The idea for this week’s podcast came from Sanjeev Krishnan, founding partner at S2G Ventures, the Chicago-based food and agtech venture capital firm. We were discussing potential topic ideas and he said he was amazed how few women there were working in senior food industry roles considering women make the majority of food purchases in the household (it’s about 65% today but used to be as high as 99.5% 20 years ago).

Thank you to Sanjeev for suggesting today’s other guests: Beth Robertson-Martin, sourcing lead for organic, natural and non-GMO ingredients at General Mills, and Kellee James, founder of Mercaris, the organic commodities trading platform, which, full disclosure, S2G ventures is invested in.

Listen to us talk about the gender dynamic in the industry, what’s influencing consumer preferences, and how changing consumer demands are informing food company sourcing decisions, innovation needs, and farmland acreage. Also, hear the guests offer some advice for female-led agtech startups.