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

Prierap headshot 640x800 1 modified

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

View all events
Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2025/11/sci25061 soap webinar graphics dec header featured
Virtual Event

The Science of Alt Protein: Glycoengineering fungal cell factories — Implications for recombinant protein production

Join us to learn how using advanced gene-editing tools to reprogram fungi opens new possibilities for recombinant protein production.

Sensory evaluation of alternative proteins: a best practices guide
Virtual Event

Sensory evaluation of alternative proteins: A best practices guide

Learn how sensory science can drive the adoption of alternative proteins.

An illustration depicting people in science, industry, and academic settings
Virtual Event

Building Your Alt Protein Career: Shaping the Future of Food as a Plant Protein Scientist

Explore the path from food science to product innovation in this conversation on building a purpose-driven career in alternative proteins.

An illustration of cultivatd fish fry with french fries for the fish and chips collaborative huddle
Virtual Event

Fish & CHIPS: Collaborative Huddle for Ideation & Problem Solving

Calling all cultivated seafood researchers and innovators! Join us for our next collaborative huddle on January 13th at 11:30 am ET.

An illustration of cultivatd fish fry with french fries for the fish and chips collaborative huddle

Fish & CHIPS: Collaborative Huddle for Ideation & Problem Solving

Calling all cultivated seafood researchers and innovators! Join us for our next collaborative huddle on January 13th at 10:30 pm ET.

Gfi knowledge partner icon
Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center

Foods of the Future: Science and Engineering Approaches (Gordon Research Conference)

The focus of this conference is to bring the multi-disciplinary future food community under one roof with a singular focus: collaboratively advancing the science and engineering of safe and scalable…