Every decision made by founders, farmers, and leaders in agriculture shapes the future of our food system. Whether it’s the cost per hectare of a biological or the value of a ton of carbon sequestered, the different goals and outcomes that end up in business plans inevitably define how time, energy, and capital are spent.

But there are many outcomes of a healthy food system that don’t fit in a business plan. How do leaders today account for the broad connections between people, ideas, and identities? It’s this fabric that reflects who we are, what we value as a society, and how we interact as humans along the agricultural value chain.

Elizabeth Brennan is Non-Executive Director of publicly-listed regenerative food company Wide Open Agriculture. She is a leader across many other organizations dedicated to innovation, equality, and diversity in our agrifood system, and has a long connection to the Western Australian wheat belt, as well as communities overseas.

In this episode Liz shares her insights on:

• What Australian farmers can learn from other cultures, communities, and different forms of agriculture less geared toward the economics of export

• How her definition of “impact” helps to navigate multiple roles of influence across publicly-listed companies, not-for-profits, policy, and family farming business

• How her experience working in subsistence agricultural communities in Papua New Guinea applies to her work in Australian agriculture today

• What social fabric in rural and regional communities means, and how to make sure it isn’t lost in the future

Useful links:

• Wide Open Agriculture pushes lupin project