Good Bites by Apeel is a monthly discussion series that takes a deep dive into sustainability issues facing the global food industry.
In our third episode, Apeel teamed up with Christine Gould, Founder and CEO of Thought for Food and member of the Advisory Committee for the UN Food System Summit. Thought for Food is a global leader in next-gen innovation and startup funding in the food and agriculture realm.
Watch the full episode below!
Christine called in from Italy at the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit and started off by discussing why the youth is critical to innovation in food systems. In the generation of youth representing the largest demographic alive, Christine describes that the youth is critical for innovation because they need to be involved in topics where their future is at stake. Additionally, Christine noted that it makes strategic sense to include youth in agricultural innovation because of their unprecedented innovation power, and their several unique attributes of being well-educated, digitally savvy, globally-connected, and socially conscious.
Thought for Food was conceived through Christine’s vision in conjunction with some friends, in developing a program authentic to the working ways that young people represent. Christine’s interest was always piqued by agriculture, but after Christine completed graduate school, agriculture as a field was not looked at intently by investors. Despite this obstacle, she created a start-up competition similar to those in Silicon Valley — a festival of sorts that mashed up innovation, art, and creativity. It soon took on a life on its own, all through the shared connector of food, attracting diverse thinkers.
Christine also discussed her forthcoming book titled A Changemakers Guide to Feeding the Planet, which details six next-gen attitudes Christine believes are essential to agricultural innovation. Her favorite? Openness. This is what she describes as “how you can feel innovation by looking at inspiration from everywhere.” This is not just looking at inspiration within one’s discipline, but outside as well. The other attitudes outlined in her book are collaboration, a beginner’s mindset (seeing things with fresh eyes and asking questions), entrepreneurial methods (teaching yourself skills), purpose, and community.
Our last topic on the call was the concept of “multispectral thinking.” In Christine’s experience with a multispectral camera, she found that you could view an agricultural field that is green through a range of colors, observing nuances through the camera that the naked eye couldn’t see. This feature represents richness, nuance, and opportunity, and Christine found that she wanted to adapt this approach to ways of thinking, moving past polarized discussions and towards enriching the opportunities we see when we look at problems. Becoming a multispectral thinker means building bridges and utilizing those next-gen attitudes.
Want to learn more about Apeel & Thought for Food? Find out more by visiting each of our websites below.
