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Globally, we waste a billion tons of food every single year. That's equivalent to 30-40% of the US food supply, and $1 trillion of economic value thrown in the trash.

But what if the solution isn't just about "eating your vegetables," but about treating trash like data?

On this episode of Thought Liters, Adam sits down with Nolan Sulpizio, founder of Clean Plate Innovations, to discuss how he is using machine learning to solve this gluttonous problem.

Over a flight of Pittsburgh’s finest, they pour over:

• The "Butterfly Effect" of throwing away a single burger.
• How a brutal critique at a pitch competition forced a pivot from "gamification" to "data is dollars".
• Why "AI" might just be a buzzword, and how actual Machine Learning differs.
• The future of food waste regulations and corporate responsibility.

00:00 - The 1 Billion Ton Problem

02:46 - The Butterfly Effect of Wasting Food

07:23 - From the "Bee Crisis" to Entrepreneurship

12:26 - Creating a Business in 4 Days (Startup Weekend)

16:58 - The Pitch Competition: "Where's the Money?"

23:28 - The Pivot: Why Data is the New Oil

31:32 - How Clean Plate Technology Actually Works

33:23 - Why He Says "AI" Isn't Real (The Emissions Problem)

39:15 - The Future: $10,000 Fines and Regulations

45:49 - Building a Startup in Pittsburgh

49:49 - Can Tech Solve a Human Problem?

#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtliters

WHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?

Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.

The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.

The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.

If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.