Food Sustainability - Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Welcome to another exciting episode of the Growing Our Future Podcast, where Aaron Alejandro brings you insights, experiences, and expertise to help plant the seeds of greatness for a better future. In this episode, Aaron is joined by Dr. Justin Ransom, the Senior Director of Sustainable Food Policy at Tyson Foods. Dr. Ransom shares his knowledge and expertise on the future of food and how to shape it to meet the growing demand for production and feeding the world.

Dr. Ransom's impressive background in the food industry and agriculture is highlighted, including his educational journey and previous roles at USDA, McDonald's, and OI Group. He explains that his career path was not linear but led him to focus on shaping the future of food. The conversation delves into the significance of sustainability in the food industry, addressing challenges such as population growth and climate change. Dr. Ransom emphasizes the need for circularity and waste reduction in food systems. 

Aaron and Justin also discuss the abundance of opportunities in the food business for young individuals with agricultural backgrounds, extending beyond traditional farming roles. Listeners are invited to gain valuable insights from Dr. Ransom's expertise in shaping a sustainable future of food.

Story Notes:

• The Journey to Sustainable Food Policy
• The Scope of Dr. Ransom's Role
• Opportunities in the Food Business
• The Interconnectedness of Agriculture and Food Systems
• The Role of Sustainability in Shaping the Future of Food
• Redefining Sustainability as doing More with Less and Leaving a Better Planet

Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast. In this show, the Texas FFA Foundation will take on a journey of exploration into agricultural science, education, leadership development and insights from subject matter experts and sponsors who provide the fuel to make dreams come true. Here is your host, Erin Alejandro.

Speaker 2: 0:30

Well, good morning, good afternoon or good evening or whenever you may be tuning in to the Growing Our Future podcast. We enjoy this podcast and bringing it to all of our listeners, those young people, those teachers, stakeholders, people that are looking for seeds of greatness. If you want to know what the future is, grow it. We've got to plant those seeds of greatness And today we've got another guest that's going to share their insights, their experience, their expertise to plant those seeds so that we can grow a great future. We're honored to have Dr Justin Ransom with us. Dr Ransom, thank you for joining us.

Speaker 3: 1:04

It's my pleasure.

Speaker 2: 1:06

And Justin is a, go ahead and give us your title at Tyson.

Speaker 3: 1:13

Senior Director. Sustainable Food Policy, which is essentially what's the future of food look like for Tyson Foods and our food system, and how do we take an active part of shaping it to grow production to feed the world?

Speaker 2: 1:32

All right, we're going to come back to that. Start every podcast with one question, and that is this what are you grateful for today?

Speaker 3: 1:40

Family. You know I think there's so much to be grateful for, but I'm in Missouri today with my in-laws celebrating my mother-in-law's 70th birthday and so excited to be able to spend time with family and celebrating life.

Speaker 2: 1:59

Couldn't agree with you more. I think the challenge that we have in today's world is we can turn on the news, we can turn on social media. it can get kind of negative, And sometimes we fail just to look around at the things that we can be grateful for. that kind of re-energizes give us new vigor, new hope, And so I appreciate your willingness to share some things that you're grateful for.

Speaker 3: 2:25

That's right. Yeah, so much.

Speaker 2: 2:28

I agree with you too, by the way. Families are good friends. Jobs I can think of a lot of things. Freedom is liberties. I can think of a lot of things.

Speaker 3: 2:35

I'm grateful for And Veterans Day. it's Veterans Day today also.

Speaker 2: 2:38

We're filming on Veterans Day today.

Speaker 3: 2:41

Yeah, so it's not to date our podcast or anything. It's all right, it's a good day.

Speaker 2: 2:48

So Justin Ransom, a former FFA member from Ryder High School, went on to become a state officer, got a degree at Texas Tech, colorado State, michigan State, under Secretary of Agriculture McDonald's What was the other one that you were at before McDonald's?

Speaker 3: 3:14

I wasn't under Secretary of Agriculture, but I was at OSI Group.

Speaker 2: 3:18

OSI Group.

Speaker 2: 3:20

Before McDonald's yeah, Yeah, and then Tyson. So obviously you've had a very storied career in the food business, in the food industry, in agriculture, and I know that you did not just fall into that chair that you're in now. I know that there was a lot of hard work and opportunities and networks and communications and strategies that got you there, kind of walk us through your career path of how you ended up where you're at and a little bit about and you kind of alluded to it earlier, but a little bit about what you do.

Speaker 3: 3:53

Yeah, you know, there is certainly not a straight road to where I got to where I am today. What I'm working on today in some ways everybody in agriculture has been working on for the last 100 years, but nobody has really a degree in it, and it's because agriculture and everything wasn't so connected as it is today. And so you know, i grew up in Production Ag in North Texas, texas, in Oklahoma, and went to undergrad at Tech and got a communications degree and then quickly learned that I wanted really more of a technical career or background And ultimately got focused in food systems, animal science, meat science and food safety And spent a majority and I went to USDA post mad cow disease, bse, supporting US trade teams and really had a technical food safety food systems background. And it was it was in my last two years at McDonald's where I had the opportunity to work in food strategy at McDonald's in terms of what, what, what did their future of food look like and and how are they making decisions, whether it was ingredients in cleaning up the ingredient list or or fresh, never frozen beef or Cajun eggs.

Speaker 3: 5:29

As we were making those decisions, it was really about how do we, how do we make sure we're making the right decisions for the animals, or for farmers, or for the supply chain, or for the businesses, and how do we balance all those decisions? Because they're really big decisions that shape the future of food. And so whenever I was in those in that role, i really recognize that the space of sustainability and shaping the future of food systems, especially at a pivotal moment relative to population growth and climate change, are at a, at a nexus right, and so how are we going to feed more people with a more challenging physical climate environment? and that's how I got into space, and so I've been really fortunate to get to Have a career pivot mid to late career And really start to figure out how do we make this all happen. And so it's incredibly exciting and the things we're working on a really are going to shape the future of food for Tyson foods and I think that for probably Probably the rest of the food industry.

Speaker 2: 6:45

Wow, i don't, i don't. I've not had a guess that's ever shared that scope of just how big your job is, by the way, because exactly what you just said, when you think about what you just said population growth, climate, food, food sustainability It's almost like food security. And then I don't. I don't know that you could say one without the other.

Speaker 3: 7:13

That's right and you know it's Classically. We've talked about food in the context of food security. Right, how do we have enough food? but sustainability and really sustainability is now becoming old context As we look at ESG. So environmental social governance is really how professionals in my space kind of characterize what we do today. But sustainability is really how do we do more with less? how do we do what we're doing today but leave the better the planet or anything in better context? and so I think, as we think about how we're bringing food to market You know it's it's we have to rethink some of the things we've always thought were the right things. And how do we find circularity? How do we eliminate waste and when I say waste it's not just consumer waste, but there's all kinds of waste And how do we have a refined ways to get rid of waste and create value out of waste?

Speaker 2: 8:15

So would it be fair to say that if I'm a young person, i'm watching this podcast? would it be fair to say that there's probably some opportunities in the food business if I wanted to pursue something one day?

Speaker 3: 8:26

Oh my gosh, There's so many opportunities And that's the exciting thing is the value chain is huge And we talk about, well, there's only two million less than two million people involved in agriculture. But whenever you look at the value chain and all the different players from ag lenders to equipment engineers to seed developers to geneticists to food service industry retailers we need people from agriculture to participate in the food system, not necessarily just staying on the farm, but we need people that know how to grow crops or know how to grow animals. We need them in the retail and food service sectors. We need them in the IT and innovation sectors. So it's you know, we traditionally put people in agriculture boots on the ground and we need them actually other places.

Speaker 2: 9:33

You just made a really good point. I want to make sure we kind of carry this out a little bit. So what you're saying is, if you come with some ag background, you come with some SAE experience where you've been involved with that, where you've touched it, you've helped grow it that having that experience can also lend itself to the dialogues, the food dialogues and all these other touch points. Is that what you're saying?

Speaker 3: 10:00

You would be surprised How many people are making decisions about the food system that have no practical experience of raising animals or crops, but they're making decisions about the food system And so having that practical hands-on experience, getting out of your comfort zone and getting in a new space that really creates value ultimately value for the food system and grassroots agriculture whenever that message or that position can be expressed throughout the body chain.

Speaker 2: 10:38

You're saying some things here that I'm really hoping. This is really the beauty of this podcast, by the way, is just letting your guests just kind of talk And if we listen if we'll just listen we're going to pick up a lot of little nuggets of gold along the way. I appreciate the fact that you said ESG And I'll probably put some of that in the notes because I want to make sure people understand what that is, because I think it is a real dialogue point going forward in a lot of discussions about production, agriculture and food production, the value chain. When you think of the value chain, not only do I think of the value chain, i just think of the technology, like a blockchain, how different that's going to look going forward versus where we've been. I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities for kids is what I think.

Speaker 3: 11:28

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3: 11:29

Yeah, I think we are have been tentatively awarded a grant, a part of climate smart commodities from the USDA and the grant you know the money we're awarded from USDA.

Speaker 3: 11:40

All the money is going either to farmers and or to verification companies that we're going to employ to work with farmers and changing practices, And What that grant is doing is giving us insight, giving the whole value chain insight in terms of how important data is going to be in the future in terms of the way we bring food to market.

Speaker 3: 12:06

How do we create resilience, both economically and environmentally, in the farming system, And so understanding how to create value through this future food system where there's shared data, shared reward, shared opportunities, shared resilience, because we're so connected but traditionally haven't viewed ourselves as that connected as an ag sector, But it really is, And so how do we make that more evident over time? And I think young people that grow up with phone or device in their hands and that's just part of almost part of their DNA Being able to use technology, adapt technology quickly and connect it to their farm or operation or IT system or whatever place they play in the value chain. I think it's so critically important to being able to have young people that grew up with that participate in this transition with us.

Speaker 2: 13:13

You know, as we came out of the pandemic, I really thought the pandemic, i thought being able to work remotely, i thought well, i wonder if we're going to see a shift to more suburban and rural And the stats aren't bearing that out.

Speaker 2: 13:28

The stats are showing that we're going to have this population growth, but it's going to be in an urban setting.

Speaker 2: 13:35

So I think the discussion of just sustainability in urban agriculture becomes a whole other discussion, just in terms of neighborhoods, you know, and can you bake into the home design concepts that can lend themselves to sustainability and connection to food. I've got to believe that it's coming And the reason I say that is because, if I'm an ag science student or I'm a college student, you know understanding the language of urban planning, understanding how do we dialogue in that space, how do we connect producers? because we're still going to need animal protein, we're still going to need these resources, the ESG. How does this footprint affect the local environment of our community? To me, everything that we're talking about, while they do pose challenges, it sounds as if they also pose a lot of opportunity for kids to if they would just hear and say you know, what if? Let your imagination go, what if, is that something that companies like Tyson are watching and paying attention to, and they're looking for human capital that thinks that way?

Speaker 3: 14:53

100%. I mean it's, it is. I mean that's what I get paid to do, right, i get paid to push the next dimension of thinking about how do we do this and think about this differently than what we've always done. And this data is really hard to collect or this process is really hard to change And we have change agents in the organization and change teams in the organization to support change. But we have to figure it. We have to innovate first. We have to figure out where the change is going and how do we innovate in the space, and then the change organization will help the organization evolve. But you have to figure out where you're going And I think one of the things not knowing where this conversation was gonna go but one of the things I wanted to make sure I put out there was FFA and the people I've had in my life is really pushing me out of my comfort zone constantly.

Speaker 3: 15:51

And if you constantly live pushed out of your comfort zone, it's amazing the things that you can accomplish, right, and it's how do we constantly stay outside of our comfort zone so that we can really see this up-ticket impact? And if you're in your comfort zone, you're never gonna find. You're never gonna find innovation if you're in your comfort zone, and so it's. How do we constantly push out of our comfort zone and young people who are okay with that not have hazard, but who are okay being uncomfortable and constantly innovating? that's what we're looking for, and it's not built for everybody, right, but that's the kind of talent that we need to think about what the future food system is gonna look like.

Speaker 2: 16:39

I couldn't agree with you more. As a matter of fact, one of the sayings I like is get comfortable being uncomfortable. And I was talking to Tom Ziegler the other day and Tom and I were talking and that's the conversation that we had is that disruptions not going away? It's not gonna go away And because it's not exactly what you're saying, you're gonna have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. But as leaders, as leaders, justin, when you agree, as leaders, i've met a lot of extraordinary people. You've met a lot of extraordinary people And I tell you, there's one word that I always think of when I think of extraordinary leaders, and that word is next. It does not matter if it's a success, it's what's next. It doesn't matter if it's a failure, it's what's next. It's like there's no satisfaction in the moment. There's reflection on the moment, but the satisfaction is really in looking forward to what is next.

Speaker 3: 17:34

Right, I would call that constructive discontent. It's never good enough And we can always get out there farther, And how do we do it appropriately? But you're right. What's next?

Speaker 2: 17:52

That might just be the title of this podcast, by the way, i'm always listening for a clever title. And that, right there, consistent discontent Is that what?

Speaker 3: 18:03

you said Constructive discontent, Constructive discontent. I love it Constructive discontent.

Speaker 2: 18:08

That might be what we're gonna put this title of this podcast.

Speaker 3: 18:11

It means some people are never happy with anything, but the point of it is that can be constructive if you allow it Absolutely absolutely. My family may not agree with that, but Well, and we've had that discussion For me personally, that's the way I'm driven.

Speaker 2: 18:28

And we've had that discussion. I think John F Kennedy. One of his quotes was I would rather dream dreams of the future than to read histories of the past. Right, it's not that the past is not important, because it's the shoulders that we stand on of where we are today, but it's looking at how do we do things better, how are we better stewards, how do we accomplish more with less. All of those are very, very real discussions.

Speaker 2: 18:57

I remember I was at the International Livestock Congress and I came back and there was a lot of discussion about plant-based proteins and the future of animal protein markets, et cetera, et cetera, and I was really struggling mentally with where does all of this go, as somebody who's involved with agriculture and with young people. And I remember calling our friend Bruce Cobb, and I talked to Bruce about it and he said well, you need to call Justin Ransom. And so I said I'll call Justin and I called you and I'll never forget it. You said one thing, one thing, and the light bulb for me came on. I mean, it came on in a big way.

Speaker 2: 19:36

At Boys Ranch I worked in the slaughterhouse and I worked cutting meat, so I got to see firsthand the fabrication, the processing, all the care, the sanitation, everything that goes into creating that product Refrigeration. But the word that I'll never forget that you used was water. I've never forgotten that, because when you said, aaron, how much water does it take to clean a carcass? It's like at that moment I got it. I'm like, oh my gosh, how do we, in certain environments around the world, have that resource to clean or to generate or to grow? We don't.

Speaker 3: 20:26

Well, and if you think about it too, i mean, just the processing water used is relatively minimal to compare to the water used to grow the feed or to grow the animal, and that's where it's very impactful. And so you know, and that's really the reason to that point, that's really the reason that we have stopped thinking solely about, you know, our greenhouse gas emissions in our operations or in our business and the water use in our business, and we're starting to think about it in what we call the scope three, which is in our value chain, right, and so that's why the work that we're doing now, starting now, is really about thinking differently than what we have in the past and is how do we, how do we really begin to work with our value chain to mitigate emissions, to reduce water use, to create resilience in the food system? that traditionally has not been something that we really been focused on. So that's, that's the exciting work.

Speaker 2: 21:42

Well, it's going to be challenging And a lot of the challenge is exactly what you said is not the way we've always done it, right? You know John Maxwell, the great leadership trainer, he he's got a line that I really like. He said never underestimate the power of the status quo. A lot of people worked hard to get it there.

Speaker 3: 22:03

Right, that's right, and we've assumed we're doing things right for decades. Right, and we're learning there's ways to do things differently and better And that can decrease cost production, that can save resources. And how do so? how does Tyson work to de-risk those changes? And that's what we're trying to figure out in our business models is how do we de-risk change and support, support farmers in their transition. So exciting stuff.

Speaker 2: 22:38

That's good, That's good stuff right there Well yeah, it's exciting. Let's talk about leadership real quick. I'm a big fan of Dr Ransom, a big fan of what he's accomplished in his career And it's been an honor to have a front seat to watch it grow. Obviously, you you've had some leadership development along the way. If you could share three leadership tips with kids, what might you share that you'd say, hey, want to get ahead, Put these in your toolkit.

Speaker 3: 23:10

That's. that's difficult, You know. I think there's some skills that we have to have Right.

Speaker 3: 23:15

Let me know We have to be comfortable with ambiguity, and I think older generations are really uncomfortable with ambiguity, and so as if we can learn that earlier. So, in other words, i don't have to tell you what to do, but you're you're okay going and figuring it out yourself. I think I think that is a really strong skill that will really create value for you and your career, because we're working in a space and it doesn't matter whether you're starting as a, as a service tech or a manager what level in the organization there is tremendous amount of ambiguity in a lot of roles that you have to have the courage to step out and go figure it out yourself. And looking for people that can do that. I think it's incredibly important. I think courage is another thing. It lends itself well If you have, if you have, courage.

Speaker 3: 24:17

It lends itself well in an environment of ambiguity because you're not afraid. You're not afraid to fail and get back up and go again. So I call it from a previous employer fail, fast forward. So if you fail, get up, figure out the next thing you're going to do, which ties into resilience. You know, i think in this, in this world we live in, it's easy to to flip from one thing to the next and not necessarily have the resilience to gut it out and figure it out And I guess all these things kind of now that I'm saying about all are all kind of interrelated but really the resilience of kind of not letting go, of not giving up, just gutting it out. Another word, and what we used to say back in the day Great.

Speaker 3: 25:06

Great Yeah, it's all in your mind, right? And having those skills of being able to exercise courage and resilience in the face of ambiguity is so critical in today's world, and I think it's just going to continue to grow and it's going to continue to get more complex.

Speaker 2: 25:28

I think FFA can provide a portal to help kids get there.

Speaker 3: 25:31

I think so. Yeah, you know, i think that's. That's the exciting thing, aaron. I mean, you know you've watched my career longer than anybody had a chance to watch my career, no-transcript. The things that are offered to young people in FFA today in terms of their ability to develop skills, oh my gosh, it would have been so fun competing in all those things that they have available to them today Because they didn't exist whenever we were doing it right. And it really facilitates a next dimension of thinking and skill development that they didn't have 20 years ago, or might I say 30 years ago whenever I was there. So I think students taking advantage of those skills teams is really a great step in critical thinking, critical communication and being able to really express and deliver a thought in a way that creates understanding and change.

Speaker 2: 26:46

Wow. Well, you've given us a lot and we appreciate your time. I love to tell people that philanthropy is the four T's It's giving of time, talent, treasure or testimony. And I said, every now and then you find somebody that does all four And this guy right here is one of those guys. So this is a guy that's giving back, this is a guy that's willing to share, he's willing to be a mentor, he's willing to listen, he's willing to vision And he's also willing to share his testimony and he's a great testimony of resilience. So you're a great testimony of everything that you just spoke of and, because you've lived it, i think that's the toolkit that you've brought to Tyson. It's the toolkit that you brought to those jobs, and I think that's why they value you. And I will tell you, we're proud of you, dr Ransom. We're proud that you serve on our foundation board. We're honored to have you on the board, we're honored to have you share your expertise And thank you for taking some time to be with us today.

Speaker 3: 27:47

Well, it's been my pleasure. Thank you so much, and best to you and to Texas FFA.

Speaker 2: 27:53

Well, you always get one last fun question Here. It is What's the best concert you've ever been to?

Speaker 3: 27:58

Oh my gosh, i'm not a concert goer in general. Gosh, it's hard to top George Strait and the Astrodome It's in terms of impactful experiences as a kid. That was pretty much it.

Speaker 2: 28:17

You got the Astrodome experience. That's classic.

Speaker 2: 28:21

Yeah, that's how old I am, don't go there. We won't go there. All right, everybody, thank you for joining us for the growing our future podcast. We appreciate our guest again. Dr Justin Ransom, with Tyson, just did an outstanding job.

Speaker 2: 28:36

As we say all the time, if you want to know what the future is, grow it. All this talk of sustainability, i love it, but I got news for you. There's only one way you get there, and that's that you've got to plant those seeds today of what you want that future to look like. And guess what? That's the young people. I tell people all the time I'm in the future business because I'm in the kid business and y'all are going to be the future people that are going to. They're going to find answers to many of these challenges And you're also going to find innovations that you're going to be able to share with the people that are going to follow in there in your footsteps. So thank you all for being here until we meet again on the growing our future podcast. Go out, do something extraordinary, be a mentor, be an inspiration, but make this world a better place to live, work and raise our children. Talk to y'all later.

Speaker 1: 29:31

We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the growing, our future podcast. This show is sponsored by the Texas FFA Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen agricultural science education so students can develop their potential for personal growth, career success and leadership in a global marketplace. Learn more at mytexasffaorg.