Podcast appearances and mentions of adam yee

In this episode, Mike welcomes Adam Yee to discuss his journey in food tech, his extensive experience as a podcaster, and his evolving role in the industry. The conversation covers Adam's first-time experience at CES, the origins of his My Food Job Rocks podcast, and how podcasting has shaped his career—from networking opportunities to job offers. Adam shares insights from his time as a food scientist, his role in various startups, and the founding of Sobo Foods, a company focused on innovative dumplings. Show Outline: IntroductionMike and Ada catch up on CES experience Adam's Podcasting Journey How My Food Job Rocks started 10 years ago The podcast's mission: Making food jobs as exciting as tech jobs Growth through interviews with food scientists, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders Memorable moments, including an interview with Harold McGee Career Journey in Food Science Early days at a granola bar factory in Phoenix Transition to Isagenix to develop protein bars Founding Sobo Foods and launching dumplings Lessons from working at Motif FoodWorks and observing the food tech boom Podcasting as a Career Catalyst How My Food Job Rocks led to a role at Better Meat Co. Influence on Paul Shapiro starting his podcast Podcasting as a powerful networking tool The Evolution of My Food Job Rocks Relaunching the podcast: Season 2 with a focus on deeper industry insights Exploring underrepresented food careers (e.g., farmers, venture capitalists) Introduction of a new segment: Dig In, focusing on specific food industry trends Maybe Food, Maybe Tech Podcast How it started as Crisis Meets Opportunity Analyzing food trends through the lens of global events and technology Example: Understanding the impact of avian flu on egg prices Discussing alternative proteins and food system innovations The Future of Food Media & Podcasting The growing influence of podcasts vs. books The potential of video content for food tech discussions Challenges of reaching frontline workers for interviews Where to Find Adam YeeBest way to connect: LinkedIn Here is the story of The Spoon Podcast Network. Find Adam's podcast and more great shows at The Spoon Podcast Network page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is a recording of our second WDFS Live event.  Our guest, Dr. Sarah Ash, Professor Emeritus in Nutrition at NC State University, and Adam Yee, entrepreneur many times over in the food industry, join us to discuss ultra processed foods.  What are they?  What should you know about them?  Some definitions focus on the types or number of ingredients.  Few definitions get to the actual process of how foods are made.  This interactive presentation and discussion will feature speakers providing their definitions of what ultra processed foods are and talk about the pros, cons, and unknowns surrounding the presence of ultra processed foods in our diets.  During the presentation and discussion, we will take questions from the audience.  Our goal is a rich discussion that gets to the science behind the health, sustainability, and economic aspects of foods we eat every day. Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.comPlease take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

This week on "Radio Architecture with Ilana Razbash", Ilana's special guest is Adam Yee. Adam is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts. As an undergraduate, he founded KleZeyn Theatre, which produced four of his Operas at La Mama. He has been active in the field of music education since 1998. He is a past President of the Association of Directors of Music in Independent Schools and is active in VCE Music assessing and curriculum reviews.

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, join Daniel Scharff together with Eric Wu and Adam Yee, the founders of Sobo Foods, as they share their journey of creating plant-based Asian American frozen dumplings.Explore Adam and Eric's approach, rooted in years of entrepreneurship experience, critical industry connections, and strategic branding to position their products as nutrient-dense comfort foods appealing to a wide consumer base. Delve into the evolving diet choices in the US, with Asian Americans leading trends in veganism and vegetarianism, and how Sobo Foods emphasizes a balanced approach to meat consumption, drawing from cultural differences.Additionally, discover their plans for expansion through local retail partnerships in the Bay Area, focusing on community support and navigating logistical challenges. Learn about their commitment to sustainability, utilizing plant-based ingredients and eco-friendly packaging materials throughout their supply chain.Adam and Eric also share valuable insights on effective product development and scaling production processes, emphasizing the importance of thorough vetting of product developers and staying well-capitalized regardless of funding challenges.Tune in now!Listen in as Eric and Adam share about:The Origins of Sobo FoodsMeeting at KitchentownSobo Foods Branding and NameFood Culture and their Podcast ThemeLearning from Past ExperiencesFunding Options for StartupsFundraising and Venture CapitalProduct Development and BrandingMarketing and Social Media StrategyThe Positive Reception of Sobo Foods Within Their Families and CommunitiesEpisode Links:Sobo Foods Website Eric's LinkedInAdam's LinkedInDon't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.Show Links:Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)Join the Startup CPG Slack community (15K+ members and growing!)Follow @startupcpgVisit host Daniel's Linkedin Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.comEpisode music by Super Fantastics

  Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I'm your host and food scientist Adam Yee.  Today we're interviewing Jake Karls, Chief Rainmaker and Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares a Canadian chocolate company that is killing it with its viral marketing techniques and innovative product Fun fact, my first job was for a Canadian candy company. In fact, there are several candy and bar companies over there so Mid-Day Squares is in good hands in terms of the talented canucks in French Canada.  Ok, so Jake has a super magnetic, charismatic personality and instantly, you will be captured by his tone and message. He's also flattering!   Jake pours his heart out here and talks about how he joined his sister's and brother-in-law's company after his second business failed. I think what most people miss in a lot of interviews is digging deep into Jake's past businesses and how that set him up for success for Mid-Day Squares. A lot of it is a great team and what better team than family? Authenticity is a big part of this interview and in my opinion, the most powerful way to be authentic is to talk about your past, because the way you talk about your path shows how you've reflected and grown. You'll hear a lot about what makes Jake, Jake. A big chunk of this interview is therapy and walking through tough situations. Especially as entrepreneurs, where you have the majority of the issues pile onto you, takes a toll. I burned out in my last startup, and I have some trauma whenever I think about how alone I felt.  I have to thank the Chief of Staff Jordainne Erichson, who's a fan of this podcast. That's right, the fans make this podcast sing. As I look back at all of the interviews, recently, the majority of these amazing interviews were because of the fans. So thank you!

Today my guest is Adam Yee, the podcast host of My Food Job Rocks! He interviews people from the food industry and discusses why they love their jobs and how they got to where they are today. With over 250 episodes and hundreds of blog posts about career advice, Adam's goal is to show that the food industry is full of intelligent, driven, and passionate people. Today, the podcast has been downloaded over 150,000 times and his website has over half a million views, helping those interested in learning more about the food industry and helping other food scientists network and grow their skills. Let's hear what Adam has to say on this episode of Water In Food.  

  Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I'm your host and food scientist Adam Yee. Today we're interviewing Grace Huei Tan, Business Development Manager at Oatside, a plant-milk company. Grace also does projects with Malaysia coffee companies and marketing. So Grace and I have been online penpals for years and I remember she reached out when I first started My Food Job Rocks, but I don't remember why. Over time, we've worked on a few small things together such as a My Food Job Rocks article miniseries where I asked guest students to write their experience in food science from different countries. It's so amazing to finally see her in person. I really enjoyed this episode for a lot of reasons. Grace is exceptional at talking about what she loves to do and you'll learn her really fun journey in the food industry as she has gone through being a celebrity from winning a food competition, to traveling around the world showing people Asian flavors, and now has landed in the marketing field. What I also found insightful was Grace's viewpoint on Malaysia and the food industry and how the country perceives education, careers, and health. You're also going to get a bit more of a deeper insight on Malaysian lifestyle. From the diverse groups that are here, to the delicious food Grace goes out of her way to go. I think what's really impactful is a common thread is starting to bubble up with that a lot of talent leaks out of Malaysia into countries such as Singapore, Australaia, or the United States. Grace also knows where all the good food is in Malaysia so make sure to get a notepad handy when you plan your trip to Malaysia!

Adam Yee, a food scientist, entrepreneur, and host of the My Food Job Rocks!, shares his hot takes on startups, alternative proteins, supply chain, and worldwide travel.   His recent travels have taken him to Asia where he has done some exploring.  He takes some time while in Raleigh, NC to chat with us about podcasting, alternative proteins and the food business considerations when it comes to sustainability. During the podcast, we hear the buzziest of sustainability buzzwords, like "hype-cycle", "greenwashing", and "deep-tech".  Our favorite quote from Adam about his work in the sustainable foods arena is "...we have to believe that we are working for a better future".  This is also a great episode if you want to get some practical tips on how to maximize your networking skills in the age of LinkedIn and other social media platforms.  Please Note: The audio fades in a few places, but Adam's message comes across loud and clear.Got a questions for us? Email us at wolfingdownfoodscience@gmail.comPlease take a minute to help others find our podcast by leaving a rating and comment on your podcasting app!

The squad takes 20 minutes to get spells and doesn't use them. Jack is a misogynist, Syd improvs Jazz, Lou gives a hand, Penny reveals a secret. This episode contains lore that connects the Second Shot City universe. Enjoy! Produced by Adam Yee with players Nick Lekenosakas as Penelope Penapolis, Kelly Berri as Lou Buchanan, Ariya Norith as Jack Hack and Lauren as Sydney “Sid” Bauer, we play in person in Boston Massachusettes. If you like this episode, please feel free to rate us 5 stars on iTunes and leave a review. If you want to know how we play, what references we used for this Case and more, check out http://secondshotcity.com and feel free to email us at secondshotcity@gmail.com

The crew ventures into the Isabelle Steward Gardner Museum. Penny gets trapped in a painting, Lou loses a finger, Jack runs out of coke and Sid is canonically Jewish Produced by Adam Yee with players Nick Lekenosakas as Penelope Penapolis, Kelly Berri as Lou Buchanan, Ariya Norith as Jack Hack and Lauren as Sydney “Sid” Bauer, we play in person in Boston Massachusettes. If you like this episode, please feel free to rate us 5 stars on iTunes and leave a review. If you want to know how we play, what references we used for this Case and more, check out http://secondshotcity.com and feel free to email us at secondshotcity@gmail.com

LIke all great problems, everything starts with one little rat. Produced by Adam Yee with players Nick Lekenosakas as Penelope Penapolis, Kelly Berri as Lou Buchanan, Ariya Norith as Jack Hack and Lauren as Sydney “Sid” Bauer, we play in person in Boston Massachusettes. If you like this episode, please feel free to rate us 5 stars on iTunes and leave a review. If you want to know how we play, what references we used for this Case and more, check out secondshotcity.com and feel free to email us at secondshotcity@gmail.com  

Siemens Malaysia is focused on building infrastructure developments sustainably. Ibrahim Sani speaks with Adam Yee, President and CEO of Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd on this.

While plant based meat is better for the environment, is it better for you? We try to figure it out with special guest Adam Yee. We also discuss GMO's and food processing. Good, bad, otherwise? Dig in to find out. Note: These products weren't built to be better-for-you, but we think they make for an interesting discussion.

On this episode, I have on the creator and host of My Food Jobs Rocks, Adam Yee, to talk about his job as a Meat Application Scientist at Motif Foodworks as well as his podcast. he talks about how he got interested in food science, his journey toward working with alternative proteins, and how/why he started My Food Job Rocks. We also discuss how plant proteins get transformed to become more "meat-like", advice to current and aspiring food scientists, why this field is important, and so much more! For more information on Motif Foodworks, check out their website: madewithmotif.com To learn more about The Good Food Institute, and Food Grads, check out their websites: gfi.org, and foodgrads.com Make sure to connect with Adam on LinkedIn, and follow/listen to My Food Job Rocks on Instagram / Spotify! If you or someone you know is interested in being featured on an episode of the podcast, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, or email me at thegetrichpod@gmail.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

When looking at the fields of science, Food Science isn't typically the first career of interest for those wanting to delve in that area. For most, it is more customary to look into the fields of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Social Science, etc. Adam Yee, founder of Better Meat Co. and the podcast "My Food Job Rocks," is an advocate on why Food Science should be fully considered when choosing a path in the sciences. In this podcast, listen as Adam Yee recounts how he made a successful career as a Food Scientist, and his tips on how you can do the same! Take a look at the link below to check out his podcast! https://myfoodjobrocks.com/

Since this podcast is unscripted, I don't have a giant paragraph of text and complex show notes. To summarize the first 10 or so minutes: My excuse for not posting an episode is because I was playing video games all month Thanks to a few people, especially Karen Lee and Shahram Shafie for the warm welcome to Austin, Texas. It shows that you never know who'll reach out when you tell everyone on the internet you're moving My Food Job Rocks will probably end this year but Adam Yee podcasting will probably still happen Why Hampton Creek/JUST is a great example of the issues with bad publicity and what to do when it happens More writing. More advice on the food industry, more deep cuts about the ugliness of business  You probably won't change your ways unless something tragic happens Links Original Business for Good Podcast Shownotes for this episode Hampton Creek Bad Press JUST Good Press (2 years later) WeWork Food Labs and Adam is a Serial Entrepreneur I guess Life is about moments, not years    

Welcome to the 200th episode [part 1] I’m your host and food scientist, Adam Yee and you are listening to episode 200, where I interview a couple of dozen people about their food jobs. The party was super fun, a lot of my friends showed up and I loved interviewing them. You’ll get a variety of different guests. From young entrepreneurs to seasoned veterans, to people not even in the food industry. You’ll hear from some guests from past episodes as well, to see an update in their life. I’m so amazed that this little project could garner so much support, I don’t need to tell you this, you know. But thank you for supporting My Food Job Rocks. We have so many interviews that I have to split it up into two parts. Because I’m moving to Austin Texas and have a bunch of traveling to do before getting started at my new job at WeWork’s Food Labs, I’ll be launching the second part, next week. You can find timestamps on who’s on this section at our show notes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/200Wow So enjoy this live recording of the 200th episode at My Food Job Rocks. Thank you Alyssa Pizzaro from the San Francisco WeWork Food Labs for the space. If there are any audio quality hiccups, let me know but keep in mind, that some things are out of my control. Let’s first start with a small message from Nicole Gallace from episode one and one-oh-one, who couldn’t make it. [Timestamp: 2:00] David Sheu CEO and Co-founder at Bear’s Nutrition [Timestamp: 2:30] A milk-based nutrition shake for kids. It’s been formulated by a certified child nutritionist and has funding from the American Milk Board. Thanks Brian Chau for inviting him. [Timestamp: 2:30] My Food Job Rocks -  I get to see the happy look on people’s faces when they try my product Geof Lambert from Sierra Nevada Farms [Timestamp: 9:18] Geof messaged me on facebook to see if he could use Better Meat Co products to enhance his pork products. He happened to be at the Salesforce event down the street so thanks Salesforce for bringing Geof to the event.  I mention a previous guest’s business, Crowd Cow that got Geof interested. My Food Job Rocks – I can meet with people who are passionate Jenise Vu  Founder of Side Hustle Wednesdays - Not a Food Company, but a friend in Sacramento [Timestamp: 15:15] Jenise drove all the way from Sacramento for this event and she’s not even in the food industry. Though she isn’t in the food industry, we’ve been kindred entrepreneurial spirits in Sacramento. She’s been a great person to bounce ideas and make tough decisions. We talk about the decision to move to Austin and what’s going through my head by doing this. Jenise has done some amazing things in Sacramento and I’m very proud of her growing into the mature entrepreneur she is today. We also talk about David Chan. I’ve interviewed David for a future episode, but you can check out his Instagram @Nichijou.ramen Michelle Flood Del Monte Manager [Timestamp: 26:00] I met Michelle at NCIFT as she and Erin were spearheading the NCIFT New Professionals Organization. I’d say it’s one of the most active groups in the IFT section. Meeting people who are around your age is super important especially professionally and I’m so glad to have been a part of helping them grow and I hope the people listening to this portion is that you can be like Michelle and start a young professionals organization. It just takes a small group of passionate individuals. My Food Job Rocks – The people, the company. I get to travel and I love the people. Relaxed atmosphere and Brian Chau CEO of Mycokind [Timestamp: 32:28] Brian Chau has been one of the most vital connection I’ve made in California and it started off with a mutual friend/roommate, Cory Yee. Thanks Cory! Brian and I have had super interesting career journies with different pathways and different perspectives so we always share the challenges of food entrepreneurship. Without Brian, I don’t think I could have survived as a food consultant. Anyways, Brian explains my new job at WeWork quite well, probably better than I would talk about it. Brain recently started Mycokind, his dream company. Can you guess what he sells? Innovative mushroom products! Brian will also be persuing a Phd soon so though our paths diverge, well, your paths never really diverge if you’re in food. Like me I guess, Brian’s journey is super diverse and you’ll be amazed in what he’s accomplished. Hear also, a rant about communicating food science to food businesses. My Food Job Rocks – Going back and humanizing the food component – It’s not just sterotypes, food humanizes Gesina Beckert  Partner Development at Fairtrade USA [Timestamp: 45:50] I met Gesina at Naturally Bay Area about two months ago and have been seeing her a lot over a short period of time. I love this because Naturally Bay Area has been a huge supporter in what I do and I really enjoyed supporting them. I’ve gotten a  ton of legitimate and powerful connections through the Naturally network, and from what I hear, Austin has a very big one. We talk a bit about Fair Trade and the fun Naturally Bay Area. My Food Job Rocks – I can connect people in distant countries and get them into the discussion Andrea Zeng Chocolate Technologist in Ghirardelli [Timestamp 54:31] Next guest is Andrea Zeng, a friend I knew since high school, someone I begged to interview at Lundberg Farms and we once in a while, keep in touch. Currently, she’s a chocolate technologist in Ghirardelli in the Bay Area. Andrea has always had a goal to work at a well-known chocolate company making new flavors and she did it. I too, had a goal and did it, but then I didn’t do it. So I talk a bit to Andrea about how it felt to achieve your dream, and to try and find something new. I ask Andrea how to become a product developer in something you love, and we both give some awesome advice. My Food Job Rocks – I get to work in a chocolate factory every day

Adam Yee is a passionate food scientist who develops food products ranging from protein bars to plant-based meats and who, in his spare time, hosts the well-known podcast “My Food Job Rocks” that just recorded its 200th episode.  Web: https://myfoodjobrocks.com/ Email: podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsmeadamyee/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myfoodjobrocks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myfoodjobrocks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/myfoodjobrocks   To learn more about Aigora, please visit www.aigora.com

Episode 4 - “Your career is also a research & development process, if it doesn’t work out, you can use your learnings for the next one.” Adam Yee started out his My Food Job Rocks podcast as a passion project while working at a 9-5 and has now turned it into his main career. In this episode of Asians Redefining Their Success, you’ll hear about how Adam gained enough confidence to pursue food (hint: he cooks a delicious duck and would make food for his friends every week in high school), how he developed a mindset to get past the fear of ‘failure’, and how he has redefined success for himself after quitting a startup founder role.We also talk about the best way to find our mission in life, how to make time for side projects and the different ways you can get started right now no matter what career you want to go into next.   This framework is really GOLD, don’t miss it :)Resource Links:A Beginner’s Guide to Food Science On Failure: What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars book  Career Book Recommendations:Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport Anything You Want by Derek Sivers Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley Adam’s book recommendations list  Reach out to Adam:WebsitePodcastLinkedinEmail: podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Quotes:“Taking action towards building up your dream career is very much like planting a metal rod in the desert everyday and hoping lightning strikes”. With one rod, you have a less of chance. But thousands of rods? There’s a high chance that lightning will strike one of them.”

Taylor Walker is the newest addition to the leadership team at , having joined the organization about a year ago. As the director of brand protection, Taylor leverages her experience as a food scientist and plant operations professional and brings a unique eye to commercialization and production management to the CuliNex consultancy known for its clean label product development. She and I are connected by Adam Yee, the founder of , and we discuss how membership in a professional organization has helped shaped her career and how the has fostered growth for its segment in the food industry.  This podcast episode is sponsored by Bell Flavors and Fragrances. Find them at

Taylor Walker is the newest addition to the leadership team at , having joined the organization about a year ago. As the director of brand protection, Taylor leverages her experience as a food scientist and plant operations professional and brings a unique eye to commercialization and production management to the CuliNex consultancy known for its clean label product development. She and I are connected by Adam Yee, the founder of , and we discuss how membership in a professional organization has helped shaped her career and how the has fostered growth for its segment in the food industry.  This podcast episode is sponsored by Bell Flavors and Fragrances. Find them at

In this episode of C to C, we sit down with food scientist and “All Things Food” podcaster Adam Yee to discuss different approaches to plant-based meat and what the future holds for this emerging market.

If you recall, a year or two ago, we did one of these and had a pretty good response so we’ve decided to do one again to catch up. The issues we discuss in this episode aren’t really well talked about, so I view this as a very transparent heart to heart. It helped Kim Schaub, perhaps it might help you. Things like communication, impostor syndrome, prioritizing your life versus your work life all come up in this episode so if you’re dealing with issues like these, this one is a good listen. No ads this time, this one is a freebie Show Notes Ohio State - Citation Needed and NCSU Gabriel Keith Harris American Food Innovate Summit La Terra Fina Dear Ambitious Students So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport Anyway You Want Derek Sivers Paul Shapiro Episode 102 Better Meat Co. Gratitude Katie Jones Podcast with Kim Schaub Impostor Syndrome Type-A People Black Swan Decision making capital Phil Saneski

This episode will feature another podcast, the My Food Job Rocks podcast! Adam Yee is the host of the My Food Job Rocks podcast, a podcast about food science and technology. On this episode, he interviews Hugh Thomas, co-founder of Ugly Drinks. The episode title is EP. 105 – The Beauty in Branding Ugly, with Hugh Thomas, CEO and CoFounder at Ugly Drinks. Thank you Adam and Hugh for a great discussion! You can learn more about Adam's podcast at www.myfoodjobrocks.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/futurefoodshow/support

  Adam Yee is the founder of the popular podcast and website , and I have really enjoyed watching his career and business grow over the past years. You can hear past interviews of both of us on each other's pages to get our backstories. Adam attended the this year, and it was so fun to see our worlds come together. Adam has been doing a lot as an entrepreneur and has been traveling quite a bit, so we decided to commemorate our third year of podcasting. In this episode, you'll hear us recap his trips and some of the insights he shared with the different food science program students he's been presenting to. We also discuss how to build a career and how to address imposter syndrome. This podcast has been sponsored by Icon Foods for two years, and we're so grateful for their continued commitment to PeasOnMoss. Founder Thom King was a and also appeared on Adam's show. Contact Icon Foods to explore high intensity and natural sweetener solutions that will help you reduce your sugar usage, and ask them about their work with allulose.

Adam Yee the host of the amazing podcast My Food Job Rocks and Food Scientist for The Better Meat Co., shares his intriguing history of how he stared My Food Job Rocks, experiences as a Food Scientist in the food industry, introduction to beer, science's future contribution to the beer industry, and why he makes time to be available for those who want to become an entrepreneur. Join us as we socialize with a crawler of Porter, Belgian Blond, Puncheon Paradise, and Cherry Bomb from Cleophus Quealy Beer Co in San Leandro CA.

On this unique episode of BAKED in Science, Dr. Carson presents from the podcast series My Food Job Rocks, Hosted by Adam Yee. On his podcast, Adam talks to all kinds of industry professionals to help inform people about the cool jobs available in the food industry. On this episode Adam interviews the CFO of Tyson Venture, Tom Mastrobuoni. Tyson Foods has been investing a number of innovative companies, such as Beyond Meat, Memphis Meats, and Tovala. Why? As Tom explains, investing in up and coming companies is the way to get ahead and be truly innovative. So not only do these brand new companies get a leg up, but the investing company gets a boost as well. Tom talks about how Tyson Ventures finds ideas, how the deals are made and the most prominent or popular place for food companies. Emerging Trends But how do you know which up and coming companies to get involved with? It helps to know what trends are on the horizon. Adam and Tom talk about some of the biggest one for the food industry such as: - Plant-based foods - Clean meat - Artificial intelligence - Blockchain And many more! So join us as we listen into an insightful and entertaining conversation with insights into the food industry which are rarely shared.

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a weekly podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and hear about their career path, their insights on new trends and technology and their love of food. I’m your host, Adam Yee and You are listening to episode 157, where Dr. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia and Dr. Debi from the American Institute of Baking, answer complex questions about the baking industry. This isn’t just “how do I bake bread” or “why is my bread pale” questions, these two are the experts of the baking industry. If you are not familiar with the baking industry, you might need to search something up, but there’s a website for that. Bakerpedia, a long time sponsor of My Food Job Rocks, houses hundreds of articles that help the novice commercial baker learn about the potential of baking. Bakerpedia can tell you what to add to help you optimize your bread, dives into complex processes by breaking them down, and this is all for free. Lin also has a podcast called Baked In Science, which can be found on iTunes and on their website bakerpedia.org. Though she does interview podcasts too, she also does these nifty Q and A sessions where she gathers questions from her social media accounts. I am always impressed by Lin’s ability to go above and beyond the industry standard. I interviewed her back in episode 81 and her obsession with the subject of baking was big enough to create an amazing website with thousands of views a day. Anyways, sit back and relax and get ready to learn a ton about the questions the modern bakers have today. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship.      

Sara Polon is saving the world, one bowl of soup at a time. The entrepreneur who recently was on Shark Tank and the TODAY Show has a lot to say, but for a change, this entrepreneur isn’t talking with us; she’s talking with our friend Adam Yee of the My Food Job Rocks Podcast! This first-ever Business for Good Podcast showcase involves trading an episode with another podcast. They recently showcased our episode with Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey, and now we’re reciprocating by showcasing their fascinating and fun interview with our friend Sara Polon, cofounder of Soupergirl. In this interview, you’ll learn more about the food industry--the topic of Adam’s podcast--but especially about Sara’s decision to start a new chapter of life devoted to conscious capitalism and how she grew from one plant-based soup shop to having national distribution and multi-millions in revenue. Enjoy!

A lot happened this year. I started a company with two amazing people, I moved to Sacramento, I reconnected with old friends and I made new ones. So some updates for My Food Job Rocks. Lots of fun things happened this year. I was able to talk to some really amazing guests that made its mark in the food science community. I would say the past 100 episodes focused much more on innovative technologies, and startups, as well as having even better technical people on the show, in all sorts of disciplines from blockchain to clean meat. This was also the year where half of my guests weren’t people I had to hunt down and beg to be on the show. A big chunk of this years’ guests were actually from PR firms! And there were some really cool people. Susie Fogelson from the Food Network, Alan Reed from the City of Chicago, Claudia Sidoti from Hello Fresh, and so many more awesome people were pitched to me and I learned so much from them. However, this podcast has gotten a bit tough to manage. On the article, a Better Bet, I sprinkled throughout the article that the point of My Food Job Rocks was to develop a network so I could have the resources needed to create a great company when I was 30. However, things happened 4 years earlier and I’m now co-founder of a rising startup. The podcast’s initial purpose is done, so what now? I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know. I still have a lot of fun doing it, and I find the learning experience like a routine. For me, it’s like jogging, or reading, or stuff like that. I learn and take away so much. Especially interviewing these CEO’s, I can now ask questions that are stumping Better Meat Co. For example, I asked Shelby Zitelman from Soom Foods and Sara Polon from Soupergirl, “how did you get your first sale?” And their answers were so good, I clipped them for our Smart Snack Bites (add bites). I learned a lot from that question, no one really expects their first sale, but when they do, it’s such a memorable experience. So what does that mean for next year? No idea actually. I’ll still be maintaining the blog, because it’s an outlet for me to talk, and it’s an outlet for me to share. Share my challenges and share my story so others can not make the same mistakes I did. Recording and writing helps me think clearer, talk better, and show people I’m a legitimate person, so I keep on doing it. We have a survey launching this week. It’s not about improving stuff, well it is, but the questions will be focused more on content variety. What do you want me to talk, or write about in the future? Who do you want me to interview? What would you want a T-shirt about Food Science to say? Stuff like that. I also find the My Food Job Rocks blog as great way to give food industry professionals an opportunity to write and show what they’re made of, and the growth of the people who have wrote for My Food Job Rocks has made me so proud. Veronica Hislop still writes, Julia Lamphear who wrote the Why Series, has her own Non-Profit, Faseeh Rahman who participated in our Food Science Global event is now posting food safety clips on LinkedIn and is getting so many opportunities! Carrie Ardnt, our latest guest poster used to just post her amazing packaging analysis posts on linkedin and they’d be swallowed in the abyss, but I wanted them to be achieved because they have value. These posts do so well on social media. Giving people who want to write the opportunity to write and see how their work is helping people is very valuable. If you’re interested, you know where to find me. However, I’m a tough boss because I want you to fall in love with writing on a consistent basis. What’s also nice is that my articles are actually being found in google. My name is also googleable, which definitively means I’m the best Adam Yee on the internet, right? Anyways, a handful of articles get a dozen views daily. Did I expect these articles to be searched so much? Sorta, I had a good hunch about them. Basically, here are the top 5 articles on My Food Job Rocks Food Science vs Nutrition Why You Shouldn’t Be a Food Scientist. What is Food Science, a Beginner’s Guide Resume Tips for Beginning Food Scientists The Graduate Student Series If you like stats like I do, I’ll have you know that David Despain’s podcast about being a CFS is actually the most viewed shownotes. Dr. Gabriel Keith Harris’ has the most downloads. In certain periods, Veronica’s articles also get a lot of views. For instance, this month, the Cotton Candy article is very popular. A couple of months back, Banana was trending and a couple of months before then, peanuts. The fruits of My Food Job Rocks’ labor has bore its benefits, not just in credibility. Heck, I think it saved me from a dark time when all of my friends left me in Phoenix. I have an article on Friday that’ll explain all of that. Many know the lessons of being consistent, and My Food Job Rocks is proof that if you do something everyday for two years…you’ll get better at it. But more importantly, people will respect you for it. Being consistent allowed me to get speaking gigs. Not just in IFT, but in San Francisco, and soon, perhaps some other conferences in the works. This was a lot of work, putting one block at a time, every week until it’s finally building to something pretty cool. To end on this, I wanted to talk about skills. Particularly, 5 of them These 5 skills are designed to get you through a startup, but now that I’m reviewing them, these skills will help you in any aspect of your career. As I think about these skills, these skills allowed me to excel at my last job, and is proving their worth at Better Meat Co. If you want to rise to the top, or want to survive the startup world, I suggest working on these skills. We’ll be analyzing why they’re important, and how you can get better at them. Top 5 Skills Autonomy Autonomy is the ability for you to confidentially do your job and deliver results without the help or permission of your equals or superiors. This is a very tough skill to master as it requires a lot of confidence in your craft. In school, you had to ask permission to do something, all the way to perhaps college. I would even guess that people who are We all go through this slope when it comes to acquiring a new skill. According to Wikipedia, we call this the four stages of competence. I actually learned about this when scanning through the brochure at my last job where it talked about how to sell nutrition products to your friends and family. The four stages are: Unconscious incompetence The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.[5] Conscious incompetence Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, they recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. Conscious competence The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.[5] Unconscious competence The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. Everyone deals with this when it becomes a skill. Yet learning how to be automomous this can become a problem, A bad boss who helicopters around you can traumatize you into always asking your superiors if your option is the right option to do. A bad boss can really affect your career just because they can cripple your ambitions. You never know if what you do is right and it really affects your psyche. It’s a really terrible thing. The best way I found to solve this is to read books about this type of stuff. Reading helps you understand different perspectives. In many books, the saying “It’s better to beg for forgiveness then ask for permission”. What helps in this regard is to publish or ship something on your own. By creating something where you can give out or even better, sell on your own will give you more confidence in terms of doing work. What giving out or selling something does is validates that what you do is valuable to whomever you’re giving it to. Knowing you have full control over what people find valuable, and not your superiors makes your job a lot easier. Resourcefulness Phil Saneski and I have had a great talk on the power of resources. The podcast has also given me a very powerful resource pool and I’ve used some of my guest’s services and products to get work done at the startup. Using your resources is directly connected to how well you network. As many know, networking is an art and takes time to cultivate, but the benefits is like your garden actually growing food for you to eat. Podcasting, or in general, interviewing, is the ultimate networking tool because you cater to two people in particular: the people you’re interviewing have a close connection to you and if it was a good, legitimate interview, they remember that. But also the people who read or listen to your stuff. Yet let’s look at this through a microscope. With podcasting I learned how to cold call people to get on the show, advertise on social media, leverage and work together on other networks to amplify value on both sides, learned how to not be afraid of my own voice, to be consistent and deliver value every single week. Those are the skills, the crevices that get filled when you do a podcast and all of it, helps with being resourceful. Humility Back in college, I had a huge ego. I didn’t want to be wrong, and I made people cry. It took a lot of time working with different people to slowly break that down. Working in the multicultural center chipped it down, working with young, high school educated workers in the factory chipped it down, supervising coworkers who were older than me and were in a company longer than I was chipped that down. My coworkers are sometimes very surprised when I admit I’m wrong when the data shows that I’m wrong. Humility is a vital skill, and it requires a great amount of confidence and self-awareness for it to actually work. When you’re humiliated, shame or the perception of shame overwhelms you and you are paralyzed, or worse, you make things worse. Working on being shameless improves so many things. When shame stops affecting you, two things happen: you can share everything, and you have the vision that surpasses you being right or wrong. In the grand scheme of things, does your opinion matter? This is a big question. Nobody wants to look incompetent, or weak, or embarrassed, but everyone’s gone through this before. You won’t ever be fired for admitting your wrong if no damage has been done. In most cases, you’ll be thanked for your humility. Training for humility is hard, but it of course, involves risks. Failing high risk generally builds up humility but only if you can reflect on why your call was a bad one. I was fortunate enough for my CSO at Isagenix to throw me into very high risk situations. Sometimes, they didn’t work out the way I planned, so I reviewed what went wrong and tried again. Having a sort of Nihilistic or Stoic mindset when it comes to humility also works wonders. Reading books from Ryan Holiday, or Seth Godin helps wonders in understanding Humility. Understanding humility will help you put yourself out there more, and will allow you to sympathize with anyone. Curiosity This is a skill that always pops up on almost every interview with a passionate food scientist. They are generally curious on how things work. But on this episode, I want to emphasize the importance of learning the whole process. For the food industry, that means learning literally everything. This was resonated from Alan Reed from the Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network. This guy got an MBA and did marketing, but he was so interested in the whole process, he recently took a role of Executive Director. Will Holsworth started in Pepsi, where Pepsi knows the importance of knowing the whole process and many food companies develop leadership programs to explore the whole process. Maybe you don’t have the luxury to do this, but that doesn’t matter. You can still talk to your colleagues about learning what’s going on. You can still force yourself to attend meetings that bridge the knowledge gaps. You can still listen to My Food Job Rocks podcasts to see a glimpse of the day in the life of what goes in your food. Curiosity killing the cat is a threat. It doesn’t work anymore because now, the floodgates on gaining knowledge is now infinite. Even if someone will harm you for their knowledge, there are many ways to get around it, connect the dots, and create a different recipe. Secret formulas don’t make sense any more because brand is associated with flavor. Who cares if your product tastes like Coca Cola or your product tastes like KFC’s chicken? Will coke or KFC lose market share because you found their formula? Maybe 50 years ago, but now, their brands are so strong, it doesn’t matter. Instead, what if you just learned the process, or how the flavors work in products and make your own masterpiece? This takes curiosity to dive in and find our how to do things. Curiosity isn’t about copying products, it’s about discovering systems. Curiosity allows you to connect the dots and create innovation for the sake of innovation. Craft There is a difference between treating your profession as a job versus treating your profession as a craft. Treating your profession like a job is just doing the same thing, waiting to just be done, get money and spend it on whatever. And the cycle repeats. Treating your profession as a craft means that you want to improve the work you do enough where people will notice and love what you do. A job is a cyclical process, you do things for the sake of compensation, and that’s fine. A craft is like a spiral. You do things, but every day, every week, or every iteration, you want to improve. Making your job your craft delivers a lot of things that help see your life as a bit more palatable. For one, you deviate from the fact that you aren’t doing it for the money anymore. Most artists don’t do things for the money, you don’t have to either. Perhaps the payoff of improving your craft is appealing. That one day, you will get what you deserve through hard work and improvement. But most of all, improving on your craft gives you a sense of purpose. By slowly imporving what you do to make people’s lives’ better, for a chance to be the best of it is a very satisfying goal, that gives your life meaning. It’s a blessing if your job and your craft is one and the same, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, I would say that if it wasn’t for podcasting, I wouldn’t have ever made food science my craft. Podcasting allowed me to dive deeply into this meta-learning state, reading more about the art of crafting. Now both food science and podcasting are a craft to me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Having a craft means having a goal where you will keep on improving it until you get to that goal, and then achieve a bigger goal. For podcasting, it was “make 6 episodes”, then “get sponsors” then “get 100 episodes”, and now, “get 300 episodes”. For Food Science, I started my job in a granola bar factory. The goal was to “get a product development job”, then it was “make really good products”. Then it was “start your own company”, now it’s “make an impact”. All of these skills can be cultivated all at the same time very easily. All you need to do is start something you’re passionate in. Someone last week came up to me and talked about trying to change the healthcare system. Instead of drugs, he wants turmeric, medicinal mushrooms, etc to solve our health problems. He mentioned in his question to the speakers “when can something like turmeric-mushroom mix, be sold in the stores instead of drugs?” Afterwards we talked, he said that he knows that our healthcare system is a big problem. I told him if he wanted to fix it, of course, he did. After I told him the story of the podcast, and the Better Meat Co, and how that all got started, all I said was “If you can’t sell your own turmeric-mushroom mix, what makes you think you have a shot of changing the healthcare system?”. People have the power to change things, but sometimes the problem is so big, nobody starts. This is the current issue with climate change. We’re getting close, we need more help. So finally, this is the final ask. You might be able to work for 8-12 hour a day, but afterwards, you have 8-12 hours to make an impact. You just have to start something. A blog, a podcast, an event every weekend, a food stand in a farmer’s market. Elon Musk said it takes 80 hours to change the world. There was a lot of backlash from his post, but I am a firm believe you have to work hard to make an impact. So do more than the 100 people I’ve interviewed. A lot of people don’t make an impact in their life. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, there are many people like you. But for those who do want to leave an impact, we need you. We need more heroes. And we’re all here, happy to support you. And I'll be so happy when I can say "Welcome to the community"

Check out our slides here This episode is a bonus episode where I rehearse the two little presentations I did in the past two weeks. I was wondering how I was going to practice them, so I thought...well, I have the mic and the script, why not practice through a podcast! Unfortunately, these rehearsals are not the final product, but they might be more informative than the final product because it has me flesh out my thoughts a bit more. The timeframe I had to complete these presentations is much shorter than what you will be hearing today, but perhaps that's a good thing. Here is a little background of the two presentations: On July 10th, Berkeley for the Developing Future Foods Seminar was an event hosted by Alex Shirazi, who does the Cultured Meat Symposium and a killer podcast.  I found his podcast really cool and we actually met at Food Funded in San Francisco. I was helping another person podcasting at the time so I helped him improve his podcast in terms of strategy and audio improvements.  Alex asked me to be a speaker at this one and with some encouragement from my co-founder, I did so and rocked it. This was the first time in a while I did a live presentation but after I was done, people kept on coming and talking to me, which is probably a good sign. This was the same result with IFT. On July 16th, I joined the first ever IGNITE Session, which takes 6 passionate young professionals and they build a presentation to inspire others by discussing a pivotal point in their career.  The people they choose relate to IFT award winners, young board members, people who create communities, and me. Debra Zabloudil did a great job facilitating this, and I've worked with her before at the Emerging Leader Network last year. I was chosen to do my presentation twice. One in the middle of the expo hall and another at a New Professionals Networking event. It was really fun and a lot of people came and talked to me. Every discussion I had was fruitful and inspiring. On Friday, expect an article about public speaking tips. I think that's what I'll be calling the article. It gives you my philosophy on public speaking as long as some tangible tips I use, such as cutting your hair last minute, to rock your speech. You can also find the slides on the top of the shownotes at myfoodjobrocks.com/131presentation Overall, the experience of public speaking was really energizing. If you want me to speak anywhere, let me know. Email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com and we can set something up. No ads this time, this one is a freebie. Note: These are very rigid scripts and most were made to flesh out content than to be conveyed, but this is the raw version of the content. The cooked version is volatile and colorful, which is only beneficial when seen live. Berkeley Event Hi everyone, I’m Adam Yee. Let’s ask a few diagnostics questions before going with this. Raise your hand if you know what food science is. Raise your hand if you have a science degree Raise your hand if you have a business degree Ok thanks! One more question: What does innovation mean to you? What I’m going to teach you today is the foundation to innovate in food. We’re all here today to see the forefront of food technology. It’s actually quite an exciting time to be in the food industry and I’m loving what Alex is trying to put together. I believe that there are so many different ways to innovate, there’s really no wrong answer, but I do think there are a lot of fundamentals that you need to hammer down to truly make something special. So a little bit about me, I have my bachelors of Food Science about 4 hours down south in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Back in high school, I wanted to be a chef, but being a food scientist was a safer path. During my time in Cal Poly, I took charge of my creativity when it came to cooking to making food products. This includes entering and winning a lot of national competitions in the food science space. I’ve worked in the industry for about 4 years. Mainly in the protein bar field. And now recently, I’ve been recruited by some really cool people to be in a stealth mode plant based meat startup. If you’d like to know more about it, come see me after the show. Within industry, I made about $15 million in new product sales, maintained and innovated production lines and current categories in the bar space. And today I want to share with you what I’ve learned that helped me create good products. I’ve developed this sort of pyramid of innovation, what I thinka re truly the fundamentals of innovating in this particular field. On the bottom, you have Theory, or what a lot of thought leaders are saying, “mindset”. This mindset is super important because it basically allows you to not take no for an answer. I’m sure you’ve heard of the fixed versus growth mindset, and that’s one of the things we’ll be talking about. Next is knowledge of process, the technical nuances in creating products. I’ll tell you how my first job at a factory really amplified my ability to create really cool products. I think this is really important especially in the technical side of things to take away from. And the tip of the pyramid is hot trends. How can we recognize hot trends and how can we get them acceptable to the public? Theory of innovation Everyone has a different focus when it comes to innovation and a growth mindset. I think in general, there’s too many experts about it. That’s why it’s really important to carve your own path but do so by reading an accumulation of experts. Luckily, this field will always recommend excellent people. But books, podcasts, online courses, these were all fundamental to my growth mindset. I’ve listened to everyone from bad marketers to grand innovators and eventually, the people I liked, were starting to say the same thing. Small note: I recommend paying for the books and courses you plan on reading unless you are a huge passion for learning, buying things will force you to be more invested in the material and it’ll stick better. Eventually, you can build your own theory of innovation. For a small example, these are the books I’ve listened to that I’ve distilled have the most value for me. There are plenty of other podcasts and media that have helped me build my own theory, but let’s just focus on books. As you amass all of this knowledge, start to break them down into simple mantras that can guide you whenever you’re put upon a difficult situation. This will help you guide your thought process and come up with a solution based off of your personal beliefs and the experts you follow. So for me, a lot of the media I read is about asking great questions. This is amplified by my experience podcasting. The better questions you ask, the easier you can solve the problem. Taste is King is all about how products must taste good to be the best. There are plenty of products that taste terrible but sell a lot, but the best products taste good. And Spray and Pray is probably more counterintuitive than what you think of. In most circles, focus is a huge buzzword. I think focusing is very important, but if you can’t litmus test all potential avenues, you are missing out on potential opportunities. Here’s a list of other mantras based off of other people I’v emet. Maybe you recognize some of them. For example, the hustler. The guy in the suit who will grind it out to success. Or the visionary, who believes that they need to take action now. Or the life style designer, who really wants an easy life and that’s ok too. The best part is that these different mantras all work and all lead to innovation. Knowledge of Process So my first job was at a granola bar factory. It was actually a startup plant. Nothing was done, everyoen was new, and I had to be the expert. I got my hands dirty, sometimes doing the line worker’s job even though it was under my paygrade. It didn’t matter, I enjoyed the process and I learned a lot. Basically, it’s really tough! So within a year and a half, I learned how to make granola bars, dog buiscuits, crackers, and knew the machines, how to process them and the efficiency needed to make life easier for the workers. This was hugely valuable when I moved to corporate. The pain of create the products at the granola bar factory instilled the technical knowledge I needed to formulate protein bars to make the company millions. Most formulators don’t even think of commercializing, or the process of taking an idea to profit, until way later. But if you think of a way to commercialize first, then you eliminate a lot of wasted effort because the problem is scalable. And remember, every single product must be commercilizable to succeed. This is one of the hurdles with Clean Meat but luckily, there is already huge amounts of data that say it’s feasible to commercialize clean meat based off of the tissue replication industry. Clever Crossovers Once you get enough knowledge of the process, you can be creative and start applying processes towards new concepts. Here I have three examples. One project was when I first started my job at Isagenix. There was this 6 year long vegan bar in limbo and I took one look at it and recalled form my chocolate experience, that you can mask plant proteins with chocolate! Another was the template forms we used for granola bars. As long as we could templatize our bar formulas in Isagenix, we could create so many different types of flavors. By learning how to template my formulas, you can create a lot of products fast. Another example is what I’m currently working on. At my time in Isagenix, I learned how to make protein chips and we use a similar method to make this new product I’m working on with great success. So now let’s talk about Hot Trends. Everyone what’s a current trend everyone’s talking about right now? Ok, so another question I’ve always asked myself is that if you know the trend, how many other people know? Unfortnately, finding a trend that will explode is like finding the next bitcoin, it might be already happening. However, there are tons of opportunities where you can get ahead of the competition. Expos and Conferences, like IFT which this next week in Chicago, Expo West, Fancy Food Show, all really important places to find new trends and viable ingredients to make these trends happen. And a good piece of advice is that if you’re small, focus on the innovative ingredients because the big players will be too slow to apply these ingredients. It’ll take then 2 years for them to apply an ingredient. For you, it should take months. Seminars, like the protein Technology Seminar I went to last month was extremely useful. But it was really expensive. At about $1000 dollars, this price barrier filters out a lot of small players. However, I find seminars much useful than a 5 figure white paper and most startups don’t go to seminars because of the pricing barrier. But that’s a pretty big mistake. Newsletters like Food Dive and Food Navigator, I would even say following the Good Food Institute is beneficial as well. These will give you small tidbits of information that might be useful. Places like this, and create a network of cutting edge innovators is probably the best method. For me, the podcast I do has created a network that is so close to the cutting edge, I know all of the latest plant proteins, and clean technology. Networking with he right people is probably the best way to get info. So now we transform this foundational pyramid, and break it down into lego pieces. You’re free to build your own structure, integrating parts and pieces to create the newest innovation. Yet there is a way to do it. The difference between a Segway and the iphone has been written in many books but the most important takeaway is that it must be familiar and the marketing must be good. The better your marketing is, the more hands will try your product, but what will make the product stick is a good product. Then that creates kind of an infinite loop which kind of is this formula for virality. So an example is Taco Bell’s naked chicken chalupa, which is now being reintroduced. I could also say the taco fries are a hit too. It’s familiar, but slightly different. This is important for innovation. Beyond Meat has an incredibly powerful brand. I love them because every employee I met there is awesome. They are honest, Ethan Brown goes on viral podcasts, I honestly think this is why they sell at first. However, because their product is so good, people keep on coming back and they will keep on talking about this wow factor. A plant based burger than actually tastes like meat. Another probably older example is 5 hour energy. It was positioned really well in super markets and gass stations, advertising was spot on. So people will buy it. In most situations, the product works really well. It’s fast, convenient, and it works unbelievably well. SO as much as I would love to give you the secret formula to innovate, nothing beats trial and error. You have to actually do it to become innovative, but what I’m giving you is a foundation to innovate and keep on innovating. The more experiences you have, the more you can cross pollinate and create something cool. Jump into many things and eventually, they’ll connect together as long as you have the right mindset. If you can’t think of a way to innovate now, probably the best way to innovate is to try and gain traction from blogging or podcasting, or whatever. Take two of your favorite hobbies, combine them and talk about it. My Food Job Rocks was basically this. I enjoyed career advice podcasts and I thought it would be cool to interview people in the food industry. But the reward is getting people to actually listen to your stuff! But it’s a start to get the gears going. It’s the easiest way to get started. Anyways, that’s all, are there any questions. IFT IGNITE Event Introduction: Adam Yee is a food scientist and product developer. His experience ranges from granola bars, protein bars, protein chips, jams, chocolates, deli meats, and now plant-based meats. In his spare time, he hosts the podcast My Food Job Rocks! where he interviews an expert in the food industry weekly. My Food Job Rocks is a fully sponsored podcast that boats 45,000 downloads and has guests from the Nutritionist of Taco Bell to the CFO of Tyson ventures. My Food Job Rocks ‘ main goal is to showcase cool people in the food industry and inspire its listeners that they can have a  cool job like this too. [Adam enters stage] Hey everyone, how’s everyone going? So I go by many names. I’m a food scientist at my day job, I’m an expert at protein bars so a lot of people call me bar man, and I eat everything so I’m sometimes called garbage disposal. However, today, I come to you has the host of the podcast, My Food Job Rocks. A side project that started two years ago that has changed my life. But My Food Job Rocks didn’t start as a random idea, it was actually there to solve a problem. I think a lot of people who want to try something, think an idea just falls out of the sky, but the easiest way to create something amazing is to solve a problem This is the article that started a podcast that has over 45,000 downloads. It was posted by Nicole Gallace who at the time, started Foodgrads, a platform which would act as a bit of a niche food industry recruitment site. Since she was starting her thing, I aske dhow I could help. We decided to end up doing a podcast. So my task was to interview an expert in the food industry every week with the sole purpose to showcase that there are really cool jobs in the food industry. After doing this for 2 years, I’ve noticed some really cool things happening that I’d like to share with you today.   After about 120 episodes, you realize that passionate people, no matter if you are a food scientist, food safety auditor, event planner, or entrepreneur, you have the same things happening. Lessons, advice, they all say kind if the same thing. Posting an episode and an article every week also helped me retain information. We are all here today also, to network, and that’s great! But by having a genuine, passionate conversation, the network becomes a bit more substantial, the value of a good conversation was a worthy investment. And I also realized that, why am I the only one doing this? At the time, I can’t believe people aren’t doing podcasts about food science. So I really want to share that you can do this too. Skills I ask a set list of questions to all of my guests on My Food Job Rocks. I find asking the same questions gives me a set of data and trends that I can convince myself that this is the right thing to do. However, recently, I’ve been asking more indepth questions to make each interview unique. Here are 4 questions I picked out that resonated with me the most. How did you find out about food science? – Most people found out by surprise, or that their path wasn’t a straight line. Most people who received a degree in food science found out by switching. In fact, only younger guests really stuck with food science from freshman to senior. What are some important soft skills? – The most important skill is to be curious. And this is amplified by being inquisitive, passionate, and creative. As long as you love learning, you can get far in the food industry. What types of food technologies are really exciting you right now? – The umbrella of Sustainability has been one of the biggest topics that’s brought up but luckily there are many ways to approach the problem. We have cool products like Plant based meat and clean meat exciting most food scientists, but food waste has also been a huge topic to save the world. What is one piece of advice you can give someone in your industry? – Love what you do is the most common answer, and I think in the food industry, this is the easiest profession to love what you do. Food connects with people in such a different way than anything else, that those who love it, are obsessed with it. Blogging is hard Being Consistent is tough, it takes 6 hours a week to maintain and do things for the My Food Job Rocks Platform. That’s like, 12 netflix episodes. It can get tough, I think most people who start stuff like this don’t expect the long game. But this is about falling in love with the journey. The knowledge I acquired just doing one interview was more than enough to convince myself that this is worth doing. This is why I edit all of my own podcasts, because I can absorb the information once again. Sharing these interviews is icing on the cake. If you keep going, and try your best, week after week, you develop a sort of snowball effect. The more people you talk to, the more guests you have on the show, the more consistent your quality is, the easier it gets. What used to be about begging my friends I went to in college to try out this podcast, ends up being begging people on linkedin to give it a shot. But eventually, people start to get word of your stuff. As you refine your craft podcasting, or even blogging, you can convince experts to be on your show! Not only that, but the conversations you have will give you the ability to ask for really high profile guests to be on the show. A good referral is quite a powerful tool with the right network. And recently, I’ve received tons of Public Relations pitches so now I don’t even have to beg guests anymore! Network Now I would say the best part about doing these interviews are the people I’ve met. I make it an effort to connect with all of my guests in My Food Job Rocks. For some, I buy their products, others, I buy their services or partner up to do some amazing stuff. Usually, when I go to a conference, or expo, I ask if anyone one of my guests will be there and I got to say, I always meet someone! I think this type of networking is really important. Though the things we do here is awesome, nothing beats a good conversation with passionate people. It sticks, and I’m sure many of you can relate, if you work with passionate people, you can get things done a lot faster. You can Do This Too! Throughout my time doing My Food Job Rocks, I’ve met a ton of cool people. But it’s not just my guests. There are other people in other platforms such as Instagram, twitter, podcasting, blogging, that have asked for my advice and we push each other forward. This is the most rewarding part. Building a community of people will want to take destiny into their own hands. I offer as much help and support as I can. And so the biggest takeaway I want to give, is that you can definitively do this too. I am not special. In fact, I’d say I’m just a bit crazy, but I think all passionate people are crazy. It may seem daunting to create something like this in 2 years, but the benefits in all aspects of your life is incredibly rewarding. There is so much room in this space. Without podcasting, I wouldn’t know how to speak on stage, or ask for advice, or meet so many incredible people. The Ultimate Reward But maybe that won’t convince you. Educating people is nice, but what is the actual benefit? This might motivate you. How far can creating a platform really springboard your career? Well, for me, I left my corporate job in Arizona to join a plant based meat startup with some really high profile players. This would have never happened if I didn’t start the podcast. So this is just a simple story of someone who started a little blog, and how it opened so many doors for my career and all I want you to take away from this, is that you can do this too. And if you decide to put a lot of effort, and post consistently for a year from now, I’ve got your back. We’ve got your back. The world needs more science communicators. You can do this too. You got this.  

Hey everyone! This is a bonus episode! It's also really long. Kim from Peas on Moss and I recorded this a long time ago, but I figured I would post this since we've been talking about careers a lot on the podcast/blog. So I talk a bit less modest in this episode, and maybe I'm a bit too honest this episode. Whether you agree with me on the points I make, I hope you find value in them. If you disagree, then challenge them and tell me what you think. We talk a lot on all sorts of subjects such as job hopping, resume, the purpose of life, preparedness in a degree, podcasting life, all stuff of that nature. No sponsors this episode. This one is a freebie. (warning: we do say "you know" way too much in this interview. Enjoy!) Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs How long should you stay at your job and how does that matter? Adam’s track record Storytelling is the best skill ever Discussing ethnic background CV’s and resumes Passion versus Skill How to be prepared for your first job Master’s versus Work Experience Risk versus Failure: Different roles have different values of risk How to answer questions in your job Who to talk to when you don’t know the answer How to deal with greedy people and how to deal with them How to find and identify A players and C players Extroversion versus Introversion How Adam stopped being Shy How people can take advantage of teaching niche jobs Catalysts of Change What We Talk About Twin Screw Extrusion Andrea Zeng Leadpage My Department Head’s CV Xennial Millenials ruin everything Little Bets Fiona Salim Impostor Syndrome Myer’s Briggs Kim is an ENTJ Adam is an ENTP Crematory Association How Podcasting Changed My Life Michael Kalanty James Altucher Derek Sivers – Bronze Medalist

This week we’re talking with an honest to goodness food scientist who gives us the lowdown on the health benefits - or lack thereof - of Thai food and its sundry ingredients. But first, Evo plays Robin Hood as he recounts a pleasant encounter with a wandering sheriff. What are the odds a visitor to Bangkok would not only run into one of the hosts of his favorite podcast, but run into said favorite podcast co-host just minutes after listening? Pretty high if you happen to visit Jack’s Bar. But as cool and unexpected as that was, it’s not what we’re talking about today. Adam Yee is a food scientist who works at a billion dollar health-and-wellness company in Phoenix Arizona. He’s the kind of guy who takes his work home with him, because he’s also the host of a podcast called My Food Job Rocks!. We brought Adam on the show to dispel the rumors and myths about the healthiness of Thai Food. Adam has a lot to share about what science says about fad diets and more, including these choice bits: How gluten spreads civilization (no offence to those diagnosed with Celiac Disease) Why you shouldn’t (and practically can’t) avoid MSG in Thailand A reference to the tastiest of tastes: umami Why you can blame the American military for Thailand’s dedication to sweetened condensed milk in everything How to curry favor from a food scientist (did you see what I did there?) The curious case of tamarind and why anyone would find it a tasty food additive Since Adam is curious about Thailand (his roomie is Thai), we talked about some unique aspects of Bangkok that shows why he’s a great food scientist. Among other things, we covered: The flavors and styles of snacks are made from seaweed The Mexican food scene of Bangkok (since he’s from Arizona, right on the Mexican border) How mayonnaise contributes to the Thainization of sushi Why Thais love Red #40 like French Canadians love Yellow #6 Macro trends on Thai-centric health concerns Love, Loathe, or Leave As we’ve talked about on prior episodes, Bangkok cops are cracking down on helmetless riders. Mototaxi drivers are accommodating, offering pay passenger a spare helmet. But when you’re sporting a mellon the the size of a beachball like both of us, it’s more about fine-avoidance than safety. Listen in to find out how we deal with this reality. We Love Our Supporters! In fact, we’re considering a special meetup for anyone who lives in or will be traveling to Bangkok next month. Are you interested? Even if you can’t make it in August but do travel frequently to Bangkok, let us know. Maybe we’ll do it on a regular basis! Want More Bangkok Podcast In Your Life? If it’s your first time experiencing The Bangkok Podcast, you really should get our show downloading to your phone automatically every week. If you use iOS, it’s a breeze to listen via Apple Podcasts. Android users are be able get the show any number of ways. And for bonus points, leave us a review on those platforms or however you listen to the show. We’d love to hear from you, either on the contact form on our website or through a comment or message on our Facebook page. You can Tweet to the show @bangkokpodcast or follow Greg’s tweets of snarky Bangkok goodness. Evo chronicles his Bangkok adventures on Instagram from time to time, if that’s your thing. And as mentioned, we now have a LINE account! Yep. Just for the Bangkok Podcast. Join us over there, too! See you next time on The Bangkok Podcast! (Direct download .mp3)

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee, where we showcase amazing food jobs and interview the passionate people who drive the industry forward and this is episode 51! We have a special guest for you today. A top scientist at an amazing food company who’s had an amazing journey. He grew up in Nandi, a district in Kenya, went to China for graduate school, and now lives in Germany! Or as he says it, made in Nandi, formed in China and refined in Germany He’s a pet food scientist in one of the most well-known companies in the world and he really digs home on the importance of the petfood industry. So if you want to at least look into the petfood industry, this interview is for you. Hey, I made petfood at my last job, and that industry makes bank. This is a long one, a bit dense as well, but Seroni, has a lot to offer in his wisdom. After all, his motto in life is “Just DO it, make mistakes. Learn from them. Recalibrate and move on”. I apologize in advance for any audio issues. When editing I say a lot of uh-huhs. If that bothers you, let me know by sending a quick email saying “stop innerrupting” If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewer, or would like to join our team of volunteers, make sure to email us at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com. About Seronei Seronei Chelulei Cheison is a Kenyan from Nandi County, the source of Kenya’s world-beating long-distance runners. Born to a very poor family, Seronei nearly missed school as he started off as a herdsboy hired by wealthier families than his grandmother with whom he had relocated at the tender age of five. After starting school at the ripe age of nine, he went on to top his class through primary, high school and university. Eventually he went to China for his MSc & PhD graduating Summa cum Laude at China’s premier food school (Jiangnan University). It was while in China that Prof.Dr. Ulrich Kulozik of the elite German university, Technical University of Munich. Seronei was shortly offered an opportunity to pursue the German Habilitation leading to an award of Venia legendi and certification to examine and supervise PhD candidates as well as teach Food Biotechnology. His passion is protein chemistry and enzyme technology. He was the first African to be awarded the honour by the TU Munich, which qualifies him for full professorship in a German university. Seronei moved on to Mars Global Petcare, a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated where he leads Ingredient innovation in the company voted 99 on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work for (http://fortune.com/best-companies/mars-99/). Seronei also mentors and supervises industrial attachment interns who pursue their research in ingredient innovation. Seronei lives in Germany with his wife Ednah, three children Kiptoo, Cherop and Kipchumba and their two year old male cat, Simba. He is widely published with over 25 peer reviewed papers, one book chapter and several honours including Best Of Mars which he received in 2015. His motto in life is “Just DO it, make mistakes. Learn from them. Recalibrate and move on”.  He says that his Made In Nandi, Moulded In China and Refined In Germany makes him a child of “Three horns”, a cultural confluence that helps him navigate the exciting multicultural environment in a very traditional company like Mars. Seronei invites students to apply for internships at Mars’ many business segments and worldwide network and find out what exciting opportunities there are in the corporate world. What We Talk About - Difference between Germany Education versus Chinese education: Germany works as a pyramid system. A phd student has about 5 to 10 masters student. Relationship is more formal in Germany - Seronii speaks 5 language - A food has to be loved by the owner and the pet Question Summary My Food Job Rocks: I like it when people buy my products What is your job title?: Research and Development – Global life Sciences and technology Any Advice for working in another country?: Always try to speak the language (Senonei speaks 5 languages: Nandi- his mother's language, swahilli, official language,English, Chinese, German). Greatest asset you have in life is being multilingual Food Trends and Technology: Pet food borrows heavily from the human food segment One thing you’d like to know about: Epigenetics Favorite Quote: You are what you eat, if you eat trash you become trash. Food is your medicine Advice in the industry: Give petfood a shot. You won’t have to eat it Other Links Mars Inc. Petcare Wrigley Cloudy Juice – unfiltered apple juice www.mars.com go to careers and go to internships Mars internships – you can travel all over the world

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee, where we showcase amazing food schools and interview the passionate people who drive the industry forward and this is episode 39! First I gotta say, welcome home This is out final interview for the graduate series and I wanted to interview someone kind of different. Though most of our interviewees are Food Science related in some way, I wanted to get somone a bit different. Eleni Galata studies Agriculture Communications at the University of Missorui and I am so glad I did this interview. Eleni talks about a lot of processes that are easy to follow. So easy to follow I mapped it out on the show notes. We also talk a lot about media such as how GMOs are being perceived by the media and how the best social networks aren’t necessarily about how much money people shove up their accounts, but what matters is that people just have to show that they care. So yea, this is the final interview, I will be distilling and summing up these interviews next episodes in kind of a recap form. Till then, enjoy this one, you are going to learn a lot If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewer, or would like to join our team of volunteers, make sure to email us at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com. About Eleni Galata My name is Eleni Galata, and I'm a phd student in Ag and Applied Economics in University of Missouri-Columbia. My work has to do with how people search and share information about food technology, and I study how food advocacy networks can reach important people more efficiently. In my family we always spoke Greek and Russian and since I was a kid, I learned that context matters: Just because one word exists in both languages, just the translation will not always represent identical meanings. I'm a cat-mom and cannot hide my fascination for the Thanksgiving Holiday Tradition or the Mid-West. Key Takeaways - Why Eleni decided to go to the United States (money reasons) and why she wanted to focus her education - How to find your ideal university: Find universities à Find professor’s publications -->  Contact them via email --> Contact via skype or such --> Establish a relationship and ask questions --> Research what other people did after graduation --> Talk to your personal network - How Eleni’s contact at a conference got her into graduate school - How the Media Reported the Impact of GMO foods. Even though there’s more data that GMOs are not bad, reporters did not change their perspective on GMOs - How successful organizations in the food area win at social media. The most successful companies are not putting more resources in social media, but they are making it more caring and personal. - Why you should work with your adviser to find funding Question Summary Favorite Thing About Your Univeristy: The university cares for its students such as health and wellness. Difference about Greece Education: In Greece, you should be able to know what you want to be Advice: Be proactive when networking, It’s a big yet small world, It’s hard not to be biased, We are the average of the 5 people we contact Best Part of Being a Graduate Student: You have a lot of freedom Worst Part of Being  Graduate Student: You have a lot of freedom… What would you ask your past self?: It’s fine if you don’t know what you do, but don’t waste your time Favorite Quote: Does the fish know that it’s wet? Probably not, but it’s wet. What We Talk About Greece International Welcome Party Spanakopita –Spinach Pie Galaktoboureko– Milk, Sugar, Greek Pie International Economics and Politics Masters in Agriculture (in Greece) University in Netherlands Agricultural Economics GMO foods Fake News Student Success Center Fellow in other Universities (you can renew them)  

Forbes named him 30 Under 30. Zagat did the same. UC Davis wrote an article about him. HIC The Useful Tool and The Culinologist interviewed him. He gave two TED talks and is about to roll out a book. He will now be interviewed for this podcast. His name is Bouzari, Ali Bouzari. He is a Culinary Scientist at Pilot R + D, holding a doctoracte in food biochemistry and having served as a research chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. His interview with Adam Yee not only inspires many food industry members to strive for a better tasting and more creative food product, but also brings to light humble beginnings of how a man, a dream and a passion can make the world a better place to cook, eat and understand the impact science has on both. For culinary science! About Ali Bouzari As an Iranian Texan, Ali Bouzari grew up with exposure to different cuisines, but most notably, beef over an open flame. His affinity for food and science lead him to become the guy where all the top chefs call him for help on the science of food. After waking up from a nightmare, he googled on his phone, “food chemistry PhD” and found himself at the University of California, Davis for Food Biochemistry. Strategically located near Napa and Sonoma’s food scene and San Francisco’s thriving entrepreneurial food and tech hub, Davis was his master plan to be the guy where chefs call him. Between being an instructor for the Culinary Institute of America and a graduate student at Davis, he juggled being a freelance consultant for chefs, tapping into the new market of research chefs. Later, he co-founded a consulting firm with top research chefs and a stealthy food lawyer to help make his dream of becoming the go to people for solving food problems. Pilot R + D The genesis of Pilot R + D came through by recognizing collaboration between chefs with diverse research and development backgrounds is much better than independent work. As a special operations delta force, the band of chefs, Kyle Connaughton, Ali Bouzari, Dan Felder and Dana Peck (part lawyer and part chef), became the founding members of an innovation and development firm. Who you gonna call when you’re in need of help as a food and tech entrepreneur? Pilot R + D. Who acts as the hotline during the 11th hour as a fast casual service advisor? Pilot R + D. Research starts with eating a load of good food as a business expense. That’s a job worthwhile where one gets paid to eat food because of science and research! Aside from research, Ali and his colleagues solve problems with a hybrid ideology of product development/food science and culinary/chef mindset. With the approach of flavor being important and ingredient functionality in the context of the whole food, the team tries to figure out their limitations on each project to develop to their clients’ expectations. At times, they think about how pragmatic some projects are and aren’t afraid to admit the impractical demand of the project. That is not to say they are highly selective with their clients. They equally accept any range of proposals. To learn more about Pilot R + D, you can find more information here. Key Takeaways (this episode only) Read Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking Culinary Science Food ingredients in the context of chefs is to look at the whole ingredient, not the purified form What we talk about (this episode only) TED Talk Culinary Science Harold McGee UC Davis Biochemistry PhD Culinary Institute of America French Laundry Alton Brown Good Eats Pilot R&D Kyle Connaughton (Fat Duck) Dan Felder (Momofuku) Dana (Morrison Foerster) Grassroots consultancy for chefs Chef scientist Trend forecasting Ingredient Functionality Advice: Learn how to say I can’t do that or it can’t be done Flavor and Taste

So this interview was from a deal I made with Taryn Yee. I interview her… and then she would interview me. Ideally, I should have made this episode number 5, right? Why should I wait for episode 13? Well, my birthday is January 13th, a baker’s dozen has 13 of something, 13 is an unlucky number? Whichever explanation your prefer, I’ve decided to use my interview for episode 13. Here’s my point of view from my perspective. Taryn Yee asks some pretty funny questions in this one. If you would like to listen to more of our episodes, make sure to check out our itunes link. If you like them, we would love it if you could rate and review. Thanks! About Adam Yee I really don't like writing my own bio. Here's a bit on my linkedin: Food Science Professional who loves to learn all aspects of a business. Likes to get involved in multiple projects, never afraid to help out, and has a huge passion for food. Other activities include involvement in the cultural and food scene in Phoenix including: - Creating a meetup for Asian transplants in Arizona - Joining Asian focused non-profits to better understand community in Phoenix - Offering services to non-profit organizations to help local food buisnesses - Help multiple startups with innovative projects If you need any advice on the food industry or just want to talk, just message me! About Isagenix Isagenix International LLC is a Direct Sales company that markets dietary supplements and personal care products. The company, based in Gilbert, Arizona, was founded in 2002 by John Anderson, Jim Coover, and Kathy Coover. As of 2013 the company reported having over 200,000 active sales associates. In 2012, the company reported revenues of approximately $335 million. The majority of Isagenix's sales come from the United States. Key takeaways - What happens when you go all in when you choose a major in college - Using Science to improve creativity - Why we should invest in food education What we talk about Wednesday lunches with Adam Yee Jambalaya Takoyaki Disney competition Extrusion Phoenix Arizona Food startups Coffee We should focus on: Food education Favorite Quote: Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid Second Favorite Quote: Butter makes everything better Onion cutting goggles Favorite Book: Steve jobs autobiography Favorite Kitchen Item: Cast iron pan In and out Plant based Burger 4 People You'd Like Dinner With Alton Brown Andrew Zimmerman Anthony Bourdain (why I don't want him) Nigella Lawson Mark Zuckerberg  --> in hindsight, I'd choose Elon Musk   Download Episode

Food scientist and product developer Adam Yee is a graduate of Cal Poly's Food Science and Nutrition program and is already making a name for himself as a podcaster as the host of the Foodgrad.com My Food Job Rocks! Hear why Adam started his podcast with less than 2 years in the industry and why being a product developer is a balance of marketing and factory work. 

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast with me, Adam Yee. This is episode 5. We’re going to try something a little bit different this time, I think every 5 or so episodes, I really want to do a deep info session on certain things people don’t know about the food industry. In this episode, I want to talk about what is Food Science, and really, how to become a food scientist. I hope to use this episode to tell all of my friends what the heck I do. Moving to Phoenix where I absolutely knew no one, I’ve met a lot of new people and in most situations, I’ve had to say what I do for a living. I’ve tried things like my actual vague job title, when I first moved to phoenix this was: food processing technologist! What the heck was that? Then I changed to: “I work with food” but I’ve felt most comfortable saying what I’ve studied: I’m a food scientist. In most situations in my life, whenever I tell someone I’m a food scientist, they give me some strange look and tell me what the heck that is. I’m sure my colleagues will nod in agreement that this has happened once in their life. I hope in this episode, to really bring a brief introduction on what is Food Science and how you can remember this profession. Key takeaways: The definition of Food Science, and what they do Where you can study food science The difference between Food Science and Nutrition What We Talk About: Google’s definition of Food Science Institute of Food Technologist Sodium Benzoate in Soda Ethlyene  Splenda  Stevia Bacon Soda Chicory Root Fiber Flaming hot Cheetos EXO Cricket Protein Pea Milk (Ripple) Chapman University Food Science Accredited Food Science University Chipotle E.Coli Freeze Drying Extrusion American Institute of Baking Food Science vs Nutrition The next sewage blockage of 2016 (read the reviews)  Download Episode Official Transcript: If you google “Food Science”, the institute of Food Technologist writes up this definition: Food science is the study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food; and the concepts underlying food processing. Food technology is the application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of safe food. What this means is that every single item of food or beverage you buy in a grocery store has been influenced by a food scientist. I find that this is honestly the best explanation of being a food scientist. The best way I can explain the benefits of a food scientist is that they try to make food last as long as possible without it causing harm to you or have it taste awful. We are indeed responsible for adding preservatives to soda but we are also responsible for finding a way NOT to use preservatives, while also lowering the calories. We are responsible for pumping ethylene oxide into apples to make them grow bigger but also responsible in making sure organic, non-GMO apples get to the grocery store safe and sound. We are the ones who make splenda and stevia palatable and how to make soda taste like either root beer or bacon We are the ones who make your protein bars have chicory root fiber and the ones who make your Cheetos puffy or spicy… or whatever you desire. We can create bars out of crickets or milk out of vegetables. We are the ones who make sure you don’t get sick drinking juice or prevent bugs in your bread And whether you love these things or hate these things, we’re just doing our job: to feed the world. And most likely, we will need your help accomplishing this. To become a food scientist, you can either get a job at a facility that deals with food or major in food science at a university. Most people who claim themselves to be food scientists have food science degrees. I would argue that if you are a food technologist, whatever your educational background may be, which I think is a confusing title in itself, you can call yourself a food scientist. Food Science is a niche profession and an even nichier major. I hope that’s a word… Most who join the major don’t really know what it is and quite a few people switch majors right away once they find out that you might end up in a factory your whole life. Hey, I’m not going to sugar coat it, there are jobs in food science that may require you to be in a factory and as much as we don’t imagine the glamour of being in a factory making granola bars all day, you sometimes realize just how valuable that job experience has been. Speaking from experience, I sort of enjoyed the factory life for a year or two and you actually make quiet a bit of money because of how much overtime you make if you’re into that. In fact, most of the time, the factory life will highly out pay a product development job but the tradeoff is a stable work/life balance. Besides the point, I really want to dive in about all aspects on food science. So here are three common questions I’ve gotten as a food scientist. I’m sure a lot of my friends who are also food scientists get this a lot. Question 1: Where can you study Food Science? Food Science is usually offered in land grant universities or universities that have a department of agriculture. There are exceptions to both situations. For example, the University of Arizona does not have a food science program even though it is a land-grant university and private institutions like Chapman University have started offering food science in their curriculum. For a list of accredited food science universities, please make sure you go to the show notes and check out the accredited food science programs available across the nation. Food Science is decently Chemistry based and a lot of the focus will be in Biochemistry because you are dealing with macromolecules such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins on the daily. The more you really understand basic chemistry, the more food science starts to make sense. Probably the second most important class to focus on is microbiology as the most important part in the industry is to understand how to prevent bad stuff like salmonella from growing. Pro tip, it’s mainly the amount of water and how much heat it takes to kill the things. Most curriculums offer a buffet of professions including: Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sensory Analysis, Food Chemistry, Food Analysis, Food Law, Food Engineering, Packaging, Processing, and Product Development. Each one of these subjects act as kind of a job orientation and throughout your food career, you can kind of choose which subject you would like to follow. For example, you can choose to be Quality Assurance Manager, a Sensory Scientist, a Flavor Chemist, or a Product Developer. So some of these sound weird, right? Let me explain some examples of the subjects the universities teach: Quality Assurance: Where we make sure that the processes and ingredients we use to make food are in compliance with the government and with the consumer. You will learn what’s really needed in the food industry to make sure your food is consistent and edible. Food Safety: Basically how to react and prevent food outbreaks. We hear all the time on how E.coli or listeria can cause massive recalls. Food Safety classes are designed on how we can keep our food safe, which is the most important thing you have to think about when making food and distributing it to millions. Food outbreaks can literally kill a food company. Sensory Analysis: Literally a class where you eat things all day. Applying statistics, you will learn about how to find if results between two to ten things are significant or not. We use sensory analysis a lot in the food industry because people have to actually like the taste of the food that is being sold. We also use sensory to replace ingredients, for example, if this organic version can match the original version, or if this new flavor is better than this old one. Food Chemistry: Basically applying what you know about biochemistry and using it on food. In this class, you understand how things get thick when you add flour to soup, why you should coat biscuits with oil before packaging, and why some sugars are super sticky and why some are rock solid. Food Analysis: This is a cool class, but I’d say is very niche in the industry. Here, you understand how to use machines and chemicals to break down food to its basic components and measure its content. This is used extensively with nutrition labeling on your little nutrition facts on every food product. Food Law: A dry subject, but very important; Here you will learn about the FDA and USDA as well as knowing the regulations it takes to slap on a label for food products. Things you would never notice has to be on the package such as: net weight, manufacturing date, and what fonts to use on the label. Food Engineering: The most confusing topic to discuss with your friends because it makes people believe you’re really smart when it’s basically just moving water around mathematically. It’s basically using very basic engineering concepts to help you do your job. It’s meant for you to be the middleman between the scientist saying how much water needs to be in this bottle and the engineer/mechanic to adjust the machines to do such a thing. Some examples of applying food engineering include: measuring the expansion of water when frozen in orange juice concentrates, how much you have to adjust the amount of water when switching to a more watery syrup, and, how many ingredients you need to add back in when your professor accidentally spills part of your incomplete mixture of BBQ sauce! Packaging: Why do we package food? To keep it safe, contained, and as a wicked marketing tool. You also learn about how paper, glass, metal and plastic are made and why they are so versatile. Processing: Here you get to learn how we can create 10,000 lbs of granola bars a day. Basically, learning about all of the necessary machines to make a lot of food. In basic classes, you learn how to dehydrate, refrigerate, and pretty much boil water but in more advanced classes, we learn the science of how freeze drying, microwaves, and extrusion works. Product Development: You make your own product using all of the skills you learned in your previous class. So you will also take some microbiology, statistics, calculus, organic chemistry, biology, nutrition, and physics courses. You know, the fun stuff. There are also plenty of electives you can take. I’ve taken an awesome bakery science course and my friends have taken things like fermentation, meat processing, wine making, and cheese making as one of their electives. If you don’t like science, food science might not be for you. But if you truly love food, then you will find this a very rewarding profession. Next Question: What’s the difference between food science and nutrition? A lot of my food science friends mock this question when their aunt questions them: “Oh, food science? Is that like nutrition?” On my first day of orientation to the food science major, the room was shared with food science students and nutrition students. Heck, even before orientation, I didn’t know the difference either What the professor said has resonated with me ever since: Food Science is farm to fork, Nutrition is afterwards. In other words, Food Science is before we eat the food, Nutrition is what the food does to the body. Food Science includes but is not limited to growing, storing, processing, distributing, packaging, From apples to apple sauce, to apple strudel at your hotel breakfast, all have been inspected and blessed(-ish) by the science of safety, quality, sensory, and processing. But don’t get me wrong, these two professions are getting ever more intermingled and every year it seems like the line blurs more and more. You see, us food scientists need to listen to nutritionists to make our products more attractive and more healthy. That’s the trend nowadays: food needs to be healthy. No matter what. In my situation, I work for a popular health and wellness company and I talk to nutritionists daily to make sure my protein bars are low in sugar and high in protein, while maintaining taste, not decaying rapidly or turning as hard as a rock. I also love talking to nutritionists about which and how much fiber I can use without causing the next sewage blockage of 2016! And again, most nutritionists understand that certain things are needed to make our food taste better or last longer and I suggest really talking to someone who is actually a dietician the next time you hear a food is bad for you. Not your aunt. Unless your aunt is a nutritionist. Most bloggers who tout the media on stuff used in the food industry don’t really have the credentials to stake claims they make. I’m not naming names, but you see it all the time on social media how a blogger who as a major influencer can convince even the largest of companies not to put certain ingredients into their products. As an old professor used to say, “It’s not the poison, it’s the dose”. You can overdose on water, sugar, caffeine, and aspartame but science has proven through 100's of studies, they are OK in the recommended doses. There are millions of tests that the government mandates that tell people what’s safe and what’s not safe and in what amounts. Final Question: Do you get free food every day in your job? Short answer: yes Long answer: As long as you don’t work in a microbiology lab or you’re allergic to peanuts in a peanut factory, you will get free food. When I worked at a slaughterhouse for turkeys, I got a lot of free deli meat from the other plants. One time, I got steaks for a dollar a pound. When I worked at a granola bar factory, I ate granola bars for breakfast every day. My current job at a health and wellness company means I get free Whey Powder, pre-workout, and meal replacement bars. I don’t buy groceries. I would say the best perk in a food related job is the fact that you are guaranteed free food. It’s just how the industry works. Defects are going to be thrown away so you’re either going to get it for free or super cheap. So the next time you meet a food scientist, tell them you know what they do. The next time your cousin is choosing majors for college and you notice he loves food a lot, mention food science as an option. The next time you go to a grocery store, think about what goes in a food that uses good old fashion, science. Thank you for listening to episode 5. I hope you enjoyed this little lecture. Let me know what interests you. As always, sign up for our email list, like foodgrads on facebook, rate us high on itunes, leave a comment, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewee, or just really want to help out like I did, make sure to email us at podcast@foodgrads.com