The Produce Industry Podcast w/ Patrick Kelly

Why did a blacksmith hide six cocoa pods under his tools to smuggle them past Spanish customs — and how did those six pods become the foundation of an industry that today supplies sixty percent of the world's chocolate? Who was Tetteh Quarshie, the man who spent six years watching cocoa grow on a plantation island before bringing the knowledge home to Ghana, and why has the credit for what he did been contested ever since? And what does it mean that the average cocoa farmer in Ghana earns a dollar a day for producing the raw material of a chocolate bar that sells for the same price?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Ghana and cocoa — the toolbox, the Cocoa Hold-Up of 1937, and the smallholder revolution that made a country from six pods...

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Why did 27 words buried in a Bavarian price regulation from 1516 become the most famous food law in history — and why did it take 402 years for anyone to give it the name that made it sound ancient and inevitable? What was in German beer before hops arrived, why did the Church control it, and how did switching ingredients become an act of theological protest during the Reformation? And how did Bavaria hold its entry into the German Empire hostage to the extension of its beer law — and win?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Germany and the Reinheitsgebot — the gruit monopoly, the hop revolution, and the purity commandment that forgot to mention yeast...

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Why did the man who just conquered India weep over a melon — and what does that tell us about the fruit that travelers from Ibn Battuta to Victorian cavalry officers have been stopping their journeys to describe for seven centuries? How did the river valleys of what is now Uzbekistan become the origin point of every sweet melon on Earth, and the crossroads through which paper-making, Islam, and Buddhism all passed in different directions? And who was Babur, the tiger who lost Samarkand twice, won an empire he couldn't love, and asked to be buried in a garden in Afghanistan?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Uzbekistan and the melon — the Silk Road, the Baburnama, and the concentrated sweetness of a fruit that still makes people stop and weep...

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Why does the most extravagant opera house in the history of South America sit in the middle of the Amazon rainforest — and how did a wild tree, a Connecticut hardware merchant's accident, and a debt bondage system built on human misery pay for Italian marble, Murano chandeliers, and a ceiling painted in Paris to look like the underside of the Eiffel Tower? Who was Henry Wickham, the man who took 70,000 rubber tree seeds out of Brazil and ended the boom in a single generation? And what happened to the opera house when the carriages stopped coming?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Brazil and rubber — the seringueiros, the Teatro Amazonas, and the most improbable building on Earth...

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Why did the most productive colony in the entire world — generating 40 percent of Europe's sugar from an area the size of Maryland — become the site of the only successful slave revolution in human history? How did a Vodou ceremony in a forest clearing, a Stoic-reading formerly enslaved general, and yellow fever combine to defeat Napoleon's army and reshape the political geography of North America? And why were the people who freed themselves required to compensate the people who enslaved them — and to keep paying, with interest, for 122 years?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Haiti and sugar — the Pearl of the Antilles, the Black Jacobins, and the revolution that the world has been trying to forget ever since...

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Why did the potato blight begin in Belgium before it reached Ireland — and why has the Flemish famine of 1845, which killed tens of thousands and stunted a generation, been almost entirely forgotten while the Irish catastrophe became the defining tragedy of a nation? What destroyed the linen industry of Flanders before the blight even arrived, and how did that earlier catastrophe turn a regional food crisis into something far worse? And what does DNA sequencing of museum specimens from 1845 reveal about where the most consequential agricultural disaster in European history actually began?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Belgium and the last great peacetime famine in Western Europe — the linen crisis, the Arm Vlaanderen, and the tragedy that Belgium forgot...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Dan the Produce Man brings you four groovy goodies for your 4th of July weekend. No watermelons. No corn. Just four fantastic summertime favorites.

We're talking legendary Brandywine heirloom tomatoes and why they're considered by many to be the best tasting tomato ever grown. Then it's the king of pluots. Which one is it? You'll have to stick around and find out. We'll also sink our teeth into sweet, juicy orange flesh honeydews and finish up with California potatoes, just in time for your holiday barbecue.

It's all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays, brought to you by the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media. Check out aglifemedia.com today.

Tune in for a timely discussion on the risks, opportunities, and innovations shaping the future of fresh produce in the face of rising temperatures.

Europe's latest heat wave is creating significant challenges across the fresh produce industry, from fields and orchards to distribution centers and retail shelves. In this episode of the Global Fresh Series, we explore how extreme temperatures are impacting crop yields, product quality, harvesting schedules, transportation logistics, and market pricing across key growing regions.

Join us as we examine the short- and long-term effects of climate-driven weather events on the global fresh produce supply chain, hear insights from industry experts, and discuss the strategies growers, shippers, and retailers are using to maintain supply, reduce losses, and build resilience in an increasingly volatile environment.

#heatstress. #Europeheatwave. #heatagriculture. agriculturesupplychain

Why did a Greek historian standing at the foot of the Great Pyramid in 450 BC record that its builders were fed on onions, garlic, and radishes — and what does the archaeology say about whether he was right? Who were the people who actually built the pyramids, and what does a daily logbook written by a middle-ranking official called Merer, found in a Red Sea harbour in 2013, tell us about the greatest construction project in human history? And why does the onion, cut open to reveal its concentric rings, turn out to be both the fuel of the pyramid builders and a sacred image of eternity?

Join John as he tells the story of Egypt and the onion — Herodotus, the workers' city at Giza, the oldest papyrus ever found, and the vegetable that runs through Egyptian life from the Predynastic period to breakfast this morning...

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Why did a Portuguese colonial sugar ban inadvertently create Cape Verde's national spirit — and what does it reveal about how cultures find ways through every door that's closed to them? How did ten uninhabited volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic become the birthplace of a creole language, a music of longing, and a sugarcane brandy whose flavour is specific to each valley's microbes? And what happens when the law designed to protect a traditional product becomes the mechanism that pushes out the people who made it traditional?

Join John and his special co-host as they tell the story of Cape Verde and grogue — the wild fermentation, the Barefoot Diva, the grogue wars, and the saudade that runs through all of it...

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Why do Bosnian Muslims make and celebrate a plum brandy that Islamic law technically forbids — and what does their answer to that question reveal about four centuries of Ottoman rule, Balkan identity, and the extraordinary weight of contingency behind things that seem simple? How did the Ottomans simultaneously bring distillation to the Balkans, prohibit alcohol, and shape the culture that would eventually inscribe plum brandy on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list? And what is in a glass of šljivovica that a supermarket bottle of slivovitz will never contain?

Join John as he tells the story of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the plum — the copper still, the neighbors arriving in October, and the soul extracted from a fruit that has outlasted every political settlement imposed on this landscape...

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Why did a restless boy from a rural Swedish parsonage end up giving a name to every living thing on Earth — and how did he build a system so durable that it still runs as the operating system of modern biology, long after the theology behind it was overturned? How did the invention of the index card, a near-fatal journey through Lapland, and three years in the Dutch botanical gardens produce twelve thousand species names and a framework that has since scaled to potentially a trillion? And what do we do with the fact that the same man who placed humans in the animal kingdom also used his taxonomic authority to give scientific credibility to racial hierarchy?

Join John and a special co-host as they tell the story of Sweden and Carl Linnaeus — the apostles he sent around the world, the specimens that ended up in Piccadilly, and the system that names everything...

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Why does the Emperor of Japan — head of state of one of the most technologically advanced nations on Earth — wade into a rice paddy every year to plant seedlings by hand, and harvest them in autumn by torchlight? How did a grain that arrived from the Korean peninsula three thousand years ago become not just the foundation of Japanese civilisation, but the source of imperial legitimacy, the unit of feudal taxation, and the subject of the world's first commodity futures market? And what does it mean that turtle shell divination was used in 2019 to select the rice fields for a new Emperor's enthronement ceremony?

Join John as he tells the story of Japan and rice — the sun goddess, the koku economy, and the three-thousand-year thread connecting the first Yayoi farmers to the Imperial Palace paddy in Tokyo...

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Why did the civilisation that invented writing, cities, and law destroy the very soil that made it possible — and why are sixty to seventy percent of those same fields still poisoned by salt today? How did two scholars at the University of Chicago, reading cuneiform grain records from 2400 BC, discover that the fall of Sumer was not caused by war or plague but by a slow, invisible chemical process that no amount of ingenuity could stop? And what does it mean that the Sumerians could see it happening, recorded it meticulously on clay tablets, and kept irrigating anyway?

John tells the story of Iraq and the land between the rivers — the white crust on the fields of Uruk, the dying date palms of Basra, and the most quietly devastating title in the history of academic writing...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Dan "The Produce Man" Avakian takes you through some of the best fresh produce in season. This week's lineup includes Mini Midnight watermelons, legendary Suncrest peaches, sweet and flavorful Peach Pie donut peaches, Sun Gold tomatoes, Italian sweet Marconi peppers, plus a quick produce tidbit on Chipperbec potatoes. Whether you're shopping at your local grocery store or farmers market, you'll get tips on what to look for, how to pick the best produce, and why these seasonal favorites deserve a spot on your table. It's all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays, brought to you by The Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media. Be sure to visit AgLifeMedia.com today.

Why did a Jesuit republic of 140,000 people in the subtropical forests of South America — with its own armed militia, its own printing presses, its own Baroque composers, and the only successful mate plantation in colonial history — get destroyed by a riot about hats? How did the Guaraní and the Society of Jesus together solve a domestication mystery that no one else could crack, and why did that knowledge vanish the moment the priests were expelled?

Join John as he tells the story of Paraguay and yerba mate — the Jesuit utopia, the bandeirante raiders, the angel faces carved in subtropical sandstone, and the leaf that built a kingdom...

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How did a shipping clerk in Antwerp discover one of the greatest crimes of the nineteenth century simply by paying attention to which ships were carrying what — and why did it take a decade of missionary photographs, a British consul's report, and Mark Twain's pen to force the world to look? Why did the invention of the pneumatic tyre turn a wild Congo rubber vine into the engine of an atrocity that halved the population of an entire country? And what made Leopold II's Congo Free State different from every other colonial horror?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the Democratic Republic of Congo — King Leopold's rubber state, the severed hands, the missionaries with cameras, and the first international human rights movement that finally forced the world to look...

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Why does it take between 150,000 and 200,000 flowers — and up to 470 hours of human labour — to produce a single kilogram of saffron, and why has the plateau of La Mancha been the place where that labour happens for over a thousand years? What did the Moors actually bring to Spain, and why does every Spanish cook who reaches for the azafrán, the arroz, or the aceite speak a culinary history that maps directly onto what happened in those Andalusian fields between 711 and 1492? And what is the specific, irreversible tragedy of expelling the people who know how to maintain an irrigation system?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Spain and the Arab Agricultural Revolution — the acequias, the Morisco expulsion, and the red-gold threads still harvested at dawn in La Mancha by the same method the Moors left behind...

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Join the Global Fresh Series as we follow the journey of apples across continents and discover how growers, importers, and retailers work together to ensure European consumers continue to enjoy premium apples long after the local season ends. We discuss the outlook for the overseas apple program, changing trade flows, growing demand for premium varieties such as Pink Lady® and Rosy Glow, and how retailers are navigating a balanced market with stable pricing and consistent quality. The episode also examines the increasing importance of global sourcing, supply chain coordination, and year-round availability in today's fresh produce industry.

#freshappleimports #Europefreshapples #consumersapples #appleexpots

Why was the most famous coffee farmer in the world a Cuban-American opera singer from Havana who had never visited Colombia — and how did a fictional man with a mule named Conchita become one of the most successful advertising characters in the history of capitalism? What is the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros, the institution that built its own roads, its own bank, and its own merchant fleet to protect 540,000 smallholder families from the commodity trap? And how did a research centre founded in 1938 end up saving the entire Colombian coffee industry from a fungal epidemic forty years later?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Colombia and coffee — Juan Valdez, the parafiscal tax, and the real institution behind the fictional farmer...

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Why does the word "paradise" — as used in every European language, in Arabic, in Urdu — simply mean "walled garden" in Old Persian, and what does that tell us about the civilisation that turned a horticultural achievement into humanity's vision of the afterlife? How did Cyrus the Great build a garden in the middle of one of Earth's most extreme deserts using a 3,000-year-old technology that is still working today? And why does the Taj Mahal, visited by millions who have never heard of the chahar bagh, turn out to be the most famous Persian garden on Earth?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Iran and the paradise garden — the qanats, the four rivers of the Quran, and the walled enclosure that became heaven...

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Why does a single spontaneous genetic mutation in a Styrian pumpkin field — sometime in the nineteenth century — matter enough to trigger diplomatic rows, European Parliament debates, and a forensic investigation involving rare earth element fingerprinting? How did an oil so dark it looks like used engine oil become both a peasant medicine worth its weight in gold and a gourmet product evaluated by specialist juries? And why are there now two legally protected "Styrian pumpkin seed oils" from two different countries, both called Styrian?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Austria and the green gold of Styria — the hull-less pumpkin, the fraud, the Slovenian oil war, and a landscape that wrote itself into a genome...

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This week on Fresh From the Field Fridays, Dan The Produce Man is serving up a table full of summer flavor! From Yumi watermelon and Adriatic figs to Northwest cherries, Stockton sweet red onions, serpent cucumbers, fresh-picked berries, rhubarb, butter lettuce, domestic shiitake mushrooms, juicy plums, and expert tips on choosing the perfect peach—it's all here.

Brought to you by the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media. Visit aglifemedia.com today.

Why did the Khoisan people of South Africa spend nine years in legal negotiations to receive 1.5 percent of an industry built entirely on knowledge they had held for three centuries — and what does that tell us about who owns a plant? How did a Russian-Jewish immigrant with a mule cart, a country doctor with a germination problem, and a mother with an allergic infant between them turn a mountain bush into a global health product? And what happens when one of the world's largest food corporations files patents on traditional medicine it didn't discover?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of South Africa and rooibos — the biopiracy battle, the benefit-sharing agreement, and the red bush that grows nowhere else on Earth...

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Before the gas flares and the glass towers, before the air conditioning and the sovereign wealth fund, what did Qatar actually have? Why was a single tree the difference between survival and starvation on one of the most inhospitable peninsulas on Earth? How did a brutal, debt-ridden pearl economy collapse almost overnight — and at whose hands? And how does a country go, in a single human lifetime, from 16,000 hungry people on a shrinking strip of sand to hosting the most controversial World Cup in history?

John and Patrick tell the extraordinary story of Qatar — from the date palm groves and the pearl beds of the Gulf, to the oil discovery that changed everything.

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Why did a monk in a Moravian monastery spend eight years counting 30,000 pea plants — and how did the number three to one unlock the secret of heredity that Charles Darwin couldn't solve? Why did Gregor Mendel publish one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century to almost complete silence, only for his paper to be rediscovered thirty-four years later by three scientists who had all independently reached the same conclusion? And how did the statistician who accused him of fraud turn out to have made the statistical error himself?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Czechia and the pea — the monastery garden, the number that changed biology, and the 145-year arc from Mendel's first cross-pollination to the Human Genome Project...

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This week's Global Fresh Series takes you to the biggest stage—that could also be fresh produce's biggest opportunity, the FIFA 2026 World Cup to explore how growers, marketers, retailers, commodity boards, and foodservice operators can leverage the world's biggest sporting event.

With 48 nations competing across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, billions of viewers, millions of visitors, and six weeks of celebrations, the World Cup is far more than a sporting event—it's a global food occasion. Every match creates opportunities for family gatherings, watch parties, restaurant visits, retail promotions, and culturally inspired meals and it may represent the largest consumer engagement opportunity in a generation.

#freshproduce. #FIFA2026worldcup #worldcupwatchparties #sportsconsumers

Why did the Visigoths demand three thousand pounds of black pepper as the ransom for Rome — and what does that tell us about a climbing vine in Kerala that reshaped the entire history of the western world? How did a country of one million people on the edge of Europe come to control half the pepper reaching the continent, and build the Jerónimos Monastery to celebrate a voyage driven by spice? And what happens to an empire built entirely on a markup when someone finally figures out how to remove the middleman?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Portugal and pepper — Vasco da Gama's ninety-three days at sea, the dismantling of the Venetian spice monopoly, and the Torre de Belém, still standing on the Lisbon waterfront, paid for by a vine in India...

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How did a storm-battered Spanish ship, a Dundee harbour, and a grocer's wife with a pan full of unsaleable bitter oranges accidentally create one of the first registered trademarks in British history — and a product that would end up on breakfast tables from Edinburgh to Bombay? Why did the family fortune from that single kitchen experiment eventually pay for the restoration of Avebury, one of the greatest prehistoric monuments in Europe? And what does any of this have to do with Paddington Bear and Monty Don?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Scotland and marmalade — the Keiller factory, the empire in a jar, and the most consequential use of unsaleable citrus in history...

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This week on Fresh From The Field Fridays, Dan The Produce Man brings another helping of produce knowledge, seasonal insights, and practical tips you can use the next time you shop.

On the produce table are Dulcinea Tuscan cantaloupes and one of the great fruit debates: What's the difference between Royal apricots, Blenheim apricots, and Royal Blenheim apricots? Are they one and the same, or are they different varieties? Dan explains the history behind these legendary apricots and clears up the confusion.

You'll also learn how to improve your chances of choosing an avocado with a smaller pit, why some stone fruit develop split pits, and why nutrient-rich sunflower sprouts deserve a place in your diet.

It's another fun and informative episode of Fresh From The Field Fridays from the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Learn more at aglifemedia.com.

How did twenty-four rabbits released by one man for a "spot of hunting" in 1859 colonise an entire continent within thirty-five years — and why did a three-thousand-kilometre fence, a campaign of poisoning, and even the deliberate introduction of foxes all fail to stop them? Who was Dame Jean Macnamara, the doctor who had already helped defeat polio and then spent twenty years fighting institutional resistance to unleash a virus on 600 million rabbits? And what happened when that virus escaped from its island quarantine before it was officially approved?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Australia's great rabbit catastrophe — the Victorian acclimatisation societies, the biological arms race, and the invasion that still isn't over...

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Why did Norwegian farmers believe that eating potatoes would give them leprosy — and who were the potato priests who spent fifty years smuggling tubers home from Copenhagen in their hats to prove them wrong? How did a Napoleonic blockade finally force an entire nation to accept a vegetable it had resisted for a century? And why did one historian argue that the potato mattered more to the Norwegian people than their own Constitution?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Norway and the humble tuber — the scurvy, the hunger emergency, the lay preacher imprisoned fourteen times, and the Andean vegetable that kept a nation alive...

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In this episode of the Global Fresh Series Podcast, we explore how Europe’s potato industry — especially Belgium’s iconic frozen fry sector — was hit by a massive agricultural and economic crisis in 2026. Beyond potatoes, the episode is a broader story about globalization, supply chains, farming economics, and the uncertainty facing the next generation of agricultural producers.

At its heart, The Fry Crisis is a deeply human story — one about farmers confronting shrinking margins, changing markets, and the fear that the “good years are over.”

The story centers on Belgian farmer who was forced to dump thousands of tons of unsold potatoes back into his fields after prices collapsed to zero. The surplus, estimated at five million metric tons across Europe, was driven by a combination of record harvests, shrinking global demand, rising production costs, geopolitical instability, and changing consumer habits.

#Belgiumpotatoes # potato exports #frenchfries #glp-1

How did a city of 30,000 people survive for 450 years between Venice and the Ottoman Empire — and what does the Republic of Ragusa have to do with the cherry on top of your cocktail? Why does the American maraschino cherry share almost nothing with the Croatian original except a name? And how did one man, escaping a burning city in a rowboat in 1944, carry a single cherry sapling across the Adriatic and rebuild an entire industry from it?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Croatia — the merchant republic, the marasca cherry, and the extraordinary stubbornness of small things that refuse to be destroyed...

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Why does a town of 20,000 people in central Tunisia contain the third largest Roman amphitheatre ever built - and what does a structure that seated 35,000 people tell us about what olive oil money could buy? How did a Phoenician agricultural manual become the only document the Roman Senate preserved when they burned Carthage to the ground? And why do archaeologists now believe Tunisia was not just the breadbasket of Rome, but its main oil supplier too?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Tunisia and the olive - the Carthaginian farmers, the 2,500-year-old tree still bearing fruit in Cap Bon, and two and a half thousand years of unbroken continuity in an arid landscape that has outlasted every empire that ever claimed it...

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Why did Cleopatra demand the balsam groves of Jericho as the price of financing Marc Antony's wars — and what does it mean that a plant worth twice its weight in gold was guarded day and night by Roman soldiers after the conquest of Jerusalem? What was the balm of Gilead, the most expensive agricultural commodity in the ancient world, and why did it grow nowhere on Earth except the shores of the Dead Sea? And how does a thousand-year-old seed, germinated in a Jordanian valley in 2024, connect the ancient world to the present?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Jordan — the asphalt wars, Cleopatra's monopoly, and the extinct plant that Roman soldiers fought to protect...

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Why did a Valencia orange, abandoned on a tiny arid Caribbean island, transform into a new species that nobody could eat — and how did that inedible fruit end up in cocktail bars on every continent? What made the harbour of Willemstad one of the most consequential trading posts in the Atlantic world, and what does the story of Sephardic refugees, the slave trade, and a language assembled from seven others tell us about how Curaçao became Curaçao? And why does the blue liquid in most bottles labelled "curaçao" contain nothing from the island at all?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the laraha — the accidental species, the Dutch distillers, and the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup...

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Why has the argan tree — which grows nowhere else on Earth — survived for 65 million years in the mountains of Morocco, and why are the women who have tended it for centuries now earning two euros sixty for a litre of oil that sells for a hundred in Paris? Who was Zoubida Charrouf, the chemist who gave scientific language to what Amazigh women had always known, and built a cooperative movement that changed thousands of lives — only for the global market to arrive and take almost everything? And what does liquid gold look like from the bottom of the supply chain?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Morocco and the argan tree — the performance goats, the women's cooperatives, and the ancient knowledge that the world monetised without ever properly paying for...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Dan the Produce Man welcomes Dr. Joel Fuhrman, board-certified family physician, seven-time New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized expert in nutrition and disease prevention.

In this thought-provoking conversation, Dr. Fuhrman explains what it means to be a Nutritarian, the importance of nutrient density, the health benefits of his famous "G-BOMBS" foods, and why fruits and vegetables play such a critical role in longevity and disease prevention. Dan and Dr. Fuhrman also discuss modern eating habits, food addiction, chronic disease, and whether many of today's most common health problems are linked to the foods we choose to eat every day.

Whether you're in the produce industry or simply looking to improve your health, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

Learn more about Dr. Fuhrman's books, podcast, nutrition programs, and educational resources at DrFuhrman.com.

It's all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays from the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media. Visit AgLifeMedia.com to discover more podcasts, videos, industry news, and fresh produce content.

Why did a South American legume become the foundation of French imperial power in West Africa — and what did it cost the people who grew it? Who was Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the Sufi mystic the French exiled twice but could never destroy, whose followers built a religious empire on peanut fields? And how did a single crop simultaneously build the city of Dakar, finance two world wars, and trap an independent nation in a cycle of poverty it is still escaping today?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of Senegal and the groundnut — the colonial railways, the Mouride brotherhood, and the tyranny of the peanut...

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Why did the cloud forests of Ecuador produce the only cure for a disease that killed popes, hollowed out armies, and blocked European expansion into the tropics — and what did the people whose knowledge made that cure possible pay for sharing it? Who was Manuel Incra Mamani, the man whose botanical expertise created the Dutch quinine monopoly, whose name is on nothing, and who was beaten to death for his trouble? And what does any of this have to do with the gin and tonic?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of cinchona bark — the Jesuit smugglers, the Andean monopoly, the pharmaceutical arms race, and the chemical precondition for the European partition of Africa...

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Why did France's black truffle — once produced in the thousands of tonnes — collapse to near-extinction in a century, and what does its revival reveal about the country's relationship with luxury, landscape, and desire? Who are the truffle thieves stalking the oak groves of the Périgord with poisoned meatballs and stolen dogs? And why does a near-identical Chinese impostor, worth one-seventieth of the price, now threaten the French truffle industry from beneath the soil itself?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the story of the black diamond of the kitchen — the fraud, the cash markets, the criminal underworld, and the invisible biological invasion growing silently beneath the oaks of southern France...

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Join me for a fun, reflective, and produce-filled farewell to Greece as I wrap up an unforgettable month abroad—one conversation, one supermarket, and one peach at a time. 🇬🇷🍑🥒

After a month of living and working as a digital nomad in Athens, it’s time for a final stroll through the streets, markets, and produce aisles of Greece. In this episode of the Global Fresh Series, I reflect on the little things that slowly became part of everyday life—from deciphering Greek signs and mastering a few local phrases to navigating the rhythms of a city that feels both ancient and surprisingly modern.

Along the way, I met perfect strangers who somehow led me to a connection with the UK's legendary "Cauliflower King," crossed paths with U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, and discovered that some of the best travel stories happen when you least expect them.

#greecefreshproduce. #argosgreece @Σκλαβενίτης. #Δημήτηρ # cauliflower king

Why did the Aztecs drink their currency — and what does it mean that the most global food in the world began as a bitter, frothy, sacred drink consumed by warriors and kings in the rainforests of ancient Mesoamerica? Who was Quetzalcoatl, the god who stole cacao from paradise and gave it to humanity — and why does his promised return from the east make the moment Montezuma handed Hernán Cortés a golden cup of xocolatl one of the most extraordinary in history?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the four-thousand-year story of cacao and the bitter, spiced drink that was simultaneously a currency, a sacrament, and the food of the gods...

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From Indigenous sugar shacks to the Supreme Court of Canada… how did maple syrup become one of the world’s most tightly controlled commodities? Why does Quebec maintain a vast strategic maple syrup reserve? And how did a group of “barrel rollers” steal nearly $19 million worth of syrup in the most Canadian crime of all time?

Join Patrick and John as they explore the history of maple syrup, the rise of Quebec’s maple cartel, and the extraordinary true story of the Great Maple Syrup Heist.

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Why did tobacco, and not gold or glory, save the first permanent English colony in America? How did the Founding Fathers' tobacco debts to British merchants help light the fuse of the American Revolution? And who were the Tobacco Lords — the scarlet-cloaked Glasgow merchants who controlled more of the British tobacco trade than London, Bristol, and Liverpool combined?

Join John and Patrick in the first episode of their World Cup series as they tell the story of the plant that built America, from the dying streets of Jamestown to the cobbled pavements of Georgian Glasgow, and the uncomfortable truth that the Declaration of Independence was written by men who were, among other things, furious at their bankers...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays with Dan the Produce Man, on the produce table: early-season Santa Rosa-type plums, Japanese cucumbers, tamarillos, and the first California figs of the season. Find out what makes white peaches taste sweeter than yellow peaches, why organic bell pepper prices are so high right now, and get tips on how to pick the perfect pineapple and the perfect ear of corn. It's all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays from The Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media. Check out AgLife Media today.

In this episode of the Global Fresh Series Podcast, we take an in-depth look at the powerful food trends reshaping consumer behavior across Europe in 2026. From the explosive rise of high-protein products and functional foods to flexitarian eating, convenience-driven meals, premium indulgence, sustainability, and nostalgic comfort foods, Europe’s food landscape is evolving rapidly—but not uniformly.

Discover why Swedish consumers are embracing protein for satiety, why Italy resists the protein craze, how GLP-1 drugs are influencing food choices, and why consumers across the continent are demanding foods that are healthier, fresher, traceable, affordable, and emotionally comforting. Join us as we explore how these emerging trends are creating enormous opportunities for the fresh produce industry and redefining the future of food across Europe.

#freshproduce #Europeanconsumers #Proteintrend #GLP-1

Who was Dewayne Lee Johnson, the school groundskeeper soaked in Roundup who took on the most legally powerful agricultural company in the world — and what did his trial finally expose about what Monsanto's own scientists had known, and hidden, for forty years? Why did the revolution that promised to feed the world end up increasing herbicide use by twenty percent, turning farmers into perpetual customers, and forcing a German pharmaceutical giant to pay billions of dollars for a mountain of lawsuits it still hasn't climbed? And how does the story of a Missouri peach farmer watching his trees die from a chemical he never even sprayed open a window onto a hundred and twenty years of the same corporate playbook?

Join John and Patrick for the final episode of their Monsanto series — the dicamba drift, the cancer lawsuits, the slag heap still glowing in the Idaho dark, and the question of whether history ever truly catches up with the companies that shape what we eat — in an age when the most dangerous document in the world turned out to be an internal email that was never meant to be seen...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, California melons are in from El Centro, and May marks the beginning of California cantaloupe season.

Dan the Produce Man dives deep into the fascinating history of the cantaloupe - from ancient times, to the papal villa where the melon is believed to have received its name, to the American railroad system that helped spread cantaloupes across the United States. Did cantaloupes really kill a pope? And how did they actually help save lives during World War II? Dan breaks it all down.

Also on the table this week - a few early apricots, sweet Coachella Valley corn, and an update on the California cherry crop.

It’s all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays from The Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Check out AgLifeMedia.com today.

Who was Bob Shapiro, the guitar-playing Vietnam protester turned Monsanto CEO who genuinely believed genetically modified seeds could save the planet — and how did the same man who preached environmental salvation simultaneously bury a billion dollars of toxic human suffering in a corporate spinoff so that Wall Street would never have to look at it? Why did the most consequential revolution in the history of American farming arrive not with a manifesto but with a technology-use agreement that made it illegal for farmers to do what farmers had done for ten thousand years? And how does the story of Roundup Ready seeds open a window onto the hidden architecture of modern food; from a Vice President offering himself as Monsanto's Washington liaison in a company greenhouse, to the superweeds growing three inches a day that nobody in the marketing department wanted to mention?

Join John and Patrick for the fifth episode of their Monsanto series — the GMO revolution, the monarch butterfly, the seed-saving ban, and the extraordinary gap between Bob Shapiro's vision and the contracts his lawyers were writing — in an age when the most powerful thing a company could own was a gene, and the most dangerous thing it could lose was trust...

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It was May of 1976 when 15-year-old Dan the Produce Man walked into a produce market in his hometown of Alameda, California. That’s where it all began.

This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Patrick Kelly joins Dan to look back on some of the moments, memories, and fun from Dan’s 50 years in the fresh produce industry.

From retail to wholesale, foodservice distribution, home delivery, and owning his own produce company, Dan’s journey through five decades in produce has been one incredible ride.

Join us as we celebrate 50 years in the produce business. It’s all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays from The Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Check out aglifemedia.com today.

n this episode of the Global Fresh Series Podcast, we are joined by Athena Vorillas for an engaging discussion on Greece’s vibrant food culture, agricultural heritage, and evolving fresh produce sector. From the deep-rooted importance of olives, citrus, and traditional Mediterranean ingredients to modern consumer trends and the role of fresh food in Greek society, Athena offers valuable insight into how Greece’s culinary identity continues to influence both local markets and global perceptions. Discover the intersection of tradition, nutrition, and agriculture in one of the world’s most historically rich food cultures.

#greekfreshproduce #innovation #naxosfresh #freshproduce

What was Roundup, the herbicide born from a soap crisis in a radioactive Idaho slag heap, that became the most widely used weed-killer in human history — and how did the shy, introverted chemist who discovered it almost by accident set in motion a transformation of global agriculture more radical than anything since the plough? Why did a company drowning in Agent Orange lawsuits and Superfund sites stake its entire future on a single molecule — and how did that gamble lead, step by step, to the most audacious business strategy in the history of farming: owning not just the chemical, but the biology of the crop itself?

Join John and Patrick for the fourth episode of their Monsanto series — the phosphate mines of Idaho, the patent cliff, the genetically modified seed, and the ultimate expression of John Queeny's founding insight — in an age when the most powerful thing a company could own was no longer a factory, but a strand of DNA...

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Dan the Produce Man has a whole lineup on the table - starting with rain-damaged Apache apricots and as peaches and nectarines begin filling the stands we’re saying goodbye to one of the season’s favorite citrus items - sweet, easy-peeling Ojai Pixie tangerines.

Dan shares a quick purple artichoke tip, talks about items for his Juice Cleanse, Maradol papayas, white asparagus, how to pick out the freshest greens, and even how to sweeten up your juice naturally without adding fruit. Plus - Sweetest Batch strawberries, gold kiwi from New Zealand, and a whole bunch more.

It’s all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays from the Produce Industry Network and AgLife Media.

In this week’s Global Fresh Series, we explore why 2026 may prove to be a defining turning point for the global fresh produce industry. From escalating geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies to extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and climate-driven production challenges, the sector is navigating unprecedented uncertainty. Join us as we examine how growers, exporters, retailers, and industry leaders are adapting to a rapidly changing landscape, through mergers and acquistions, and what these forces mean for the future of global fresh food production, pricing, and food security.

#freshproducemergers #valueadded #freshproduceinflection #innovation

What was Agent Orange, the herbicide that fell like mist on the jungles of Vietnam — and how did a chemical born in a West Virginia factory end up destroying the food systems, forests, and bodies of an entire nation? Why did the company that knew its own product contained one of the most toxic substances ever identified keep that knowledge from governments, soldiers, and the Vietnamese farmers watching their rice paddies wither and die? And how does the story of twelve million gallons of dioxin-laced herbicide open a window onto one of the great recurring dramas of modern capitalism; from the misfiled letters of Nitro to the class action courtrooms of the 1980s, and the generations of Vietnamese children born into a war that never quite ended?

Join John and Patrick for the third episode of their Monsanto series — Rachel Carson, Operation Ranch Hand, the veterans nobody believed, and the distance between what a company says it is doing and what it is actually doing — in an age when the most dangerous chemical in the world was still being sprayed on American rice fields fifteen years after it had been banned from the jungles of Vietnam...

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This week on Fresh From the Field Fridays, Dan the Produce Man is joined by Marc Wall and Neil Smith of Sandy Shore Farms in Ontario, Canada.

And right now, one of the big crops coming out of Ontario is asparagus. Marc and Neil talk about the Canadian asparagus season, how they work alongside growers in Michigan and New Jersey, and how imports from Mexico are affecting the market.

They also share why customers in their area are so receptive to local crops, the differences between asparagus varieties, and how those varieties all trace back to one mother plant.

We also get into fresh processing with peppers and onions, food bank donations, reducing plastic, regenerative farming, cover crops, and what it takes to grow quality produce on a community-oriented family farm.

It’s all right here on Fresh From the Field Fridays from The Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Check out aglifemedia.com today.

This week on the Global Fresh Series we conclude our exclusive coverage of the 43rd edition of Macfrut 2026, reflecting on three dynamic days that showcased the very best of the global fresh produce industry. From groundbreaking innovations and international partnerships to emerging technologies, sustainability initiatives, and key market opportunities, Macfrut once again proved why it remains one of the industry’s premier global events. We break down the major highlights, influential conversations, and strategic takeaways from the show floor while also looking ahead to the future evolution of Macfrut and its expanding role in shaping the worldwide produce sector.

#macfrut2026 #innovation #avocados #mangoes #produceindustrynetwork

Who was Edgar Queeny, the cold-eyed social Darwinist who inherited a chemical company from his father and turned it into one of the most powerful industrial forces in American history? Why did the man who helped trigger the atomic bomb, kept the Arsenal of Democracy running, and photographed brown bears in Alaska with Walt Disney also preside over a factory in West Virginia where workers were quietly being poisoned — and then denied compensation? And how does the story of a chemical explosion in Coal Country, a misfiled letter about dioxin, and thirteen men who couldn't afford to say no open a window onto the darkest chapter in the history of American agriculture; from the Manhattan Project to the jungles of Vietnam?

Join John and Patrick for the second episode of their Monsanto series — the PCBs, the explosion at Nitro, the workers whose wives caught chloracne from their husbands' clothes, and the herbicide that was about to go to war — in an age when the company that made the bomb also made the weedkiller on your lawn...

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This week on Fresh From The Field Fridays…

Dan is joined by Chris Zanobini from the California Pear Advisory Board.

We’re digging into what’s really going on with imported pears flooding the market right when California fruit - especially Bartletts - is coming on. What that means for our growers, what you’re seeing at retail, and why it matters more than most people realize.

We also get into how the produce industry - and you as a consumer - can actually be part of the solution.

Fresh From The Field Fridays is brought to you by The Produce Industry Network and AgLife Media.

Check out aglifemedia.com today.

This week on the Global Fresh Series, we take you to the opening day of Macfrut 2026 in Rimini, Italy—where the global fresh produce industry gathers with energy, innovation, and purpose. From the moment the doors open, the show floor comes alive with international voices, forward-thinking technology, and powerful storytelling from growers and brands around the world.

In this episode, we explore the key themes shaping this year’s event, including sustainability, post-harvest innovation, and the growing importance of authentic connections across the supply chain. With a strong international presence and unmistakable Italian hospitality, Macfrut once again proves to be more than a trade show—it’s a global meeting point for the future of fresh.

Join us as we capture the sights, sounds, and insights from day one in Rimini, and set the stage for an exciting week ahead.

Who was John Francis Queeny, the broke Irish-American salesman who founded one of the most powerful and controversial companies in the history of modern agriculture - without knowing the first thing about chemistry? Why did a secret deal with Coca-Cola, a presidential letter, and a warehouse full of matches save his fledgling empire from collapse? And how does the unlikely story of a fake sweetener made from coal tar in St. Louis open a window onto the birth of the American chemical industry; from patent medicines and caffeine trials to the fossil chemistry that would one day reshape what the entire world eats?

Join John and Patrick as they begin their six-part series on Monsanto - the company that started with saccharin and ended up controlling the farm - in an age when there were no labels, no regulations, and absolutely no shortage of things that could kill you...

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In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

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This week on Fresh From the Field Fridays with Dan the Produce Man

We’ve got Bei Bei Kabocha squash, baby fava beans, Seascape strawberries, first of the season California Tioga cherries, plus fresh California apricots, peaches, and purple asparagus

It’s all right here - your produce market on the podosphere

Fresh From the Field Fridays, from the Produce Industry Network, powered by Ag Life Media

Check out aglifemedia.com today

his week on the Global Fresh Series, we dive into how one everyday staple—tomatoes—has become a powerful symbol of today’s shifting food economy. While broader grocery inflation begins to cool, tomato prices are surging, revealing a perfect storm of converging forces behind the scenes.

From tariffs on imported supply to rising diesel fuel costs and increasing fertilizer expenses, the pressure is building across the entire supply chain. Add in seasonal demand and global trade dynamics, and tomatoes are now at the forefront of a new, more uneven wave of food inflation.

In this episode, we break down what’s driving the spike, why it matters for growers, retailers, and consumers alike, and what it signals for the future of fresh produce pricing worldwide.

#freshtomatoes #freshproduce #fertilizer #groceryinflation

Who is Bill Gates, the college dropout from Seattle who built the operating system of global capitalism - and then turned his restless, problem-solving mind to the oldest human activity of all: growing food? Why did his six-billion-dollar mission to end hunger in Africa leave more people hungry than before? And how does the story of one man's extraordinary ambition over the world's food supply echo the great estates of Imperial Rome, the English enclosures, and the ruthless monopolies of the Gilded Age?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the unsettling story of the world's most powerful philanthropist and his campaign to rewrite the operating system of African agriculture — in an age when the line between benevolence and control has never been harder to draw...

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In Sponsorship with J&K Fresh.

The customs broker who is your fruit and veggies’ personal bodyguard. Learn more here!

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Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community.

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Share this episode with your friendsGive a 5-star ratingWrite a review

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This week on Fresh from the Field Fridays, Dan the Produce Man brings you four outstanding spring items that are sure to get your attention.

First, we head into the tropical fruit world with the exotic and delicious longan.

Then it’s off to Watsonville, California for beautiful red Little Gem lettuce and fresh new crop sugar snap peas.

We also explain the difference between stringless and traditional sugar snap peas.

And while we’re talking peas, we dive into pea greens, tendrils, and shoots, and how to use those tender greens in the kitchen.

Finally, we wrap it up with the granddaddy of them all, Haden mangoes.

It’s all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays, from the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Check out aglifemedia.com today.

Long before podcasts and digital media, Orion Samuelson mastered the art of connecting farm and consumer through the airwaves. As the iconic voice of WGN Radio, he translated complex agricultural issues into stories people could understand—and trust.

This week on the Global Fresh Series, we examine how his approach to communication holds powerful lessons for today’s content creators, brands, and fresh produce leaders.

As the gap between growers and consumers continues to widen, is podcasting today’s version of what Orion built decades ago?

#foodpodcast #freshproduce #digitalmedia #foodmyths #produceindustrynetwork

What is huitlacoche, the fungus that Indigenous farmers in Mexico gave thanks for at harvest - and that American agronomists spent a century trying to burn, quarantine, and breed out of existence? Why did two civilizations look at the same diseased corn cob and see, one, a seasonal gift, and the other, an agricultural catastrophe? And how does this strange, blackened organism open a window onto the great collision between Indigenous knowledge and colonial science; from the burning of Aztec codices to the tasting menus of New York?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the extraordinary story of corn smut - the Mexican truffle, the genetics laboratory darling, the fungus that fed empires and terrified farmers - in an age when the line between disease and delicacy has never been more hotly contested...

----------

In Sponsorship with Cornell University: Dyson Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

-----------

Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community.

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Subscribe to our biweekly newsletter here for extra stories related to recent episodes, book recommendations, a sneak peek of upcoming episodes and more.

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What is plastic, and how did a shortage of billiard balls accidentally give birth to the material that would feed the modern world? Why did a Belgian chemist rummaging through coal tar waste end up transforming the way humanity eats? And how does the unlikely journey from Victorian ivory substitutes to the clamshell of strawberries on your kitchen counter open a window onto the great forces of industrial history; from total war to the supermarket revolution?

Join John and Patrick as they tell the extraordinary story of plastic's conquest of fresh produce, and the civilization it quietly built around us, in an age that made abundance the new normal...

----------

In Sponsorship with J&K Fresh.

The customs broker who is your fruit and veggies’ personal bodyguard. Learn more here!

-----------

Join the History of Fresh Produce Club for ad-free listening, bonus episodes, book discounts and access to an exclusive chatroom community.

Support us!

Share this episode with your friendsGive a 5-star ratingWrite a review

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@historyoffreshproduce

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This week on Fresh From the Field Fridays with Dan the Produce Man, we’re talking spring. Four items that are really shining right now.

Savoy or Bloomsdale spinach, fresh harvested English peas, young spring radishes, and new crop California blueberries.

Then we take a trip to the farmers market and catch up with Eric Arias of Castellano Farms out of Dinuba, California. He gives us an update on the upcoming stone fruit season, with fruit expected to hit the market mid-May.

It’s a crop update, and we’ll tell you what, the fruit is on the horizon, and it’s looking good.

Fresh From the Field Fridays is brought to you by the Produce Industry Network and powered by AgLife Media. Head over to aglifemedia.com and check it out.

Regenerative agriculture is no longer a niche concept—it’s becoming a defining force in the future of global fresh produce. In this episode of the Global Fresh Series, we explore how farmers, retailers, and multinational food companies are working together to restore soil health, improve resilience, and reshape supply chains from the ground up.

From large-scale initiatives across Europe to retailer-backed programs supporting farmers with data, training, and long-term investment, this episode dives into the real-world impact of regenerative practices. We examine how these efforts are addressing climate challenges, strengthening food security, and creating new opportunities across the value chain.

Regenerative agriculture is reshaping the future of fresh produce. This episode explores how farmers, retailers, and global brands are working together to restore soil health, improve resilience, and build a more sustainable—and scalable—food system.

This week, we’re talking Gravenstein apples, a Sonoma County classic that is fading fast.

Up in the Yuba City area, peach orchards - gone!

At the same time, a whole wave of new fruit and berry varieties is coming your way.

And in the bigger picture, restaurants are closing left and right. What is really going on out there?

Plus, seasonal specialties like fiddlehead ferns and baby artichokes.

And a juicy strawberry romance story from Dan’s younger days.

It is all right here on Fresh from the Field Fridays with Dan the Produce Man, from the Produce Industry Network, powered by AgLife Media.

Check out aglifemedia.com today.

his week on the Global Fresh Series, we dive into a major joint venture between two industry powerhouses that is set to redefine the fresh-cut fruit landscape in France. With a strategic location, integrated logistics, and a focus on convenience-driven consumption, this partnership highlights the rapid evolution of value-added produce across Europe. We explore what this means for suppliers, retailers, and the future of fresh fruit consumption in one of Europe’s most promising growth markets.

#freshcutfruit #Prepworld #Omer-Decugis&Cie #freshberries #produceindustrynetwork