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 CFI Podcast with Apeel founder and CEO James Rogers and CFI partners Malinka Walaliyadde and Sonal Chokshi. Will tech reshape the food-map of the world?
Sonal Chokshi is Editor in Chief of Crypto at Andreessen Horowitz.
James Rogers
Malinka Walaliyadde
The CFI Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.