UnCanned

After spending most of his career working at top-tier restaurants and teaching at the Culinary Institute of America, Master Chef Tom Griffith wanted to apply his expertise to a mission he truly believed in. Much to his colleagues’ surprise, he found it at Campbell’s Soup Company. In this episode of UnCanned, we visit Chef Tom at the Campbell’s test kitchen in Camden, New Jersey and talk to him about exploring new flavors, becoming one of 70 Master Chefs in the world, and the importance of producing high-quality food at scale. Later, we interview Yael Lehman, Executive Director of The Food Trust, about how her non-profit is making quality food more accessible in low income neighborhoods in cities like Philadelphia.

For food entrepreneur Neil Grimmer, business is personal. His two companies, Plum Organics and Habit, were born out of his own experiences and are driven by his core values. In this episode of UnCanned, we visit Neil in the Oakland headquarters of his life science start-up, Habit. Neil came up with the idea for the company after using genomics and personalized nutrition to improve his own health. With Habit, he hopes to give more people access to high-quality food tailored to their biological needs. Then, we talk to food tech expert Brita Rosenheim about the fascinating intersections between science, technology, agriculture, and nutrition, and how these innovations will impact the future of food.  

Joe Yeung, a Chinese immigrant, started farming in the 1950s. Decades later, his granddaughters Becky and Melissa have taken over the operation and are committed to maintaining their family’s legacy. In this episode of UnCanned, we visit Becky and Melissa on the Joe Yeung Farm in Sacramento to learn how they’re experimenting with new innovations to overcome agricultural challenges and produce the high quality ingredients that go into brands like Campbell.  Then, we talk to Executive Director of the Global Harvest Initiative Margaret Ziegler about how Becky and Melissa’s experience fits into a broader and critical question: how will we feed the world’s growing population?