Big Visions for Large Scale Agriculture

On a plane to Monterey. From 35,000 feet above the ground, I think about the stories of the farms below and the food that’s being grown for my table.

From this vantage point I cannot see the soil, rocks, insects, microbes, or the cover crops that shield the plants along the ground. I can’t see the grazing animals and the grasses that feed the cattle. I cannot see the hands of the people tending the plants or the trucks carrying them to market for sale.

But I can see the interrelationship of the farms to the landscape- the mountains, the rivers, the dams.

From this viewpoint, I can see the wind shadow that creates the dry areas of prairie. I can see the verdant green that runs along the riverbanks and the wind farms turning to a cadence of the wind flow to produce energy.

Traveling to the Salinas Valley

As I travel to California to tour the farms of the Monterey coastline, I think about the complex systems we have in place to deliver food in large scale from the farm to the table. I think of the sustainability of these systems, and the opportunities for innovation that can come from companies like Gordon Food Service that I am working for now in my daytime work.

In my knapsack I carry 20 years of academic and professional experience in food systems. I’ve travelled a delicious journey over these 20 years. This Monterey trip will add another layer to my food systems understanding – this time from the perspective of a food service broadliner.

I plan to learn from our farmers, to draw insights how we can -as North America’s oldest, family owned and managed broadline food service company – highlight the value we bring to the table of our customers every day. To tell the story of what goes into the growing of our Markon brand of produce.

Digging Deeper: Future of Foodservice

But I want to go deeper to understand what the potential is – as a private corporation – to shape a food system that is sustainable for the next generation. How we can create a demand for food that is grown in a way that hedges the challenges we face in agriculture in regards to land, water, oil, and labor.

Through our market endeavors, I believe that we can translate our Company’s values to grow a food system infrastructure that is good for people and the planet.

Our customers are demanding more from their farmers and suppliers. They want not only freshness and value, but know that the food’s been grown in a healthy manner for people and planet. I believe we can deliver on this challenge.

I look forward to seeing how this story unfolds. I’m betting it will be delicious. Our future as humans and planet depend on it.