Oracles at Delphi

November 5, 2025 | 4 min to read

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The magazine you hold in your hands is the culmination of four decades of thought-leadership. Most of the credit goes to the genius of Editor-in-Chief Jim Prevor (1961-2022), who had the ability to extract many years of produce genetics into a modern-day communicator of ideas and industry advice.

Jim was the smartest person I ever met, even going back to our college days. His wealth of knowledge in most subjects was an attraction to nearly all of the leaders in the industry, and it wasn’t uncommon for Jim to receive daily phone calls about even the most arcane subjects.

Each monthly Produce Business magazine was just a small part of the contribution Jim made to the industry, and when he passed away nearly three years ago, there was an immediate void of thought-leadership that had advanced the industry in a positive direction. One might even say that the merger of PMA and United might not have happened without Jim’s earnest persuasion. Even some of today’s food safety organizations, innovative retailers, and producers of proprietary produce items owe a hat tip to Jim’s wisdom.

When Jim passed away in November 2022, I stepped into many of the roles Jim occupied, not only in the production of this magazine, but in the consulting services Jim established. To this day, our company conducts biannual share group meetings of retailers, wholesalers and fresh-cut processors. We also enjoy working with universities, trade associations and companies outside of the produce arena to focus on specific areas that need improvement.

Last year at IFPA’s Global Show, we launched a year-long program to uncover some of the passions that motivate industry leaders, amassing more than 50 testimonials from a diverse group of volunteers. The experience continued at the 2024 New York Produce Show with the theme — “Where Passion Becomes Action.”

One of the most remarkable takeaways from our passion project was hearing about many of the significant issues that motivate individuals to champion, not only within their companies but in the industry at large. We couldn’t resist keeping the project going down a new and different path.

On the cover of this issue are 40 “People of Purpose” — a hand-selected group who illustrate their passions for where the industry might head in the future. These individuals volunteered their time to write about some of the crucial issues affecting our industry today. Some are still submitting their contributions, and we will be publishing all 40 articles over the course of 2025 and 2026.

What is striking about the topics submitted to date is how trenchant they are to the industry at large:

Next-Generation Shoppers
Produce and Public Health
What Makes a Great Produce Manager?
Keys to Brand Marketing Success
Talent Mentorship/Career Development
Technology at Retail
Foodservice Macro Trends
Development of Seeds for Flavor
Contract Procurement
Nuances of Foodservice Distribution
Produce in Schools
The Organic Consumer
“Last-Mile” Food Safety Management

We look forward to publishing these articles throughout the year, and we also want to use the thoughts expressed to carry the dialogue even further.

Starting in this issue, we are re-introducing our Letters to the Editor section to invite comments from the rest of the industry. If you are interested in participating with an opinion on any of these articles/topics, please send them to [email protected].

During the process of editing the submitted articles, I could not stop thinking of a conversation with Jim years ago about the Oracle of Delphi. Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine in all of Greece, where a priestess of Apollo would deliver prophecies. Today, taking the Delphi concept further by using a technique of a series of questions and answers, there are many “Delphi Groups” established to flush out trends and topics to carry companies and industries forward.

In a way, this project, led by the 40 People of Purpose, is the start of a new PB initiative. By incorporating many of the subjects as feature stories into our annual editorial calendar, we will be asking many more people to share their insights on these important industry trends. If you would like to see our latest editorial calendar, please send a note to [email protected].

Moving into our fifth decade of service in the industry, our goal is to make Produce Business a focal point for intellectual enquiry. By opening the pages to the industry as a year-long Delphi Project, we hope there will be further advancements in our original theme, established in 1985: To Initiate Industry Improvement.