Host Sara welcomes George Carter, a strategy and operations leader with deep roots in vertical farming and food systems, for a conversation that blends personal resilience with systems-level thinking. George shares how stepping away from a misaligned role protected his mental health and reshaped his leadership style, then dives deep into the structural problems in America's food system—from food deserts and import dependency to policy, funding gaps, and the loss of cooking education—offering practical starting points for anyone who wants to help fix it.
Show Notes:
00:01 Welcome and introduction to the podcast's mission and George Carter's background
01:56 The defining moment George stepped into a role misaligned with his strengths
06:03 Why sales teams get blamed and the need for two-way feedback loops
08:19 The signs George was out of alignment and how it wore him down daily
13:09 How these lessons shaped George's leadership style today
15:21 Systems thinking applied to scaling a business and organizational infrastructure
17:51 Stepping away from stability to protect mental health
23:15 Introduction to systems thinking as it applies to food systems
26:57 The educational gap: why people no longer know how to cook from scratch
31:00 Food, community, and family traditions as a love language
35:52 Why more U.S. food is imported than grown domestically and the risks involved
36:19 The role of policy, trade deals like NAFTA, and tariffs in the food system
39:37 Funding mechanisms and why agriculture struggles to get proper investment
41:41 The reality of USDA grant matching funds and their impact on small operators
43:28 George's advice for finding momentum and reconnecting with what makes you happy
45:01 How to connect with George Carter and closing thoughts
SEO:
George Carter joins The Route to Success to discuss walking away from a misaligned career, protecting mental health, and rebuilding America's broken food systems.
What is The Route to Success?
Success rarely follows a straight line.
On The Route to Success, I sit down each week with business owners, nonprofit leaders, founders, and changemakers from different backgrounds to talk about the real stories behind leadership, growth, hope, and resilience.
Together, we explore the challenges people do not always see. Burnout. Setbacks. Purpose. Wellness. Asking for help. Starting over. We also talk about the practical tools, decisions, and habits that helped each guest keep moving forward.
These are honest, thoughtful conversations. They are not polished stories about perfect success. They are real discussions about what it takes to lead, grow, and find hope during difficult seasons, with plenty of moments to connect and laugh along the way.
New episodes are released every Thursday.