The “Food IT: Soil to Fork” conference on June 20th at the Stanford Arrillaga Center in Palo Alto, CA is bringing together start-ups, investors and established IT, food, and agriculture innovators to discuss the application of IT across various aspects of the food industry. The conference is hosted by Stanford’s FEED Collaborative and the Mixing Bowl, a Silicon Valley-based forum dedicated to fostering IT innovation in food and agriculture.

Rob Trice, who founded the Mixing Bowl in 2013, notes that, “Unlike other industries, the food and agriculture sectors are not very well connected to Silicon Valley’s IT and innovation ecosystem, and yet many of the technologies that are changing food– like the Internet of Things, Big Data, Mobile and Social Marketing– are being led from here. The Mixing Bowl’s role is to better connect food, agriculture and IT innovators from around the world to Silicon Valley.”

The “Food IT: Soil to Fork” conference will bring together renowned speakers that have a wide-range of views to discuss topics including how IT is changing where and how food is grown, how it is moved and sold, and what IT can do to decrease food waste. The event will also have a fast-pitch business plan competition judged by leading venture capitalists called The Blender.

The one-day conference will include sessions covering:

  •     Innovations in Food and Agriculture
  •     How Technology Trends from Other Verticals Are Shaping the Food Value Chain
  •     Data Needs for Farmers
  •     Marketing Innovations for Food in Big Data and Social Media
  •     Food Waste Reduction through IT

More than 35 speakers across venture capital, food & agriculture and IT will participate, including:

  •     The Executive Directors of the Food Valley of the Netherlands and the New Zealand Food Innovation Network, will discuss the IT innovation activities in their “Silicon Valley of Food”
  •     Louis Thiery, director of Farm Hack, a volunteer-based farm innovation community, and CEO of an open-source low cost Arduino-based telemetry system for small farmers
  •     Steve Blank, renowned thought-leader on innovation discussing how the “lean start-up” methodology can be applied to food and agriculture
  •     Michiel Bakker, Head of Google Global Dining, focusing on new initiatives to support local farmers and expand healthy dining options for its employees

The latest agenda and list of speakers can be found at mixingbowl-sv.com/food-it-event/.

General registration for the Food IT: Soil to Fork Conference is now open. Participants have access to all conference sessions, networking event, and The Blender Venture Capital Pitch Session. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-it-soil-to-fork-tickets-11097495909?aff=eac2.

Qualified media can register for a complimentary Food IT: Soil to Fork Conference press pass by contacting mixingbowlsv(at)gmail(dot)com.

About the Mixing Bowl 
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, The Mixing Bowl’s mission is to stimulate the adoption of IT innovation to the food and agriculture industries through business-focused dialogue between existing industry players, start-ups, investors, and other food innovators. Started in 2013, the Mixing Bowl consistently attracts the best and brightest across different disciplines in the food value chain to create opportunities to learn and share knowledge. The Mixing Bowl also helps emerging companies attract venture capital and collaboration with established players through its workshops, forums, and other events.