Building Connections

By Joanne Fedeyko

While I now call Silicon Valley home, I grew up on a farm in a small town of just 1,200 people in Northern Alberta. My dad and grandfather were farmers, and my mom prepared all of our meals using mostly meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables that were grown and raised on our farm. To this very day I feel a strong connection to the land we walk on, the air we breathe, the food we eat and, most importantly, the way in which our food is produced. As a child I would look forward to “dining out” as a special treat at KFC, but now I realize how special and valuable it is to be able to eat delicious, nutritious food, and to know where your food comes from.

Today there are thousands of entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture industries who are working to make sure our food supply chains are better for people, the planet, and the economy. Though it’s easy to become complacent about the food we eat, where we shop for food, and where we dine out, there are some incredible entrepreneurs working behind the scenes to change what and how we eat in ways that are better for everyone. In this issue we are featuring just some of these talented entrepreneurs and startups that are changing the world with their products and technologies; we feature investors who are funding and advising early-stage startups on their path to growth; and we feature large companies that are continually striving to adopt innovation in order to stay relevant to consumer demands.

As you’ll read in these stories, many entrepreneurs in the FoodTech and AgTech spaces are building global businesses with technologies that can benefit markets around the world. We have an abundance of opportunity to feed everyone on the planet with nutritious, affordable food grown in sustainable and ethical ways. Creating a healthy population, environment, and economy should be our number one priority. The only way we can achieve equity in our food industry is with diverse teams with diverse perspectives thinking of solutions to all of the challenges to food supply chains and industries around the world. 

To coincide with the launch of this issue of Disruption, I’m excited to announce the new Founded in Canada series. This program is an opportunity for 12 promising Canadian female-led startups to pitch to our network of US investors and receive feedback on their presentation and guidance on their business model. The theme of our first series is AgTech, and I invite all interested founders to apply for this opportunity on cwnsv.com/founded-in-canada.

I believe that an ideal global food system is one in which people have access to quality, affordable food grown and produced in environmentally sustainable ways, using technologies that support local economies and a diverse group of talented individuals. Thanks to the entrepreneurs in this issue, that future is close to being a reality.

 Audio Version

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