Crusonia Conversations Archive
December 18, 2021
Matthew Colvin, Rob Dongoski, Dan Maycock, Eric Weaver
Feedback on Food: How Data is Enabling the Evolution of the Food System
Agriculture right now is quickly evolving to focus more on data collection and analysis at every step of the supply chain from growing to packing, selling, and shipping. There’s a number of data points out there indicating that this trend won’t be slowing down anytime soon. From farmers leveraging IoT devices to enhance their precision agriculture practices, to distributors leveraging data to reduce waste and improve food safety, there is a lot that data can tell us about our food every step of the way. As consumers become more interested in food traceability and the origin story behind the food they buy, there will be greater incentives to make this information more available at the point of purchase as well.
November 23, 2021
Hollie HArris Phillips, Dr. Dexter Shurney
Fixing Healthcare: A Path Forward Anchored in Diet, Nutrition, and Mental Health
Over the past 18 months, we’ve heard much from the CDC and medical community about the effectiveness of social distancing, vaccines and testing in limiting the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, it’s become common knowledge that pre-existing conditions like obesity amplify the devastating impact of the virus and its variants. Why aren’t we talking about the role of diet, nutrition and other common sense steps in limiting the pandemic and its impact?
May 26, 2021
Matt Crisp, David Lee
Sustainable Food Technology: Driving the Plant-Based Food Revolution
We are at the starting point of a complex cascade of events with companies starting to lay out how they fit into and help drive the Plant-based Food Revolution, which in turn has the potential to totally transform the Global Food System. Hear from two of the architects of this transformation — Matt Crisp, CEO & Director of Benson Hill, and David Lee, President of AppHarvest and former CFO, Impossible Foods. This conversation comes on the heels of Benson Hill’s announcement that they are going public. What is the future of sustainable food technology, and why are plant-based initiatives the intense focus of investment in the agriculture technology sector?
April 28, 2021
Jody Longshore, James Glueck, Carter Williams
Putting a Price on Carbon: A Bipartisan Opportunity?
This Crusonia Conversation brings together James Glueck, former Staff Director at U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Jody Longshore, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Sustainability, Sentera, and Carter Williams, CEO iSelect Fund. Hopes are high with the new administration and its renewed focus on climate that the myriad Carbon initiatives mushrooming worldwide will get a much needed boost in terms of meaningful attention and commitment. But given the complexity of carbon measurement, tracking and markets, are we at the point where we can put a realistic and widely agreed upon price on Carbon? And does cracking the code on Carbon represent a long-awaited opportunity for true bi-partisan cooperation?
March 24, 2021
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian & Carter Williams
Food is Health – Advancement in Nutritional Science
This Crusonia Conversation, “Food Is Health: Dramatic Advances in Nutritional Science,” joins Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical School with iSelect Fund’s Carter Williams and Crusonia’s Paul Noglows to discuss the understanding what optimal nutrition truly is. With countless, contradictory studies released at a rapid rate, it’s difficult to know exactly what you’re looking for both on a food label and in a balanced, healthy diet. How do you know which information to focus on when setting new health goals?
February 24, 2021
Erin Fitzgerald & Rob Trice
A Call to Action: Transformative Investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture
This Crusonia Conversation brings together U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action (USFRA) CEO Erin Fitzgerald, and Rob Trice, Founding Partner of Better Food Ventures and The Mixing Bowl. Erin and Rob’s conversation centers on a new USFRA report “Transformative Investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture: Unlocking the potential of our soils to help the U.S. achieve a net-zero economy.”
tJanuary 27, 2021
Leslie Bonci & Ken Rubin
From Resolution to Routine
This Crusonia Conversation brings together Leslie Bonci, Sports Dietician to the 2020 Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, and Ken Rubin, Chief Culinary Officer of Rouxbe Online Culinary School engage in a lively conversation about small practical changes that are both realistic and doable for you and can make a big difference on the journey to better health through food. Small, manageable changes may make this year’s resolution the one that changes everything.
November 4, 2021
Ken Rubin & Dan Marek
What’s On the Menu?
In Crusonia’s November Conversation “What’s on the Menu?,” chef educators Ken Rubin and Dan Marek discuss how culinary experts, inspired by the awareness that Food Is Health, create more nutritious dishes and empower people to learn more about their food. Rubin, Chief Culinary Officer at Rouxbe Online Culinary School, and Marek, the Healthy Teachers Program Manager for the Whole Kids Foundation, particularly focus on the methods and lessons learned from working on expanding cooking education across generations.
October 14, 2020
Eve Turow-Paul & Rob Trice
Full is Not Fulfilled: Millennials, Gen Z, and Our Relationship with Food
In “Full is Not Fulfilled: Full is Not Fulfilled: Millennials, Gen Z, and Our Relationship with Food,” hear globally recognized thought leader, Eve Turow-Paul, who recently authored Hungry: Avocado Toast, Instagram Influencers, and Our Search for Connection and Meaning, discuss how the Digital Age has impacted Millennials and Gen Z and influences their relationship with food. Eve is joined by Rob Trice, founder of Better Food Ventures, a company that invests in businesses harnessing the power of information technology to create a better food system, and Crusonia moderator Sarah Mock.
September 16, 2020
Brian Thompson & Vonnie Estes
From Grove to Grocer: How Naturally Occurring Enzymes & Peptides Can Improve Produce Quality
In their conversations, “From Grove to Grocer: How Naturally Occurring Enzymes & Peptides Can Improve Produce Quality,” Brian Thompson, PhD, CEO of Elemental Enzymes and Vonnie Estes, VP of Technology, Produce Marketing Association discuss the connection between plant health and the quality, health and taste of food. Of particular interest in this conversation is how a field-proven patented peptide solution called Vismax is showing promise in reversing Citrus Greening which is impacting the citrus industry and citrus quality from grove to grocer.
August 12, 2020
Bruce German & Carter Williams
Food is Health: More than a Gut Feeling
Bruce German, Food Science and Technology Director, Foods For Health Institute at UC Davis will be joined by iSelect Fund CEO Carter Williams for an in-depth discussion on the human microbiome as a pathway to long-term health and the role of innovation across the food chain to achieve this.
July 29, 2020
Erin Fitzgerald & Rob Dongoski
Food Transparency and Sustainability in the Time of COVID-19
Rob Dongoski, Partner and Food & Agriculture Leader, Ernst & Young, is joined by Erin Fitzgerald, CEO, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action, for an in-depth discussion on food transparency and sustainability.
June 24, 2020
Matt Crisp & Leslie Bonci
Better Nutrition from the Growing Field to the Playing Field
Benson Hill CEO, Matt Crisp is joined by Leslie Bonci, Dietitian for the Kansas City Chiefs for an in-depth discussion on the importance of improving the nutritional quality of our food system from plant to plate. Matt and Leslie discuss how the greatest food challenges we currently face are about nutritional quality not supply. They discuss how this is improved from the ground up with crops specifically designed to be more nutritious and personal practices that can lead to better food choices and overall improvements in health and well-being.
May 27, 2020
Dr. Robert Lustig & Carter Williams
Our second Crusonia Conversations featured Dr. Robert Lustig with Carter Williams. Dr. Lustig has fostered a global discussion of metabolic health and nutrition, exposing some of the leading myths that underlie the current pandemic of diet-related disease. He believes the food business, by pushing processed food loaded with sugar, has hacked our bodies and minds to pursue pleasure instead of happiness; fostering today’s epidemics of addiction and depression. Yet by focusing on real food, we can beat the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity, and disease.
April 29, 2020
Tyler Cowen & Carter Williams
Our first conversation partners were with esteemed economist, Tyler Cowen, and iSelect Fund CEO and Managing Partner, Carter Williams, who discussed the Coronavirus and how this pandemic relates to and directly impacts the future of Food and Health.