Bridge Builder

Read the Institute of Food Technology's Food Technology Magazine profile of me and my humanitarian work in developing countries, focusing on food science and food security.

Link to article: Bridge Builder - IFT.org

summary

🌍Career path

• Began in major food companies (Unilever, Nabisco, Nestlé, Givaudan).

• A corporate restructuring pushed a rethink of purpose; I could use my technical and business expertise to support entrepreneurs in developing countries.

• First assignment (Land O’Lakes Farmer-to-Farmer, 2003) in South Africa revealed the power of value-added processing (e.g., yogurt, butter, fermented products) and that

  in international development food science was missing from food security strategies.

🍅 Why Food Science Is Underused in Aid Work

• Focus is heavily on agriculture and nutrition, not on food processing.

• Often misunderstand “processing,” assuming it means industrialized, unhealthy foods.

• Overlook how basic processing—drying, milling, fermenting—can:

  • Increase farmer income.

  • Reduce postharvest losses.

  • Improve nutrition.

  • Create local jobs and stable food systems

🧪 What Food Science Can Solve

1. Shelf-life extension

   • Reduces waste during gluts and prevents “hungry seasons.”

2. Food safety

   • Training small processors is essential and often overlooked.

3. Postharvest loss reduction

   • Up to 30–40% of food is wasted—enough to feed 800 million people.

4. Local product development

   • Using local crops to create nutritious, affordable foods.

👥 Approach With Entrepreneurs

• Never assuming to know more than local producers.

• Use questions, listening, and co-creation to uncover solutions.

• Example: A Kenyan women’s group developed their own marketing ideas when given space to lead.

• Emphasizes respect, inclusion, and contextual understanding.

🎓 Food Science for Relief and Development (FSRD)

Founded FSRD under IFT to:

• Raise awareness of food science’s role in development.

• Build bridges between:

  • The food industry (which rarely engages in development work).

  • The development sector (which rarely includes food science).

• Write up case studies of real-world applications of food science

• Inspire students and young professionals seeking purpose-driven careers.

🌱 Development vs. Humanitarian Relief

• Humanitarian work: emergency and crisis settings

• Development work:  longer-term economic and social development; this

  offers the greatest potential for food science and technology.

🧩 Key Myth to Dispel

The world is not short of food.   We waste enough to feed everyone; the issue is distribution and postharvest loss.