S6E67: Using Agriculture & Storytelling to Make a Positive Difference in Society with From Farms to Incubators’ Amy Wu

Episode Summary

Founder and Chief Content Director of From Farms to Incubators, Amy Wu joins the show today to share her mission of highlighting women in food, farming, and farmtech, especially women of color. Amy is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and award-winning writer for the women’s ag and agtech movement. Today, Amy speaks to the work she’s doing to tell the stories of women innovators and leaders in agrifoodtech. Amy reflects on her time as an investigative journalist, breaks down current issues such as food security, inflation and supply chain, and speaks to the power of representation.

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Key Takeaways

07:13 – Harry welcomes to the show, Amy Wu, who shares the story of her journey and what led her to a path of writing about women innovators in AgTech

12:29 – Reflecting on her time as an investigative journalist and how Amy got involved in AgTech

18:32 – Covid, food security, inflation and supply chain

20:11 – A passion for making a difference and the inspiration to make a documentary

24:22 – Why there aren’t more women in AgTech

29:43 – Harry and Amy speak to what they learned during Indoor AgTech NYC

33:24 – The power of representation and telling untold stories

38:59 – What goes into creating a documentary

41:54 – Amy expounds on the work she’s doing at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub

43:54 – Making food and farming sexy

48:19 – Three asks Amy has for the audience and where listeners can learn more about Farms to Incubators

Tweetable Quotes

“I felt strongly about giving voice to communities and to stories that just were not told. And the reason they’re not told, I find often, is because maybe the mass media isn’t interested in them immediately or it’s just too esoteric.” (13:28) (Amy)

“A lot of them were in their twenties and early thirties at the time and these smart women were from science, technology, engineering and math and were passionate about tackling issues related to climate and sustainability. And also, some of them were frustrated with working at companies where their ideas were just not being allowed to get out there, so they just thought, ‘Why don’t I hang my own shingle?’ So, I just thought it was a really good time to introduce this. I didn’t know what it would become.” (22:06) (Amy)

“The thirty women in my book are a community of their own, and each one of them has said, ‘I want to connect with the other women.’ And from there, it kind of snowballs, right? So, I strongly believe that networking and community is critical.” (26:08) (Amy)

“I think it’s so critical - what you said about that love and joy and passion - to be connected to the land. And also just seeing something that you produced. People put a lot of hard work into their gardens.” (33:03) (Amy)

“The work at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub truly aligns with my mission and vision to use agriculture as a platform to make a positive difference in society.” (42:16) (Amy)

“Absolutely that’s the message that I’m trying to get across that food and farming can be sexy.” (44:45) (Amy)