NEW FOOD ORDER🎙: Should food delivery be a public utility? with Errol Schweizer

Editor’s Note: New Food Order is a new podcast brought to by AFN’s parent company AgFunder in collaboration with Food+Tech Connect, co-hosted by AgFunder’s Louisa Burwood-Taylor and Food+Tech Connect’s Danielle Gould.

The views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the team at AFN or AgFunder.

This week we published a mini episode featuring snippets from a recent conversation we had with Errol Schweizer, former VP of Grocery at Whole Foods, where we asked him what he sees as the top challenges with the business of food and agriculture. Errol shared many challenges with us, but in this episode, we are sharing parts of the conversation focused on short-termism, corporate oligopolies, and the concentration of ownership. 

Errol has over 25 years of experience in the food industry, from grill cook and stock clerk to VP of Grocery at Whole Foods from 2009-2016. He has extensively developed plant-based, organic, non-GMO, and regenerative meat and dairy supply chains and production standards. Supermarket News recognized Errol with a retail game-changer award and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hemp Industries Association. Since 2016, he has been a board member, co-founder, and advisor to over two dozen food retail and CPG enterprises. He is active in municipal food policy and healthy food access. Errol is a Forbes contributor and is the host of The Checkout Podcast. 

What to expect in this episode:

• Talking about oligopolies in the food and agriculture industry
• Short-termism and its impact on public and private companies
• Errol’s ideas about common and public ownership of food delivery – with some heated debate between myself and Danielle!
• And be sure to stay tuned to the end of the episode for a little funny bonus! 

How to listen:

You can listen in the player below, or wherever you get your podcasts. And please remember to subscribe and share with anyone you think will find it interesting.