What’s the deal with...careers in food?

This week we serve up a two-part episode. Part one, we sat down with Dean Turner and Cathy Carr, leaders in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to discuss the incredible range of fascinating careers in the food industry. (Spoiler alert: It does not always involve a farm...or even being outside!) 

Later, we chat with Hope Hersh - a UF/IFAS graduate student with a research project that is out of this world...and tastes GREAT!

Resources:
Interested in a UF/IFAS CALS major? Take the major quiz:
https://cals.ufl.edu/apps/majorquiz/cals_quiz.php

UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences:
https://cals.ufl.edu/prospective/

UF/IFAS ag facts booklet: https://branding.ifas.ufl.edu/downloads/uploads/Extension%20Brochures/IFAS/Florida-Ag-Fast-Facts-Booklet.pdf

More on Hope's space bread:
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/cals/2021/12/02/space-bread-university-of-florida-student-creates-a-winning-recipe-for-deep-space-food-challenge/

To learn more about UF/IFAS and how food IS our middle name, visit: ifas.ufl.edu/food/

Transcript

Tory Moore [00:00:05] 

Welcome to the Food is our Middle name podcast. I'm your host, Tory Moore. And today we're asking: What's the deal with careers in food and agriculture? When you think of a career in ag or food, you may think this means you'll work directly on a farm or in a processing plant, but you'd be surprised at the unique and interesting opportunities you may have never thought of. Stick around as we learn more about what's the deal with food and ag careers. Thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. While there are many opportunities in food and ag careers, we're going to tell you about just a few of these potential careers. Here to share more with us about these career opportunities, our guests, Dean Turner and Cathy Carr. Welcome. Thank you. Thanks, Tory. I'm looking forward to chatting with you today. But on the podcast, we have a little game that we kick every episode off with. I'm going to ask you a series of fun food questions. They're really easy. There's no wrong answers. And the goal is to answer as many as you can before we run out of time. And we have about 15 seconds. So, Dean Turner, are you up for it? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:06] 

I'm ready. 

Tory Moore [00:01:07] 

Okay, here we go. I'm going to get my time already. All right, here we go. What's your favorite food? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:14] 

Pizza. 

Tory Moore [00:01:15] 

Coffee or tea? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:16] 

Coffee. 

Tory Moore [00:01:17] 

Food you hate? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:18] 

Olives. 

Tory Moore [00:01:19] 

Oh, sweet or spicy? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:21] 

Sweet. 

Tory Moore [00:01:22] 

Favorite meal of the day? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:24] 

Breakfast. 

Tory Moore [00:01:25] 

What's your ice cream order? 

Elaine Turner [00:01:28] 

Mint chocolate chip. 

Tory Moore [00:01:29] 

And then your favorite chef. 

Elaine Turner [00:01:33] 

Burt Gale. 

Tory Moore [00:01:33] 

Oh, good job. You got the farthest of any one so far in the podcast. So, way to go. Way to go. 

Elaine Turner 

What do I get? Do I get a prize?  

Tory Moore [00:01:43] 

We'll have to figure that one out. All right, so let's get into our interview. So, Dean Turner, you're the dean for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, a.k.a. CALS for Short. You'll hear us refer to that often through the podcast listeners, but at the University of Florida. So, tell us a little bit about CALS.  

Elaine Turner [00:02:03] 

So, the college is almost as broad as the university in terms of the disciplines it represents. And if you think about just talking about food and agriculture, for example, and think about what it takes to have food and we think about agriculture, we think about what happens on a farm, we think about food. It's what we find at the grocery store or a restaurant. But sometimes we don't think about all the things that go into those foods from even before they're produced.  

And so, we might have to breed new varieties. We need to prepare the soil, we need to plant things, we need to grow them, we need to harvest. We need to process all of those steps involving food. We study all of those in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.  

And then after you have a food, whether it's a fresh product or a processed product, what happens to it when you eat it? What does that mean in your diet? How does it affect your health? We study that, and then all the things that might surround the food industry and make it work. Food safety, regulations, policies, communications. We do all of this in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.  

For our undergraduate students, we have 23 different majors. Within those majors, there's dozens more specializations or tracks that you can follow -- anything from very basic molecular biology to all kinds of applied sciences and social sciences, like communications, like education, like business. So, we are almost as broad in terms of what we study as the entire university.  

Tory Moore [00:03:47] 

A great point too to make is even if it doesn't seem like an ag-related major you can take that major and have an AG or food-related role. I mean, like you said, it's very customizable as well once you're in your degree programs. I speak as a CALS  grad myself. But so tell me a little bit about some of the most unique careers that you've heard of related to food and agriculture from graduates.  

Elaine Turner [00:04:11] 

Sure. I'll throw out a couple and then I think Cathy has some more that she can share. So one of the things that you might not think about as a career is that somebody has to help write and develop, write, implement regulations like the food labels that are on on packages of food at the grocery store. Working with regulations, with labeling, whether it's related to nutrition, whether it's related to the terms you can or cannot use on a food or even other regulations around trade with other countries in the food supply, that's a career in food and agriculture that might not initially associate. So if you like working with policy, there's a place for you in the food system.  

Tory Moore [00:05:03] 

Mm hmm. And, Cathy, you primarily work with alumni. So, tell me some of the incredible things alumni are doing with their ag and food degrees. 

Cathy Carr [00:05:12] 

Tory, we have alumni that are all over different jobs that relate to food and agriculture. Everything from a new graduate going out that'll be starting as a public health veterinarian, which is so important to our food supply. We have another alum that's an executive director for a nonprofit that distributes proteins to food-insecure areas. So, using a totally different skill set there. We have individuals who are working with animal welfare, with sustainability of food, breeding different varieties of plants or animals, individuals who work with supply chain distribution or even individuals who maybe don't come from a background related to food or agriculture, but are using the skills that they gained through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to educate future students. So, we have one alum that's an agricultural education instructor in an urban area, teaching students about horticultural sciences and how to grow plants and how important that is, right? So, introducing a totally new audience to the importance of these careers. 

Tory Moore [00:06:21] 

And I think that's I mean, that's part of the mission of this entire podcast, is to help people understand where their food comes from and it doesn't just show up in a grocery store, right? But, to not only explain maybe the process, but also the challenges of providing an abundant and safe food supply. So, you hit on some of those things right there. And I think another key point is that not all ag-related careers mean you work on a farm all day or outside all day. I think sometimes that is very attractive to people. They want a job that uses their hands and their outside. But for some, especially those that may come, you know, not from a traditional ag family or background, that could be really intimidating. So, say someone like me, you know, is interested in a career in agriculture or food systems but maybe doesn't have that background or that family that they grew up around in ag, how do you recommend they  get started? And Dean,  let's start with you. 

Elaine Turner [00:07:11] 

Sure. So, I think the first thing is come talk to us. We love to talk to prospective students and help them see what it is they're interested in. And some of those conversations start with: Well, what do you like to do in school? What do you like to study? And maybe what do you like to do after school? And where do you see yourself? What kinds of things do you enjoy doing? What kind of skills do you bring to the table?  

And then trying to see, you know, where that might fit in  the majors that we offer. And we have a lot of students that come just, for example, that choose us as a college because they're interested in a health career and they know they want to do something related to health with animals or with people, but they're not sure what that major is.  

And sometimes they get here and discover that health is more than medicine. Medicine is very important to health, but health is more than medicine and might get excited about how they can develop new plant varieties or new processing methods for foods that can enhance people's health or animal health. And so, it's always a different conversation with each student to figure out what they're interested in, maybe what they do and don't know about, and how we can introduce them to new topics. And I think, you know, one of the things that  Cathy works with students is really to talk about those interests and skill sets. And she has some great questions that she that she asks students. 

Cathy Carr [00:08:51] 

Yeah,so, I love -- my favorite part of my job is getting to see that kind of full-circle moment from sitting down with a student and talking with them about either what their career goals are or what they're interested, what skills they're interested in using as part of their career, what things they feel like they're really good at, if they like working inside or outside, or if they like doing the same thing every day or doing something different and helping them identify potential paths to take those talents and then working to achieve those goals--finding little steps that they can take to achieve those.  

So, I think if a student comes to us and they say they're really good at writing or math or science or, you know, any number of different skill sets that they want to use in their job and they can identify what those strengths are, it's so easy for us to find a place for them in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. And so many of those skills can be put to use in the food system, which is so important and something we so often take for granted.  

There's a little bit of something for everyone, and it's really, really fun for me to see how those alumni are using those skills down the road. I love seeing, you know, how they put their talents to use both professionally and then in their personal lives as well.  

Tory Moore [00:10:12] 

That's right. And again, like we said, the breadth and depth of CALS provides so many different opportunities that you can really, not only play to your strengths, but then find something you're really passionate about as well. So, Cathy, kind of back to the ag background question. You do have an ag background. So, what insight could you provide to maybe a prospective student or somebody based on your experiences? 

Cathy Carr [00:10:35] 

Absolutely. So, I grew up on a farm, a family farm in Oklahoma, and went to college thinking that I was going to study journalism and didn't really even consider a career related to agriculture. Eventually kind of found my way back around to that and studied agricultural economics as an undergraduate student.  

But, after working in colleges of agriculture and related sciences at different land-grant universities, I have seen so many different career paths that I never knew about growing up on a farm or growing even considered were related to agriculture or food. So, whether thats individual studying biotechnology, or engineering to develop more efficient ways to administer fertilizer, or packaging products, and the things that have to happen behind the scenes to make sure that that food gets to the shelves while it's still fresh and safe for consumption, or breeding a new variety of squash that's going to be more shelf stable, or a tomato that's going to taste better.  

There are so many different ways that our students can put their skills to use in this industry that are really, really critical for helping us feed the world and providing safe, healthy, affordable foods that people need. 

Tory Moore [00:11:59] 

Right, Right. So, I also want to talk about some of the unique aspects of CALS at UF that may be different than other colleges or other places. So, Dean Turner, tell us, what do you think is most unique about CALS? 

Elaine Turner [00:12:13] 

I think at the end of the day, our students feel like they're part of a family. And in fact, different groups of students we often survey and I ask them often the question, if you could describe the college in one word, what would it be?  

Tory Moore [00:12:19] 

Hmm.  

Elaine Turner [00:12:30] 

And the words that come up the most often are home and family.  

Tory Moore [00:12:23] 

Hmm. 

Elaine Turner [00:12:24] 

And I think we do that in a couple of ways. We're still a reasonably large college, right? So, we have almost 7,000 students enrolled last fall. Now, that's in a university of 53,000. So, you know, we're certainly smaller than the university, but thats still a lot of students.  

But what I think we do really well is that our faculty and our staff want to connect with students. They love teaching,they love working in academic advising, and they really they impart that family feel within our departments,and we mirror that at the college level. And I think that's a characteristic that you find a lot in colleges of agriculture and related sciences around the country.  

One of the particular strengths that we offer and that is unique on campus, is that all of our advising, our academic advising, is done in the program or the department. And so, you get to know an advisor, as a student, you get to know an advisor really well and they get to know you really well. And that has a number of advantages. That advisor knows that, you know, you're looking for an internship next summer or that you want to study abroad, or that you really value working in the community and you want to get more experience working in the community, or that you want to do research. So that advisor gets to know what it is, in addition to your degree, your classes, what experiences are you looking for.They also may see in you experiences that you would benefit from that you hadn't thought about. So, they're also to challenge you to step out of your comfort zone a little bit.  

But then because that advisor is embedded in a department or program, they also know what's going on in that program and they work together as advisors across the college. So, they have a good feel for what's happening in the college. And so that academic advisor has contact with faculty who are doing research and knows who's looking for undergraduates to work in that lab. They can help that student make connections. And that's a key part of you know, developing those outside-the-classroom experiences that are so valuable for our students, no matter what their next step is after they earn their degree. So, that's one of the futures.  

If I just had to pick one that I think really cultivates a sense of home and family for our students, it's that our academic advising both with faculty and staff, occurs in the department or program and helps build those relationships that allows students to make important connections and to see and then seek opportunities. 

Tory Moore [00:15:33] 

Right. And I think speaking from my experience, is when my advisor helped me in incredible ways as an undergrad student and all of the ways you listed. Right. But even beyond, you know, when I had to make some really critical career decisions in my life, I've still gone to him for that. And then those people, they stick with you and they’re a  support system and somebody that knows you well that can give you some sound advice or reality checks along the way later on. 

Tory Moore [00:15:55] 

Cathy Oh, go ahead. 

Cathy Carr [00:15:56] 

So many of our programs even will those advisors or faculty members that will maintain those relationships with alumni and then they'll use those alumni in their seminar or career development courses to speak to students, to try to open their eyes to all of the different ways that they can use their degrees.  

And I think it's so important, even if that's not what you plan to do initially, you never know when that network of alumni from your program or that just little idea that might have sparked in your brain, may come in handy in the future in your career or even in your personal life.  

I think that that relationship that our students have with their advisors and faculty in their programs is so, so important, not just as a student, but also long term. And we are so lucky that our alumni are gracious enough to give of their time, to give back to those courses and programs and student clubs and share what they've learned or what really helped them when they were a student be successful at following that career trajectory.  

The other way I feel like we're really lucky is so many of those will hire our students either as interns or part-time workers or even full-time employment after graduation. And we have a really dedicated group of employers that visit us year after year and events that we put on at the college level, like the CALS Career Expo.  

Tory Moore [00:17:19] 

Mm hmm.  

Elaine Turner [00:17:20] 

There are so many alumni that come back to that, or whose companies are represented there, because they they've gently nudged and encouraged their employers or because those employers just see that we have really good quality students that are going to give them the skill sets that they need to advance their companies and organizations. 

Tory Moore [00:17:48] 

As we start to wrap up today, what is one thing that you wish you knew or that people knew about careers and opportunities in food and agriculture? So, if they forget everything else we said today, what would you want that take home message to be? Dean Turner we’ll have you go first. 

Elaine Turner [00:18:03] 

I think the one thing that I would say is that, there's really a place for everyone in food and agriculture. There is something for everyone, whether your interests are in science, in technology, in math, in business, in communications, there's a place for you here. And there are excellent careers, high-paying careers, satisfying careers that work every day to help people live healthier lives. Because that's, that's what our food supply does. It helps us be healthier.  

And there's a, there's a second element to that, because we, within the college, not only have the agricultural sciences and the life sciences, we have the natural resource sciences, too. And those are all intertwined. We can't have healthy people without a healthy planet. And so, those have to work together. And I think sometimes that may be something people don't realize is how closely we have to work together in order to feed our global population in a way that is sustainable for our planet.  

And so, being able to connect that together within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is incredibly powerful. So, I would hope people would listen to the podcast and maybe at least get the idea that there might be a place for me in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and get on our website, give us a call, come see us, and we'll help you find that place. 

Cathy Carr [00:19:59] 

One of the things that comes to mind for me is that I think so many -- sometimes we lose those really, really talented students because we have a very competitive freshman ambitions policy at the University of Florida. And I think it's so important for people to keep in mind that there are multiple pathways to get to the University of Florida in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. So being a transfer student is a great option. And we have a transfer guide that, if you are a Florida resident and you have some hours from a public university in the state of Florida or a public college here, it makes it pretty easy to transfer in and you get the exact same diploma that everybody else gets. 

So, I want to encourage anyone that thinks maybe, you know, they're intimidated by that freshman admissions process to really reach out to us and let us help you be a successful transfer student. 

Tory Moore [00:20:58] 

That's right. There's still an opportunity to be a gator. I mean, like you said, it's gotten so difficult to get in as a freshman. And I think that it can be discouraging. But you're right. It doesn’t. I never knew the difference between who was there before and who was there for two years, right? And we were just all learning together, growing together. And I work with all of those people just the same now as they is  as a student as well. So that's an excellent point. Thank you again, Dean Turner and Cathy Carr for chatting with me today.  

Next step, I'll chat with a CALS student, Hope Hirsch, about a project she's working on that intersects food and space.  

For part two of today's podcast, we chat with Hope Hersh. Hope is a plant molecular and cellular biology doctoral student in the UF IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. She uses her expertise in food to support space projects.  

She recently participated in NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge and devised a way for astronauts to have freshly baked bread on space expeditions. Today, she'll share with us details on the project, as well as what led her to this unique career path.  

Welcome. I'm so excited to hear more about space bread. 

Hope Hersh [00:22:07] 

Thank you, Tory. I'm excited to be here. 

Tory Moore [00:22:09] 

Yeah, so let's get right into it. Tell me why bread in space is such a big deal. 

Hope Hersh [00:22:16] 

Bread in space is so important because right now there are not a lot of fresh fruits that astronauts can have in space. So, when our astronauts go on long missions to the International Space Station and back, they're very limited food selection and bread in space, would mean something fresh that they could eat every single day that would remind them of home. 

Tory Moore [00:22:39] 

Okay. So not only is it bread in space, but they're making the bread in space.  

Hope Hersh [00:22:44] 

Yes, yes.. So, up until now, bread and space has been a big no no because of the crumbs that come from bread. So, they usually have tortillas or something that's crumbless And even though we haven't gotten  the green light to make bread in space, I'm hoping that we can eventually get there with my new space bread system. 

Tory Moore [00:23:05] 

Now, so tell me about the system and what it's like to make bread in space. 

Hope Hersh [00:23:09] 

Yeah. So, space bread is a multi-functional use plastic bag that you can store your ingredients, so you would store your, for example, we're making yeast bread, so flour, yeast and salt. And then when they get up to the International Space Station, they can just inject a little bit of water into that bag, mix it up like you would make dough with your hands, and then leave that to rise overnight. And the next day you can throw the whole plastic bag into the oven and you have fresh bread in space. So, the key to this is having everything within one system that's quick and easy for the astronauts to use.  

Tory Moore [00:23:49] 

Okay So I'm learning a lot because I also didn't even know that they had an oven in space as well know. 

Hope Hersh [00:23:53] 

Yeah, so, they do not have conventional ovens like we have our convection ovens here on Earth, because in space there's no gravity. So, air cannot circulate like it does in a traditional convection oven. So, they do have different types of ovens in space. 

Tory Moore [00:24:11] 

Interesting. That's wild. I just, things you don't know or think about, right?. So what led to you developing space bread? 

Hope Hersh [00:24:18] 

So, my advisor, Dr. Mark Suttles, has also been working on this project with me initially. And one day he was getting his blood drawn and looked up at the bag and was like those cells, those blood cells that are alive. I wonder what else we could use those facts for. So fast forward to 2018, we started growing algae in those bags on the International Space Station and then we were, you know, just as scientists do, trying to figure out something else we could do cool these bags in space. And we came up with making bread because at the time we were in the middle of the pandemic and everybody was making bread at home.  

Tory Moore [00:24:52] 

Yes. 

Hope Hersh [00:24:53] 

So him and I were doing the same thing and we thought, I wonder if we can make bread in these bags. And this, this would be a perfect closed system to send up into space. And sure enough, it worked. And so, we've been tweaking the idea ever since to make space bread.. 

Tory Moore [00:25:17] 

And how long did this project take? How long have you been working on this? 

Hope Hersh [00:25:21] 

So, the original concept maybe came about in 2020.  

Tory Moore [00:25:19] 

Mm hmm.  

Hope Hersh [00:25:20] 

The competition itself took about half a year to write the proposal, and then about a year to get everything around and get everything submitted. So, it's 2022 now. It's been two years. And to get to the end of this project or the end of this competition, it's about another two years. 

Tory Moore [00:25:48] 

Okay and that competition is the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, right? Tell me about that and how you got involved. 

Hope Hersh [00:25:54] 

Yeah. So, I closely follow everything NASA., I love space, so I get, I'm on all their emailing lists. And one day I got an email about a food challenge that was coming up and I was emailing them day one. I have an idea. I want to be a part of the challenge, and this was before they even conceptualized, I think, the idea of what the competition would be. And so, I kept in touch with them and we developed our space bread idea, which we already had. It just happened to coincide at the same time that- 

Tory Moore [00:26:25] 

Oh wow. 

Hope Hersh [00:26:26] 

So it was perfect. And yeah, what they're looking for is innovative, new food technologies so that we can help assist our astronauts to get proper nutrients, as well as delicious foods on long missions to Mars or the moon and back. 

Tory Moore [00:26:49] 

And what, I guess nutritional needs to space bread meet that maybe they were lacking in their diet, prior?  

Hope Hersh [00:26:58] 

Nutritional needs, I mean, it's always great to have carbohydrates and things like that. Bread is obviously a lot of carbohydrates. But what's fantastic about space bread is it's a base that you can add anything to. So, if they're lacking a nutrient or a certain type of chemical compound or something, you can add that into bread and change the flavor. And then they would be getting the vitamins or the nutrients that they need. 

Tory Moore [00:27:25] 

Nice, so it's like a nice, like you said, like a nice base that you could do so much with based on their needs at that time. Especially since they're making it while they're up there. So that’s  so interesting. That's awesome. So, tell me a little bit more about the competition. How did you do? I know you did quite well. So, tell me about that and what's next for you. 

Hope Hersh [00:27:42] 

So, phase one, I wrote the proposal and submitted it, waited what seemed like forever, but I ended up winning. So, one day Dr. Suttles called me and I was like, Guess what space bread from Hawthorne, Florida, which is where I live. 

Tory Moore [00:27:57] 

Okay, yeah. 

Hope Hersh [00:27:58] 

I won. And I was like, No way. And I go on the website, which I checked religiously. 

Tory Moore [00:27:50] 

Of course. 

Hope Hersh [00:28:00} 

You know every single day I’m checking that website. Yeah,space bread won.  We won $25,000  prize to do with what we see fit. So, what I ended up doing was putting money into savings and reinvesting it in the project so I can be ready for phase two of the competition. 

Tory Moore [00:28:22] 

Okay. And what will phase two  look like? 

Hope Hersh [00:28:25] 

Phase one was an idea, the concept, right? Phase two is proof of idea or proof of concept. So, you need to show that what you are claiming can actually work and that it's safe for the astronauts. So, it's a lot of safety testing and a lot of in-person demonstrations at NASA. 

Tory Moore [00:28:46] 

Okay. And this might sound like a silly question, but when you say safe for astronauts, are we talking about like shelf stability, food poisoning, that type of thing? Is that what we're looking at? 

Hope Hersh [00:28:55] 

Yes. Exactly. And also packaging. So, my idea is mostly a packaging idea, as well as I mean, it functions, right? You can use it to bake in, but I need to make sure that the plastic is in no way breaking down and getting into the bread. So, I need to propose ways to test all these things, and also to make sure that there's no toxic nutrients that are being formed or anything by the -- you know, because we don't know how things react in space. 

Tory Moore [00:29:25] 

So, could this packaging be used for other food products in space as well? 

Hope Hersh [00:29:30] 

It could. The plastic bag can be reused and resealed. So, in theory here on earth, they could repack it with something else, brownie mix, for example, and send it up into space and maybe we can make space brownies in future. 

Tory Moore [00:29:45] 

Oh my gosh. And I'm sure those astronauts would appreciate those treats. I've had that astronaut ice cream, but I don't know if they really eat that up there. I don't know. It's just a gimmicky tourist shop thing, ight? 

Hope Hersh [00:29:57] 

But they do eat like freeze dried meals up in space. And when you rehydrate those, they eat, I assume, do not come close to what you actually eat here on Earth. 

Tory Moore [00:30:11] 

Right. 

Hope Hersh [00:30:11] 

So, to have that fresh aroma of bread in the International Space Station when you wake up in the morning, I think would be a fantastic reminder of home when these astronauts have been gone for a really long time. 

Tory Moore [00:30:24] 

Yeah. And I also, I'm sitting here I mean, I want to say bread is bread, but I'm trying to picture what this tastes like. And I bet, I don't know, just I love bread, though. I love me some carbs. 

Hope Hersh [00:30:33] 

It's like a ciabatta roll. 

Tory Moore [00:30:36] 

Okay. Oo. So that's yummy. 

Hope Hersh [00:30:37] 

Yes, Yes. 

Tory Moore [00:30:39] 

So very nice. 

Hope Hersh [00:30:40] 

Very moist, though, because everything stays contained within the bag. 

Tory Moore [00:30:44] 

Right. 

Hope Hersh [00:30:44] 

So that helps with the crumb issue. 

Tory Moore [00:30:47] 

So tell me about like the ultimate goal of this next step of the competition and maybe what timeline is like on that for you? 

Hope Hersh [00:30:55] 

The next phase of the competition is about a year and a half.  

Tory Moore [00:30:53] 

Okay.  

Hope Hersh [00:30:54] 

It just started back at the beginning of this year. In May, we have to give a progress report as a phase-one winner and then select them everything, let them know everything we've been doing up until now. And then after that we start safety testing and in-kitchen demonstrations with NASA.. So, this next phase won't be finished until the end of this year, maybe the beginning of next year. But ultimately, if you pass this phase, then you move on to phase three, which is: Does NASA want to have your food technology up in space? And so, this is a really exciting, not only because phase two has started, but also because I'm going to find out if everything that I've been claiming works is actually safe for the astronauts. 

Tory Moore [00:31:51] 

Right. 

Hope Hersh [00:31:52] 

So. 

Tory Moore [00:31:53] 

Yeah, and it's cool to actually see this next step and see I mean, this product eventually hopefully get to space. That's really that's really exciting. 

Hope Hersh [00:32:02] 

To know that I conceptualized and proposed something that could be used for the foreseeable future up in space, you know, spaceflight is taking off. Space journeys are taking off. We're going to the moon. We're going to Mars. We have plans to do that. I don't see space bread being unwanted any time soon. And I hope that, you know, for the foreseeable future it's used.  I'm really excited about this. 

Tory Moore [00:32:29] 

So, I can tell you you're super excited. And I think, you know, you have a passion for this. So how did you get into this, I guess, role and yeah, what got you to where you are today working on this project? 

Hope Hersh [00:32:42] 

I joined a corn genetics lab, and so as a corn lab we think a lot about sugar, starch. And as I started my studies here at the University of Florida, I decided that maybe corn genetics is not for me and that I love space biology. And so, I proposed. I wrote a grant with my PI and proposed a way to study algae and how it pertains to space. And that got funded and I funded my dissertation during this. And then as that project went on, I started thinking about how could I make algae that produces a lot of sugar or a lot of starch or something like that, and what could we use it in? And bread was the first thing that came to my mind, and that's how I got into this whole space bread thing, was potentially putting algae into bread or making bread that has more nutrients using algae. 

Tory Moore [00:33:49] 

Interesting. That's awesome. So how, and I also love your point, I want to just point out, especially since this entire episode is about careers, sometimes early on in your career journey, whether in college or even beyond, it's just as much about figuring out what isn’t for you as what is.  

Hope Hersh [00:33:59] 

Yes.  

Tory Moore [00:34:00] 

Right? 

Hope Hersh [00:34:01] 

Exactly. And admitting it to yourself. 

Tory Moore [00:34:02] 

Yeah.  

Hope Hersh [00:34:03] 

Right?  

Tory Moore [00:34:05] 

Yeah. Yeah. And then it's okay. Because, look, I mean, it's okay that that was not your thing because you found your thing. 

Hope Hersh [00:34:14] 

Yes, I did find my thing. And even more than found it, I created my thing. 

Tory Moore [00:34:19] 

That, too. 

Hope Hersh [00:34:20] 

So, I am making my own niche so that when I graduate, I am the expert in baking bread in space. So, I'm going to make my own career and take off and hopefully go work for NASA or Space X or one of the big companies that, you know, are working on all these fantastic projects. 

Tory Moore [00:34:39] 

I like it. So how has CALS,  your education in CALS, and your time here helped you with this project and in the competition? 

Hope Hersh [00:34:48] 

My department has been really supportive as far as, you know, congratulations, we're so proud of you posting things up. And, you know, at the university here, getting me in contact with IFAS and CALS  to do publicity for space bread and then for my education, as far as that goes, everything that I've learned up until this point has been dumped into space bread. My whole Ph.D. has helped build this idea and this concept. And so I'm really fortunate to have had that education and be able to actually apply it in real time while I'm still writing my dissertation, I'm here at UF. 

Tory Moore [00:35:26] 

So, what also attracted you to CALS and this specific program within the College of AG? 

Hope Hersh [00:35:32] 

Yeah, so the PMCB is very unique. As I was looking for graduate student programs, I found out that the PMCB pays  very well and that's the first thing. It's hard to find a graduate program that always has a good stipend as well as pays for your credits and it pays for your health care. But also PMCB is very small. So, my incoming class was five students where normally other departments could be 30 students, 40, 50 students. So, I know everybody very personally, and I've gotten to make great connections with the professors because of that. 

Tory Moore [00:36:14] 

And that's actually something we talked about earlier in our interview with Dean Turner and Cathy Carr that that personal touch that CALS has. I think a lot of college of AGs across the country are that way as well. But here at UF IFAS  I feel like that's something we hear from students all the time. I was a CALS grad as well. It's something I experienced. Even if you are in a bigger department, you really do get to know your professors and your advisors and they're really supportive and that can make a huge difference in a program, whether it is undergrad or graduate level. 

Hope Hersh [00:36:45] 

The people, the support staff at IFAS and CALS, not just the professors, but the, you know, Dean Turner, as well as everybody in the communication office, have gone above and beyond to help support me with space bread and getting the word out there, producing videos that I need for the competition. So, I'm very fortunate to have access to all these different resources. 

Tory Moore [00:37:06] 

It really, it really takes the team and that's something I said earlier in the interview as well. Yeah. So, what advice would you give to someone interested in working on similar space projects? Maybe not even space bread, but other projects similar to this? 

Hope Hersh [00:37:20] 

Going into science, funding is scarce, but you can find funding. Write your own grant, put your ideas out there. Don't be afraid to go for what you want. And you know, most of the time I think if people take their shot that they have a good chance of actually doing what they're interested in instead of just settling for something that,you're not as interested in.. 

Tory Moore [00:37:44] 

Yeah, and that passion can take it home , you know? 

Hope Hersh [00:37:45] 

Yes.  

Tory Moore [00:37:46] 

You can take it, take it further. So, my last question, I think, to you would be where is what is your background even beyond coming to the University of Florida? Do you have an ag background or, you know, food or anything like that? 

Hope Hersh [00:38:00] 

Yeah. So, I did my undergrad at Michigan State. My parents both graduated high school. Nothing to do with science or food or ag, but my undergrad, my bachelor's degree was in biochemistry and molecular biology and then some plant biology. So, I knew that I was already interested in plants coming here but did not know that agricultural college was going to be my choice. But it's given me a lot of options as far as after graduation. So it's been perfect. 

Tory Moore [00:38:34] 

Yeah. Are you sometimes, you know, like, amazed or caught off guard that your path to space went through an ag path? Like, is that ever something that you think--I think that's surprising to some people, right? 

Hope Hersh [00:38:48] 

Yeah, definitely surprising that I went through an ag path and that my options are so open because of that,right? I mean, I can diverge at any point in the process. So, I could go study wheat that they put it into bread. I could do, you know, manufacturing of bread. I could do-- There's so many options. And as I'm getting closer to graduation, I'm getting job offers. I'm starting to notice that I've picked up a lot of skills while I was here. So, it's been great to go through the ag program here. 

Tory Moore [00:39:22] 

What would you tell students considering a CALS major? 

Hope Hersh [00:39:30] 

Do it? CALS and IFAS have, like I said, been very supportive and very helpful, helpful throughout this journey. And they're fantastic programs that we have here in CALS. So definitely go do it, get out there, you know, submit your your CV, submit your application and come join us here at CALS. 

Tory Moore [00:39:49] 

Well, thank you so, so much for your time today. Hope I'm so excited to hear the results of your competition and your success after graduation. I'll be sure to follow you and we'll put some cool stuff in the show notes so that listeners can follow along as well. 

Hope Hersh [00:40:02] 

Thank you so much, Tory. 

Tory Moore [00:40:04] 

So that's it for today's episode of The Food is our Middle Name podcast. To learn more about careers in agriculture and the Space Bread project, check out the episode notes.