Steve - thanks for this interview and topic! Picked up Barons at the start of this long holiday weekend. So many threads and implications through food, the economy and politics.
Re: what to do, the labeling aspect is interesting. I believe Australia has traceability regulations, where consumer must be able to follow from farm to market, so there's a precedent. At least one AUS company (Aglive) providing traceability tools is trying to enter US market. Is there any political will here to improve traceability?
Hey Molly! I am actually so impressed with what Australia is doing with traceability, especially in the meat arena. I asked Austin about traceability and he felt there were even greater opportunities or lower hanging fruit in terms of food policy. When it comes down to it, some leadership changes, and maybe a USDA secretary with a greater focus on conservation and food diversity would go a long way. At the local level, getting farmers to sell to large institutional buyers (schools, government, etc.) can help provide the economic motivations to keep them in business. Ultimately, we have to decide this is a priority. As Austin says, we've been here before. The current system is more a result of a lack of enforcement, rather than some major policy shift. Accountability and transparency would go a long way. Thanks for reading/listening! Let me know if you have any topics you'd like to learn more about for future articles/podcasts.
Steve - thanks for this interview and topic! Picked up Barons at the start of this long holiday weekend. So many threads and implications through food, the economy and politics.
Re: what to do, the labeling aspect is interesting. I believe Australia has traceability regulations, where consumer must be able to follow from farm to market, so there's a precedent. At least one AUS company (Aglive) providing traceability tools is trying to enter US market. Is there any political will here to improve traceability?
Hey Molly! I am actually so impressed with what Australia is doing with traceability, especially in the meat arena. I asked Austin about traceability and he felt there were even greater opportunities or lower hanging fruit in terms of food policy. When it comes down to it, some leadership changes, and maybe a USDA secretary with a greater focus on conservation and food diversity would go a long way. At the local level, getting farmers to sell to large institutional buyers (schools, government, etc.) can help provide the economic motivations to keep them in business. Ultimately, we have to decide this is a priority. As Austin says, we've been here before. The current system is more a result of a lack of enforcement, rather than some major policy shift. Accountability and transparency would go a long way. Thanks for reading/listening! Let me know if you have any topics you'd like to learn more about for future articles/podcasts.