{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fb06fd567-ea82-415b-b7d1-cae281c9a223","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S2E17: John Purcell - Building a Sustainable Future by Falling In Love with the Solution, Not the Science","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show President and CEO of Unfold, Dr. John Purcell. John has dedicated his life to helping farmers safely and sustainably grow food using less of the earth\u2019s natural resources.\r\n\r\nIn his new role as President and CEO of Unfold Bio, John is continuing this same mission to improve the food ecosystem with more sustainable, fresher, and better-tasting fruits and vegetables. In this episode, Harry and John discuss John\u2019s previous work at Bayer and Monsanto, which led to innovations and diverse technologies for important global crops.\r\n\r\nJohn opens up about the passion he has for sustainability, the respect he has for farmers and his family ranching operation in Montana.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCeres Greenhouse Solutions\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n02:29 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show John Purcell, who shares his background in vertical farming, the impact of COVID-19 and the value he places on sustainability\r\n09:21 \u2013 What John learned from his time working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and highlights from his career overall\r\n16:12 \u2013 Leaders and mentors who have influenced John\u2019s career\r\n20:17 \u2013 John details his time at Bayer and the transition to his current role as CEO of Unfold\r\n24:40 \u2013 John speaks to the challenges of growing a startup and building a team\r\n29:58 \u2013 John reflects on the many segments of vertical farming and where Unfold operates in this landscape\r\n36:45 \u2013 John defines the term \u2018germplasm\u2019 and talks about how he decides which crops to work on\r\n43:28 \u2013 John provides his thoughts on preparing for unforeseen circumstances\r\n44:59 \u2013 A tough question John has had to ask himself lately, something John has changed his mind about recently and what excites John about the future of vertical farming\r\n51:45 \u2013 Harry thanks John for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can learn more about Unfold\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cAny definition of sustainability also has to include the economic sustainability for the farmer.\u201d(09:01)\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s great to have incredible science \u2013 and we need incredible science \u2013 but if you\u2019re using that science to come up with a solution that actually tackles a really big challenge we have, that\u2019s just so rewarding.\u201d(14:51)\r\n\r\n\u201cThe missing ingredient has been genetics; it\u2019s really been the biology side of things. And I think that they\u2019ve done an amazing job of building these production facilities and are able to control the environmental parameters so exquisitely.\u201d(28:34)\r\n\r\n\u201cA lot of the time and resources you spend to have that seed that works well \u2013 in open field for example \u2013 is to build in resistances to diseases or pests\u2026so you have to have seed that withstands all of this variability from an environmental perspective.\u201d(37:52)\r\n\r\n\u201cAnytime you can shave days off of how long it takes to get to the store and then to the consumer, that\u2019s huge.\u201d(42:23)\r\n\r\n\u201cOne of the things I hope the industry does is don\u2019t disparage other ways of producing foods cause everybody\u2019s working their butts off trying to do things right. My mom always said, \u2018don\u2019t raise yourself by pushing other people down.\u2019 And, I always took that to heart.\u201d(49:27)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nUnfold Website\r\n\r\nUnfold Twitter\r\n\r\nUnfold LinkedIn\r\n\r\nJohn\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/3c273f50-2369-4c10-9235-afb95db63624/image.jpg"}