How can tech help the food you eat? Summit explores ways
A Modesto gathering explored high tech’s place in farming and food processing, and in educating people about what they eat.
The second annual AgTech Summit took place Thursday at the Modesto Junior College West Campus. Close to 250 people discussed how technology can help with irrigation, pest control, food safety and related tasks.
The summit was sponsored by several businesses and other entities involved in California’s vast food industry.
Speakers noted, for example, how high tech can conserve water with devices that monitor soil moisture. The same goes for plant tissue when deciding when to fertilize. Producers can use other tools to manage personnel and assure that food is not tainted.
One panel included people from Foster Farms poultry, the Save Mart grocery chain and Olam Spices. The Fresno-based spice company makes monthly videos of its supplier farmers and shows them to wholesale customers, said Adrienne Gifford, global head of sustainability. She suggested doing the same for retail shoppers to spread the message about wholesome food.
“That’s a wonderful thing,” she said, “and I think that story needs to come out.”
Other panelists noted the need to keep customers updated when products are recalled, since many hear about them via social media.
These channels can convey a key message about the domestic food supply, said Martha Montoya, chief executive officer at AgTools in Irvine: “Everything USA is safe. It’s regulated. It’s protected.”
The summit also featured a talk by the Beyer High School robotics team about agricultural uses of this technology.
