?
• What does sustainability in the coffee production world look like?
• How did Progeny Coffee manage to lift their farmers out of poverty?

In this episode you will find out about the different types of coffee, the social aspects of its production, what coffee is tasty enough to drink black, why highland coffee is the best and more! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Leandro Sabignoso, CEO and founder of Auravant, about what benefits the digitalization of the agricultural sector brings. From the use of satellite imagery to robots in the fields, Leandro gives us a glimpse of what modern agriculture could look like.

• Can the digitalization of agriculture help fight climate change?
• What are the tools that can help farmers improve their resource management? 
• How can a better harvest be related to a software?
• What is precision agriculture and what does it have to do with transitioning to organic?
• How can we increase production while lowering (negative) impact?

Tech enthusiast or not, be prepared to be drawn into a world full of possibilities that might fascinate you more than you think! (It might also - very slightly - freak you out) 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to  world-renowned beekeeper Gilles Fert, author of "Raising Honeybee Queens" and expert on all things honey. He shares his wisdom on a number of bee-related subjects with us:

• Why do most beekeepers end up losing 30% of their bee colonies?
• Can everyone become a beekeeper?
• How many bees does it take to produce a gram of honey?
• How come bees are sometimes fed with sugar water?
• Why do some honey types crystallize quicker than others?
• What´s the social structure of a bee colony like?

In this episode, we not ony learn about the secret life of bees and how to keep them happy, but Gilles also discusses his personal journey with us - how he became a global beekeeping consultant - as well as giving us some insight on honey itself.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to  the legendary Guy Singh-Watson, farmer and founder of Riverford Organic Farmers. With his help, we tackle some of the most controversial topics in our industry:

• What does "local" even mean and is shopping locally really always better?
• Is plastic truly so bad?
• Are pesticides and herbicides the great evil of agriculture?
• What alternatives are there on a social level when running an agribusiness?

Starting off with Guy's own story and how Riverford came to be, this episode is a multi-faceted one that doesn't claim to give answers to complex issues but definitely gives us some worthy angles to consider.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We talk to Iñaki Hormaza, Research professor for subtropical fruit cultivation, about all things avocado! He helps us shed a light on the factors to be considered when it comes to condemning (or not) the "green gold" and discuss the best alternatives to its more problematic aspects.

• What does the avocado business have to do with Mexican cartels? 
• Which are the social implications of avocado cultivation?
• How much water do avocados really need?
• Which avocados are most likely to be subjected to post-harvest treatments?
• What are the solutions?

Whether you already know a lot about avocados or not, we promise that you will learn something interesting you haven't considered before! 

And not only that, Professor Hormaza also gives us a sneak peek of the (potential) future of European tropical fruit cultivation. Fruit lovers, this one's for you! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/

We grill the co-founders of CrowdFarming, Juliette Simonin and Gonzalo Urculo, on how they became start-up founders and their path to where they are today.

• How did everything start?
• Did mom and dad help?
• Is CrowdFarming inclusive enough?
• What kind of metrics make an impact?
• Does having investors mean selling your soul to the dark side?

We dare you to find company directors that bare it all so publicly!
- "We have committed failures every day"

The founders let us pick their brains to our hearts' content, from Gonzalo's trajectory from being a youngster working in logistics to running a farm and becoming a start-up founder, to the power of differences within a team - or "when Mr. Chaos meets Mrs. Protocol".

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowd_farming/
Blog: https://www.crowdfarming.com/blog/en/