Getting food from the field or the ocean to your table is a long process involving an huge supply chain. Is it a stable system, or are there new opportunities? How is technology changing the process? How are markets changing globally?

In CCAN's ongoing attempt to show how Silicon Valley technology is being used in various industries and provide new ideas for investment, entrepreneurship and innovation we are having a panel on food.

Barbara Rea Venter - PhD, Biochemistry attorney for biotech

Jerry Crawford - Biohemist, modified atmosphere packaging

Michael Olsen - Radio personality, author "Metropolitan Agriculture"

Jim Webb - President - US Abalone, MBA, aquaculture expert.

Don Steiny - Organizer and Moderator

Barbara Rae-Venter, Ph.D. Attorney at Law Rae-Venter Law Group, P.C. - Dr. Rae-Venter specializes in due diligence opinions and in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in all aspects of biotechnology, and particularly in the areas of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, biopharmaceutics and agricultural biotechnology. Noteworthy patents cover recombinant protein expression in industrial strains of Bacilli for Gist-brocades N.V.(now DSM), antisense in plants for Calgene, LLC(now merged with Monsanto), and a method for treating diabetes for Research Triangle Pharmaceuticals(now merged with Transition Therapeutics). Dr. Rae-Venter received her Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, San Diego in 1976, and her B.A. degree, cum laude in both psychology and biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego in 1972. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. Prior to attending law school, Dr. Rae-Venter was an assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, where she taught biochemistry.

James R. Webb - Jim Webb is the CEO and co-founder of US Abalone, an aquaculture corporation in Davenport, California. US Abalone began raising California red abalone, a seafood delicacy, in 1990. The Company has grown to become one of the worlds largest abalone producers operating from a state of the art four-acre facility on the ocean in Davenport. Most of the Company's production is exported live to seafood distributors in Asia.

US Abalone has over one million abalone growing in tanks. The abalone are grown in a natural environment in land-based tanks where they are provided with a continuous supply of seawater from the adjacent Pacific Ocean. The abalone are fed different types of seaweed, and are grown without the use of any antibiotics, steroids, or hormones.

Prior to US Abalone, Mr. Webb was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Pebble Beach Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm in Carmel, California. He also has held various positions in corporate management, including CEO, President and CFO, and has served on the Board of Directors of several corporations. Mr. Webb has a B.A. from the University of Rochester (New York) and an M.B.A. from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (California).

Jerry L. Crawford, MS - Jerry L. Crawford has spent the last 15 years in process and product development for modified atmosphere packaging of fresh cut produce. His primary focus is on new product design and production implementation through optimization of manufacturing systems.

With a BS from UC Davis in Biochemistry, and a MS from the University of Tennessee in Food Science and Technology, Jerry has put his education to work at companies that include Union Carbide Corporation, Carnation Foods, FreshCo, TransFRESH, Fresh Express and Fresh Advantage.

Focus Consulting has managed to optimize performance, reduce waste, and increase profits that created overall client satisfaction with Fresh Focus Consulting services.

As a technical liaison between marketing and senior management, Jerry has written legal reports to support clients with patent proposals, and he has compiled many research papers that dictate significant cost reduction and poduct life cycle extensions for fresh cut produce.

Jerry is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).

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