{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F9120a070-f81f-4cc6-9b3f-9ecc0746c11e","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S4E42: Rosario Iacono - What a Tomato Should Be","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono. Rosario is the Founder of Kasveista, a concept stage startup aiming to produce open-source seeds and seedlings for vertical farming. Their goal is to help modern vertical farms expand their range of products by providing seeds and seedlings of tomato of varieties specifically selected for vertical farming.\r\n\r\nToday, Harry and Rosario talk about the incredible work Rosario is doing at Kasveista and why he chose to focus on the tomatoes as his first crop. Rosario talks about the incredibly vast varieties of tomatoes and shares tips for those who want to grow tomatoes at home. They explain the open source model and why it\u2019s critical to Rosario\u2019s business. Finally, Rosario talks about what\u2019s next for Kasveista, what excites him about the future and how we can educate the masses on vertical farming.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCULTIVATD\r\nFreight Farms\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n05:02 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Rosario Iacono, who joins the show to discuss his company, Kasveista, and his vertical farming origin story\r\n11:13 \u2013 The incredible vast variety of tomatoes\r\n16:18 \u2013 Tips for people growing tomatoes at home\r\n17:01 \u2013 What Rosario has discovered about tomatoes throughout the years\r\n20:54 \u2013 Intensive research and experimentation in vertical farming\r\n28:24 \u2013 Rosario\u2019s team at Kasveista\r\n31:59 \u2013 The Open Source Model explained and why it is so critical\r\n39:44 \u2013 Surprises and challenges from Rosario\u2019s vertical farming journey\r\n44:27 \u2013 What\u2019s next for Kasveista\r\n47:54 \u2013 Something Rosario has changed his mind about recently\r\n51:52 \u2013 Harry thanks Rosario for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can learn more about Kasveista and connect with Rosario\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cI was getting tomatoes from Sicily in London. But there is no compromise. You either make a tomato that can travel for sixteen hour on a truck, or you make a tasty tomato.\u201d(09:42) (Rosario\r\n\r\n\u201cWhat I learned is you can influence a lot of the taste and you can change a lot by the techniques you use to grow the tomatoes.\u201d(17:47) (Rosario)\r\n\r\n\u201cI try to not think about what a tomato is. I try to think in terms of what a tomato should be now and redraw it from scratch.\u201d (19:01) (Rosario)\r\n\r\n\u201cEveryone should have access to food. And access to food is access to seeds.\u201d(34:39) (Rosario)\r\n\r\n\u201cAssuming we can get the funding, I have many ideas that I would like to see happening. First of all, expanding to more and more crops that can be grown in vertical farming. I see the world asking for it.\u201d(44:42) (Rosario)\r\n\r\n\u201cI think where the education could really start is at school. I think children are really the key to make vertical farming cool. Because through children, you educate their parents.\u201d (49:36) (Rosario)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nRosario\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nKasveista Website\r\n\r\nKasveista Instagram\r\n\r\nKasveista Facebook\r\n\r\nSponsor Info:\r\n\r\nCultivatd Website\r\n\r\nCultivatd Instagram\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Twitter\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Facebook\r\n\r\nFreight Farms Website\r\n\r\nFreight Farms Facebook\r\n\r\nFreight Farms Twitter\r\n\r\n\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\r\n\r\nPodcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34y\r\n\r\nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/ac123b8c-7fc3-496f-b6a6-d53b7dd389f3/image.jpg"}