Did you know that Chicago is theglobal hub for agribusiness commodities and the capital of Midwest agriculture?Chicago Booth is fortunate enough to have over 1000 alumni in the industry atthe cutting edge of each step of the value chain.
Last week, I attended the FEAD FallForum at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago.* FEAD (Food, Environment, Agribusiness,and Development) isone of 70+ student-led groups at Booth, and currently the second largestcareer-focused group on campus. For a group that was just established this pastspring, their activity and amazing growth is quite the accomplishment! And witha packed house of close to 100 attendees at the forum including students,alumni, and staff from Admissions, Career Services, and Academic Services,there is clearly a strong interest from the Booth community as a whole.
After a welcome by Stacey Kole, Deputy Dean for the Full-Time MBAProgram, the moderator Scott Meadow, Clinical Professor ofEntrepreneurship, continued the conversation with the diversely representedpanel: Geoff Anderson, Director of Global Citizenship and Strategic Planning,John Deere, Kathy Nyquist, ’09, Founder of New Venture Advisors LLC, DanaBeningo, Head of Green City Market, and Curtis Hector, Senior Brand Manager,ConAgra Foods.* A few topics from thepanel discussion that grabbed me:
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These are just a few key points thatresonated with me. You can read more about this forum from the studentperspective on the group’s blog.
As I was leaving the event, I wasapproached by a student I got to know well as a new admit who is currently oneof the FEAD co-chairs. He reminded me that he actually wrote about startingthis student group in his application two years ago!* It was pretty fulfilling for me personally tosee the excitement on his face that he’s had the opportunity to pursue thispassion and make that dream a reality.
This Friday, I’ll be attending our Healthcare Group Conference, so until then, have agreat rest of the week and hope you all had a nice holiday!
Cheers,
Bryce*
More...
Last week, I attended the FEAD FallForum at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago.* FEAD (Food, Environment, Agribusiness,and Development) isone of 70+ student-led groups at Booth, and currently the second largestcareer-focused group on campus. For a group that was just established this pastspring, their activity and amazing growth is quite the accomplishment! And witha packed house of close to 100 attendees at the forum including students,alumni, and staff from Admissions, Career Services, and Academic Services,there is clearly a strong interest from the Booth community as a whole.
After a welcome by Stacey Kole, Deputy Dean for the Full-Time MBAProgram, the moderator Scott Meadow, Clinical Professor ofEntrepreneurship, continued the conversation with the diversely representedpanel: Geoff Anderson, Director of Global Citizenship and Strategic Planning,John Deere, Kathy Nyquist, ’09, Founder of New Venture Advisors LLC, DanaBeningo, Head of Green City Market, and Curtis Hector, Senior Brand Manager,ConAgra Foods.* A few topics from thepanel discussion that grabbed me:
Health & Nutrition: some success has been made in tackling child obesity at thecommunity level, but this is still a significant concern in the United States.* With many dual-income families, cooking athome is becoming more and more challenging, so it’s even more important to haveaccessible and convenient natural food options.*But, even when accessible, consumers often still rely too heavily ontaste over nutrition.
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Farming & Food Production: technological advances have certainly been made inproduction to make food healthier, but sometimes sales still decline as consumersget used to certain taste profiles and tend to not like change.* The greatest food production currently occursin China, India, and the US, but production in Africa is on the rise and willbe a key player along with Brazil within the next ten years.
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Emerging Technology & Innovation: precision, precision, precision.* With sustainability top of mind, precisionagricultureis becoming the industrytrend.* By using data modeling, farmerscan pinpoint exact seed placement, appropriate fertilization, and hydration tobe accurate, affective, and efficient.* Post-harvestlogistics are becoming more important as the need to store and move largerquantities of food increases.
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Rise of Foodie Culture: consumers are hungry and searching for authenticity.* They are driven to find the source of food,and taste local specialties. The trend of having dinner out is becoming more ofan experience where you pay for an evening of entertainment.*
*
Farming & Food Production: technological advances have certainly been made inproduction to make food healthier, but sometimes sales still decline as consumersget used to certain taste profiles and tend to not like change.* The greatest food production currently occursin China, India, and the US, but production in Africa is on the rise and willbe a key player along with Brazil within the next ten years.
*
Emerging Technology & Innovation: precision, precision, precision.* With sustainability top of mind, precisionagricultureis becoming the industrytrend.* By using data modeling, farmerscan pinpoint exact seed placement, appropriate fertilization, and hydration tobe accurate, affective, and efficient.* Post-harvestlogistics are becoming more important as the need to store and move largerquantities of food increases.
*
Rise of Foodie Culture: consumers are hungry and searching for authenticity.* They are driven to find the source of food,and taste local specialties. The trend of having dinner out is becoming more ofan experience where you pay for an evening of entertainment.*
These are just a few key points thatresonated with me. You can read more about this forum from the studentperspective on the group’s blog.
As I was leaving the event, I wasapproached by a student I got to know well as a new admit who is currently oneof the FEAD co-chairs. He reminded me that he actually wrote about startingthis student group in his application two years ago!* It was pretty fulfilling for me personally tosee the excitement on his face that he’s had the opportunity to pursue thispassion and make that dream a reality.
This Friday, I’ll be attending our Healthcare Group Conference, so until then, have agreat rest of the week and hope you all had a nice holiday!
Cheers,
Bryce*
More...