Jun 12, 2019
“The interest that consumers have in understanding
where and how their food was grown is only going to
increase.”
Wendelyn Jones (30:51-31:01)
In 2017, Dow Chemical and DuPont Chemical merged with the intent of spinning out into three different companies. Its Agriculture Division forms a company known as Corteva Agriscience with a purpose to, “enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come.”
Dr. Wendelyn Jones is the Global Leader of Food Chain and Brand Protection at Corteva Agriscience. Lori was privileged to meet her at the Produce for Better Health Foundation Conference and found her to be a compelling presence who exemplifies leadership in action.
“I’m going to be a better steward of agriculture with what I’ve learned from Wendelyn, carrying that forward as we educate consumers on all of their top questions and inquiries as it relates to agriculture and fresh produce.” -Lori Taylor (36:16-36:26)
While the farmer is Corteva’s main customer, they understand that they need to enrich the lives of the consumer as well as the farmer. While they continue to do the work they’ve traditionally done as it applies to the farm, the products that come out of the farm in the harvest of fruits and vegetables is also important to them. Farming is ultimately about keeping people healthy, active, and well-fed, and Corteva plays a vital role in this end goal.
In addition to supplying the farmer with seeds, Corteva also supplies crop protection in the forms of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides - all important tools for the farmer in producing nutritious, pest-free fruits and vegetables. The farmer strategically applies these to both organic and conventional crops to protect them from insects, weeds, and diseases.
Corteva’s customer driven, global business service, Connext, links its seeds and crop protection products to farmers, food processors, food retailers, and ultimately, consumers. It provides leadership throughout the food supply chain to collaborate the work of the farmers, food processors, and retailers to meet the changing tastes and trends of the consumers.
Authenticating Products to Prevent Counterfeit and Illegal Products
About 10% of the seeds and crop protection products sold worldwide are fake, impacting sustainable development around the world and creating a serious threat to consumers. Corteva is committed to combating and stopping this criminal activity.
Authentic products go through intensive testing and regulatory evaluations before they are placed on the market, ensuring that the start of our food - the seeds that farmers plant and the care they give those plants - is genuine and authentic.
Counterfeit products don’t go through any of this testing, resulting in products that cause harm to the environment, to water, to food, and to farmer yield. Illegal products cost everyone billions of dollars.
Putting a stop to criminal activity requires a joint effort. All the players in the food and ag space need to be committed to buying and using only authentic products.
Blockchain is quickly becoming the standard in this effort. Blockchain is a list of digital records contained within a QR code or other kind of label tag which contains transaction data. When food processors, retailers, and consumers scan this code from a label on a product, they can trace that fruit or vegetable all the way back through the distribution channel and know what seeds and crop protection products the farmer used to produce it.
“We play a role in helping support the consumer availability of the needed quality, nutrition, and safety.”
- Wendelyn Jones (17:15-17:26)
If you want to find out more about Corteva, visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to connect with Dr. Wendelyn Jones on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out to her.
Wendelyn looks forward to accepting connections through The Produce Moms and to continuing to work with Lori in helping to drive change in food and agriculture.
How to get involved
- Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!
- Reach out to us - we’d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.
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