In Episode 135 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Lowell Randel, Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs for the Global Cold Chain Alliance, which serves as the voice of the cold chain industry, representing 1,300 member companies in over 85 countries. The two discuss the impact that COVID-19 and the government shutdowns have had on food supply chains, processing facilities, and the industrial farm sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant shifts in consumer demand away from food service businesses like restaurants and towards foot retail outlets like supermarkets and groceries. Food industry players are in turn looking to adapt, redirecting products originally destined for the food service sector to retail instead. This has created challenges for farmers that have led, in some cases, to the euthanization of livestock and the wholesale destruction of crops ready for harvest.

This episode uses the crisis caused by COVID-19 and the government mandated shutdowns in order to understand the vulnerabilities of our food supply networks with an eye on finding ways to improve their resiliency going forward.

You can access my conversation with TeslaCharts & Georgia Owell, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week’s episode through the Hidden Forces Patreon Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.

Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Lowell Randel currently serves as Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs for the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). He is responsible for advancing the industry’s interests with the U.S. Congress and Administration and helps association members deal with regulatory compliance. Lowell has over 24 years of experience working on food and agriculture issues in Washington, DC ranging from private sector representation to government service. Prior to joining GCCA, Lowell served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).While in this role, Lowell worked closely with the Secretary of Agriculture and across all USDA agencies to coordinate legislative policy and functioned as a primary contact between the Department and Congress. Lowell holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and master’s degree in agricultural development, both from Texas A&M University. He also holds a Juris Doctorate from George Mason University School of Law.