Food | Ag | Ideas Week
Event description
Food | Ag | Ideas, led by Naturally MN and partners, is an annual multi-day series of speakers, events, tours, and demo showcases to highlight innovative ideas, make connections across the sectors, invite leaders to join Minnesota’s entrepreneur and innovation ecosystem, and move our industry forward,
In 2023, the theme of FAI is focused on the Future of Food + Ag Innovation: Healthy People, Planet. Centering the ways in which the food system operates is critical to ensure the future and sustainability of our value chain.
Come ready to learn and network on October 9th and 10th for the two days of panels at the Minnesota History Center, and don’t miss out on the array of pre-conference events and experiences starting on October 3rd.
Meet the speaker
Priera Panescu, Ph.D.
LEAD SCIENTIST, PLANT-BASED
GFI
Priera’s role at GFI focuses on accelerating the plant-based meat industry through analyzing their plant-based protein landscape, identifying emerging technological solutions and bottlenecks, and communicating with other scientists about advancing alternative protein research. Priera has bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and math from the University of California, Santa Cruz as well as a master’s and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining GFI, Priera spent almost a decade focusing on polymer, formulation, and materials chemistry research. Particularly, she honed these skills for food security applications by creating novel sustainable agriculture materials and compounds.
Upcoming events
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Reuters Events Transform Food & Agriculture USA 2025
Join GFI’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement, Caroline Bushnell at Reuters Events: Transform Food & Agriculture in Minneapolis.
NCSU Bezos Center Summit
GFI’s Maddie Cohen, associate director of regulatory affairs, will join a panel at the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein’s inaugural summit, contributing to an energizing discussion on the current state…
The Science of Alt Protein: Enzymatic treatment of hemp for highly functional plant-based meat ingredient in commercial manufacturing
Discover how Dr. Simsek aims to provide value-added strategies through enzyme modification for hemp processing byproducts.
The state of Canadian and U.S. pulse farming in 2025
Join GFI and Pulse Canada for The Pulse Chain, a three-part webinar series spotlighting Canadian and U.S. pulse growers at the heart of sustainable protein innovation. Hear firsthand how pulses…
Bridge2Food North American Symposium – APP Regional Student Symposium (Alt Protein Project)
After a successful student-led showcase in Brazil earlier this year, the Alt Protein Project is headed to the U.S.! Meet some of our incredible student leaders at the Bridge2Food North…
National FFA Convention & Expo
Event description The National FFA Convention & Expo is all about growing the next generation of leaders—and so is GFI. That’s why Jeremy Eltz, Ph.D., GFI’s Education and Workforce Development…
Sustainability from farm to fork: pulse grower practices
Join GFI and Pulse Canada for The Pulse Chain, a three-part webinar series spotlighting Canadian and U.S. pulse growers at the heart of sustainable protein innovation. Hear firsthand how pulses…
COP30: United Nations Climate Change Conference
COP30 Belém brings the world together at a critical moment for global transformative climate action. Join GFI and other alternative protein experts at this historic event!
