Food+Tech Bites- 2nd Newsletter

Have an idea, feedback, or an event coming up? Share it with me at danielle [at] foodtechconnect [dot] com.

Massive Brainstorm: Week 1 Ideation Roundup

Last week, I posted a provocation for a ‘Massive Brainstorm‘ on how we could use social media to affect the 2012 Farm Bill.

Check out some of the innovative ideas & insights from entrepreneurs, technologists, social media experts, wonks, activists, and community organizers.

Quick taste of ideas shared:

“It would be interesting to create a Foursquare account that would check-in every farm and factory that this “simple” prepared meal had to touch before it arrived at the supermarket. With this, we can show how the current food system supports a grossly overcomplicated supply chain.” – Mike Lee, Studiofeast

What’s next? This week, I will be posting resources about what exactly the farm bill is. You are invited to join the conversation!

Information Bites

Not to be missed from last week:

Interviews with founders of Fooducated & Gourmet Origins, brainstorm roundup, food safety visualization, and thoughts on rural social media.

USDA to Join Scientific Networking System – USDA

USDA is first federal agency to commit to using VIVO, a web application designed to enable better national networking between scientists from different disciplines and locations.

Mangalitsa Mania: The Kobe Beef of Pork On More NYC Menus – Huffington Post & Food.Curated

Liza De Guia shares the story of Mosefund Farm, one of a handful of farms that raises Mangalitsa pigs in the US.
Zagat Launches Interactive Food Truck Finder– Mashable

Zagat launches web app that lets you pinpoint the locations of all your favorite food trucks.

Let’s Ask Marion Nestle: Could the USDA Get Any Cheesier? – Huffington Post

Kerry Trueman interviews Marion Nestle about last Sunday’s New York Times has a disturbing exposé by Michael Moss about the USDA’s efforts to aid the dairy industry by encouraging excessive cheese consumption.

Town Square of Placemaking Brainstorm – Project For Public Spaces Launch of “Town Square of Placemaking,” an online and physical center where individuals and organizations from all over the world can share insights, resources, and learn from each other.

Read about how Naked Pizza uses Mail Chimp’s iPad app to sign up customers for their newsletter at the counter.

The Farm Team: Urban Sustainable Opens in Adam’s Morgan – Washington City Paper

Urban agriculture stores opens in DC.

Food Delivery Service GrubHub Raises $11 Million– Mashable

Online food and restaurant delivery service GrubHub has raised an impressive $11 million in a Series C round of funding led by Benchmark Capital.

Last but not least, an amazing tweet from the USDA : Have you visited USDA’s Open Gov site? We just posted 75 new datasets! http://bit.ly/cI5ctE

Love the USDA’s enthusiasm for opening up their data 🙂