The 2023 Virtual Summit on Ag & Food Tech brought together attendees virtually from around the world over three days to watch, learn, and discuss the latest topics on food and agriculture.
On day 1, we learned about how precision fermentation can create nutritious and sustainable food products, strategies for scaling regenerative agriculture, and the intersection of food and medicine.
On day 2, we learned about how global challenges have impacted supply chains, the benefits to implementing progressive labor practices, and the challenges and benefits to creating a premium brand. On day 3, we explored topics like the circular economy, sustainability measurement and reporting, and gene editing technology.
Lastly, we had three budding entrepreneurs pitch live at the finals of our startup competition.
300+ Total attendees | 32 Countries represented | $1,600 Raised for out charity partner.
Tuesday, April 25: Looking Backwards |
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11:45 pm – 12:00 pm |
Opening Remarks by the Tuck Food & Ag Club Co-chairs (Class of 2023) |
| 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm | Fireside Chat: Entrepreneurship and Building a Better Food System through Machine Learning with Jasmin Hume (CEO & Founder, Shiru) |
| 01:00 pm – 01:45 pm | Panel: Cultivating Change – Precision Fermentation and the Future of Food
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| 02:00 pm – 02:45 pm | Panel: How Can We Scale Regenerative Agriculture?
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| 03:00 pm – 03:45 pm | Panel: Food as Medicine – Investors, Companies, and Policies Changing Human Health
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| 05:00 pm – 05:45 pm | Fireside Chat: Creating Winning New Food Products with Mike Adair (T’09) (CEO and Co-Founder of Red’s All Natural) and Adam Melonas (CEO and Founder of Chew Innovation and FastFood) |
Wednesday, April 26: Looking at 2023 |
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| 01:00 pm – 01:45 pm | Panel: Supply Chain Vulnerability
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| 02:00 pm – 02:45 pm | Fireside Chat: Building a Distinctive Employee Culture with John Pepper (T’97) (Co-Founder and Chief Worker Advocate of Boloco) and Professor Scott Anthony (D’96) (Tuck School of Business) |
| 03:00 pm – 03:45 pm | Panel: De-commodification and Premiumization – Brand, Scale and Consumer Education
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Thursday, April 27 :Looking Forwards |
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| 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm | Fireside Chat: Supercharging Plants with Dan Jacques (T’93) (Vice President Of Business Development, Sound Agriculture) |
| 01:00 pm – 01:45 pm | Panel: Circular economy and upcycling food waste
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| 02:00 pm – 02:45 pm | Panel: Sustainability measurement and reporting
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| 03:00 pm – 03:45 pm | Fireside Chat: Net Zero with Harry Morrison (Partner, Sustainability & Responsibility Practice, Bain & Company) |
| 04:00 pm – 04:45 pm | Keynote: Gene-editing Technology for Healthier Produce with Haven Baker (Co-Founder, Chief Business Officer, Pairwise) |
| 05:00 pm – 06:00pm | Start-up competition: Final |
| 06:00 pm – 06:15pm | Closing remarks by the incoming Tuck Food & Ag co-chairs (Class of 2024) |
Jesse LaFlamme
Former CEO
Pete & Gerry’s
Dan Jacques (T’93)
VP of Business Development
Sound Agriculture
Jasmin Hume
CEO & Founder
Shiru
Irina Gerry
Chief Momentum Officer
Change Foods
Mark Lewis
Managing Partner
Trailhead Capital
Robyn O’brien
Founder
Sirona Ventures
Laura Katz
CEO
Helaina
Harry Morrison
Partner, Sustainability & Responsibility Practice
Bain & Company
Daniel Kurzrock
CEO & Founder
ReGrained
Christina Lampert
Director of Growth & Innovation
HowGood
Mike Wise
VP
S2G Ventures
Deirdre Heekin
Winegrower and Author
La garagista farm + winery
Haven Baker
Co-Founder
Pairwise
Ariel Blumovich (T’10)
Founder & CEO
YDLabs
Jed Davis
VP, Strategic Engagement and Sustainability
Cabot Creamery
Blythe Chorn
Managing Director
KPMG US
John Pepper
Co-Founder and Chief Worker Advocate
Boloco
Matthew Banks
Associate Director of Sustainability
Guidehouse
Mike Adair (T’09
CEO
Red’s All Natura
Bill Tine
Chief Marketing Officer
King Arthur Baking
Ferdi van Heerden
CEO
Cooko
Ayodeji Balogun
CEO
AFEX Commodities Exchange
Kendall Singleton
VP of Partnerships and Compliance
Nourished Rx
Adam Melonas
CEO and Founder
Chew Innovation + Fastfood
We are excited to have Willing Hands as our 2023 charity partner! Willing Hands recovers fresh food from farms, grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers to deliver it year-round, for free, to 80 social service organizations across the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
All proceeds from registration fees will go towards Willing Hands. Please visit their website to learn more!
The 2023 VSAFT Startup Competition featured exciting startups in the agriculture, food, and technology space.
Competition Details
Top 10 companies land on the desk of prominent foodtech VCs. Winner receives 1:1 advisory time with advisors. Top 3 companies presented live virtually to prominent foodtech VCs on April 27, 2023 @ 5pm w/ judge Q&A.
Company Eligibility:
- Raised < $500k in dilutive funding
- Operating in the food & ag space
- Less than 5 years old
Pitch competition judges
Natalie Cira
Principle
BHP Ventures
Schuyler Dalton
Impact Investing (Regenerative Agriculture)
World Wildlife Fund
Monica Pani
Senior Associate
LDC Innovations at Louis Dreyfus Company
Advisors for Winners
José Alvarez
Clinical Professor of Business Administration,
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Schuyler Dalton
Impact Investing (Regenerative Agriculture)
World Wildlife Fund
Jim Feuille
Venture Partner
Crosslink Capital
Tobin Krieg
Principal
Falcon Ventures
Daniella Reischstetter
Clinical Professor of Business Administration,
Faculty Advisor (Center for Entrepreneurship),
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Executive Committee
Clara Auvray-Stiritz T’23
Julia Megson T’23
Kathleen Barada T’23
Emma Toogood T’23
Julia Goldman T’23
Osmond Wang T’23
Committee Members
Olakunle Alao T’24
Valeria Barbosa T’24
Laura D’Angelo T’24
Liza Green T’23
Mia Loiferman T’23
Seamus O’Neill T’24
Sydney Reichert T’24
Madeline Soutter T’23
Alfredo Baudet T’23
Bill Dudine T’24
Isabella Ford T’23
Pierce Gibson T’24
Gagan Makhija T’24
Laura Peterson T’24
Abhishek Senapati T’24
Yuka Sugimori T’23
Charlotte Biffar T’23
Hannah Darpoe T’24
Joseph Flaherty T’24
Claire Hogan T’24
Katie Murphy T’24
Elizabeth Raboy T’23
Varna Sharma T’22
Charley Yu T’23
Faculty Advisors
José Alvarez
Clinical Professor of Business Administration
James Feuille
Adjunct Professor; Faculty Adviser, Center for PEVC
