a16z Podcast: Produce or Perish! (What We Eat)
a16z Show
Economic Dynamics of Fresh Produce and Smallholder Farming
This chapter examines the economic hurdles smallholder farmers encounter, particularly with fresh produce such as mangoes. It highlights the potential of refrigeration to extend shelf life, reduce food spoilage, and improve income, while also addressing the broader issues of food waste and logistical challenges in cold storage between developed and developing nations.
Nature is the ultimate complex system, of course — but with today’s technology, it’s now provided us with an “incredible toolkit” of different molecules that material scientists can treat like Legos to make some really interesting products. One of those is a protective layer for fruits and vegetables that extends shelf life and freshness. Because all produce is seasonal, it’s perishable — so there’s a limited geographical radius around which it can travel… whether by land, sea, or air.
How does this change what food we sell, buy, eat… taste? How does it affect smallholder farmers both in the United States and in the developing world — where there’s no real infrastructure, yet alone for a cold-storage supply chain? And finally, what are some of the most interesting advances in the interdisciplinary field of materials science right now and up next: Is it finally time for these “hard”ware companies to be more software-like?
All this and more (and unfortunately, some puns too!) on this episode of the a16z Podcast with Apeel founder and CEO James Rogers and a16z partners Malinka Walaliyadde and Sonal Chokshi. Will tech reshape the food-map of the world?
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