As summer quickly approaches and barbecues are on the horizon (except for you, vegans), it seems appropriate to discuss an industry that no doubt affects your life every day: the business of food. It’s sometimes taken for granted, but with the world’s population growing every day, our food systems will likely face some serious challenges in the coming decades.

Initially, one might assert that having production meet increased demand for food products is the primary concern for the sector. However, the pandemic has taught us that systems can slow down, logistics can be put on pause, and mere access to goods can become a challenge for the consumer. Add in variables of environmental impact and sustainability, and we get a multi-dimensional challenge.

One of the most significant issues facing our food systems is the long-term degradation of soil quality, with traditional practices leaving it depleted of nutrients for healthy crops. Dutch startup Freesoil is an excellent example of this. Their high-quality compost extract adds microorganisms to the soil, which partners with plants to ensure healthier conditions.

Soil quality isn’t the only area to focus on, as you can expect advances in agro biotech, urban farming, and AI to have their own impacts to help solve agriculture’s woes. There are appropriately futuristic solutions for automation and drone farming (look into startups Advanced. Farm, and Nexus Robotics if that tech interests you), but as you can see, robots aren’t the only tech set to revolutionize agriculture.

This may not be as glamorous of a future industry as EVs or private space travel, but one could argue it’s slightly more important given you need food to survive every day. The world’s governments will likely be investing in food production in the coming years, so food-focused startups are only just getting started.

But what do you think- is food a sector you’re watching? Maybe it’s AgTech, or AI, or just an entirely different focus along the food supply chain. I’d love to hear from you, so reply back to this email and let me know your thoughts.

The Food Sector has been Growing. (Pun intended)  In this article, we discuss 2 different types of food startups.

Today, I wanted to introduce how FULL HARVEST is bringing the food industry digital while trying to solve the food waste problem when it comes to farming.

The ​​USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) estimates that about 30 percent of food in the United States goes uneaten at the retail and consumer level.

FULL HARVEST takes imperfect crops and finds a buyer on their easy-to-use digital software.

This company saw an issue and created a gateway to help the supply-chain crisis regarding our food.

With a product like food, the shelf life is limited, and time is of the essence to get food to buyers.

Christine Mosley, Founder & CEO, vision: “My vision is a world where there is 0% food waste and 100% ‘full harvests,’ where all edible produce grown goes towards consumption. We aim to reinvent the produce supply chain with technology to bring the industry online and maximize resources.”

Watch their video above or check them out here!

Reminder:
May 25th, The Boardroom is going live, and I would love for you to join me.

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+ Forbes’ Take on the Future of Food Tech – (link)

+ Trends and Startups to Keep an Eye on – (link)

+ A Look at Urban Farming – (link)