2020 Produce Business 40 Under Forty Award Winner: Christine Moseley

Age: 38
Founder and Chief Executive
Full Harvest
San Francisco, CA

Moseley, Full Harvest founder and chief executive, is on a mission to solve the world’s food waste problem. Full Harvest, the first business-to-business online marketplace connecting growers with brands that up-cycle “ugly” and surplus produce into innovative food and beverage products, was born out of her passion for the environment, sustainability, and affordable healthy food. Full Harvest creates value across the supply chain by significantly reducing wasted food and resources, lowering production costs for food and beverage companies and bringing farmers additional revenue streams.

Moseley has more than 15 years of experience in the logistics and food industries at both Fortune 100 companies (Maersk, P&G) as well as high-growth food start-ups. In her previous role, she assisted Organic Avenue, a NYC healthy food and juice start-up, double in size as head of strategic projects and business development. She holds an MBA from Wharton Business School and was recently recognized as Fortune’s #2 “Most Innovative Woman in Food & Drink” and Forbes’ #14 “Woman Crushing Tech.” Full Harvest was named one of Forbes’ “Most Innovative Agtech Startups.” For its efforts, the company was also recognized as a 2019 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Moseley spoke at the UN COP 25 meeting in January 2020 and this year’s World Economic Forum.

Hobbies: Cooking, Travel, Piano, Dance, Sustainability

Personal/Community: YPO, Canvas Church

Motto in life: “Go big or go home.”

Q: What industry improvements would you like to see?
First, I’d love to see farmers thrive by being able to sell more produce that is historically left in the field because it does not meet retail aesthetic standards. Next, I’d like the produce sector to be at the center of the climate conversation. The industry will be greatly impacted by climate disruptions going forward and we have a huge role to play in reducing carbon emissions by eliminating food loss. As demand for plant-based products continues to be a growth engine in the food sector, produce is going to have a powerful voice in creating a healthier and more sustainable food system.

Q: What was the “aha” moment when you knew the produce industry was the best choice for you?
When visiting a romaine lettuce grower I saw how much on-farm food was being lost because it didn’t meet stringent retail aesthetic standards, but was otherwise high quality and edible food. It was at that moment that I decided to dedicate my life to helping farmers earn more money and fix the on-farm food loss challenge. My goal: eliminate food waste and create 100 percent full harvests for farmers.

Q: What do you see as the most critical “hot button” issue facing the industry in the next decade?
Climate change is the single most important issue facing the sustainability of our industry. With greater climate variance, we’ll continue to see supply chain disruptions that have social and environmental impacts to our farming communities. Yet, I am optimistic because the produce industry also has an increasingly critical role to play addressing climate change. If we work as a sector to adopt technologies and logistics solutions, we can have an outsized impact on solving this problem.

Q: How has the industry changed during your tenure?
Broadly, the industry has grown in real terms as demand for plant-based products has soared. This is such a great trend as it relates to human and planetary health. I also think that the COVID pandemic has shed light on very real vulnerabilities in our industry, and has exacerbated some of the food loss and labor issues confronting the sector. I firmly believe that the pandemic will be a turning point for our industry as we work together to adopt technologies and logistics solutions that address these issues.