Mario Kart and reGenesis Ag

Mario Kart and reGenesis Ag

by | Mar 14, 2023 | Uncategorized

It’s a Friday afternoon in 1996, you rush home from school, you throw the backpack on the floor, and run upstairs to your room where you dedicate the next 48 hours playing Mario Kart 64.  You play as Mario and race through Bowsers Castle, Donkey Kong in the jungle, Toad on Rainbow Road, as you race your way to 1st place in hopes of winning the Mushoom Cup Tournament.

As a player you race on courses designed to stimulate and excite the mind into thinking that you are winning.  You collect resources in the shape of question marks in hopes getting the red heat seeking shells, mushrooms for extra speed, Starman, or the infamous dreaded blue spiked shell designed to take out the person in the number one spot.

By now many of you are wondering how Mario Kart and gaming principles apply to a new Ag Tech startup.  Boston University College of Arts assistant professor Andrew Bell sees Mario Kart and more specifically Mario Kart Economics as more than just a racing game, He sees it as a guide to create more equitable social and economic programs that serve farmers in low resource areas of the developing world.  When playing Mario Kart , resources are given out to every player, but it’s the players in the middle and the back that get the best resources to boost and propel them forward to a better position on the track while the players who do really well are given poor resources since they don’t need help; this concept is known as rubber banding and it is what makes the game addictive and fun for the player.

With the latest research conducted by the FAO,  there are more than 608 million family farms around the world, occupying between 70 and 80 percent of the world’s farmland and producing around 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms. The new research conducted also estimates farm size:

  • around 70 percent of all farms, operating on just 7 percent of all agricultural land, are less than one hectare
  • while another 14 percent of farms, controlling 4 percent of the land, are between one and two hectares
  • another 10 percent of all farms, with 6 percent of the land, are between two and five hectares.

The world can produce enough food to feed everyone yet it is estimated that one-third of all global food production is wasted each year, nearly 800 million people are still considered under-nourished due to food quality and lack of access, and many of these farmers are considered to be the poorest of the poor. 

Can an Ag Tech startup really be built around Mario Kart Economics to solve some of these issues, where a company is working towards a global collective of supplying resources to those whose are in the middle and back and need the boost to propel forward?   This is question we hope to answer, with any new start-up there will be challenges, setbacks, and failures and reGenesis Ag is no different; by establishing value added, lasting relationships we can launch pilot programs and build an organic ecosystem through our 3 digital platforms where we can “boost”  farms,farmers, and other global stakeholders by connecting people globally to food and provide:

  • data for transparent supply chains focused on food safety and food security
  • resources needed to improve livelihoods
  • increase economic opportunities to provide for a better quality of life through micro-loans and micro-investment.
  • boost and increase trade in developing and emerging countries
  • allow us to digitally tell the story from their farm to your plate.   

reGenesis Ag hopes you will partner with us in building what the future of agriculture should look like as we continue to move forward in the 21st century.

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The need for a better tracking / tracing system

The need for a better tracking / tracing system

by | Jan 7, 2023 | Agri-food systems

The need for a better tracking / tracing system in response to food borne illness and disease outbreaks in agri-food systems

With globalization rising, the risk to crops and livestock are increasing; and food security is being threatened by both numbers and intensity of transboundary outbreaks of pests and diseases in both plants and animals.  Unsafe food not only prevents the uptake of vital nutrients which in turn makes it unavailable for human consumption but leads to poor nutrition as well; and poor nutrition leads to more susceptible diseases in human population, overloads healthcare systems, affects both national and international trade, productivity losses and prevents economic development in urban and rural areas.  In a 2015 report  by the WHO, it is estimated that 600 million people across the globe fall ill to food borne illness and disease every year with economic and productivity losses in the tens of billions if not hundreds of billions of dollars year after year.

  Unsafe food contains harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemical substances that cause more than 200 diseases, ranging from stomach and digestive issues to cancers and the rise of anti-microbial resistant virus strains threaten human health and animal ecosystems as we can see in the case of hand / foot / mouth disease in cattle where over 100 countries are still not declared disease free.  These countries pose risks and threaten the food security of those countries that still considered disease free.  The importance of updated agri-food networks with better response mechanisms to national and international food related viruses and disease outbreaks is more important than ever with many countries across the globe relying on agricultural imports and exports to boost their economies or feed their citizens; a safe, sustainable, and transparent food safety system and network plays an important role in food security of countries around the globe.  

In the US the average cost of a recall to a food company is $10 million dollars according to a joint industry study by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association; but in reality the cost is higher as there are factors to consider such as lawsuits, fines, government mandates, product destruction, and brand reputation just to name a few.  With the global population now at 8 billion and changes in food production and global markets to meet a growing world the need for better tracking and traceability solutions should be a top priority.  Tracking and traceability meets consumer and market demands for more transparency in food production and supply chains, enhance the ability to identify, respond, react, and even prevent a food safety issue, validate food sourcing claims, exports, and imports thus boosting economic trade and preventing counterfeit / fraud in food the industry, and support supply chain optimization and reduce food loss.  

As the 21st century continues to move forward reGenesis Ag hopes to partner with agri-food networks across world to continue to connect people globally to food.