I love problem solving and I love change. That can be a good thing ... or it can be a not so good thing.Then again, if we never change and we never try new things we won’t get anywhere in life. I remember a few years ago hearing about this durian fruit. Y’all know what I am talking about? If you don’t, then you are missing out on some stinky smelly fruit.

The durian is cultivated in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Thailand and is seldom exported. Why is it seldom exported, you ask? The smell and taste have been described as many things including rotten eggs, a strange combination of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, diced garlic, onions, cheese, and caramel all at once — or a dead decaying body.

The pungent stench from these edible fruits has been known to clear buildings, ground planes, forcing evacuation of subways and other public areas, and it is often illegal to eat in public in many areas of southeast Asia. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? With that description, how could I not want to try it.

I bought one from an Asian market and cracked it open outside in a secluded area. My description is more like it smells like a dead body, tastes like a rotten egg, and has the texture of snot. Sorry! Just being descriptive. I took one bite and was done. I burned the rest, never to try it again.

Fast forward one day, and I saw some durian popsicles in an Asian store. What the heck? My curiosity got the best of me, and it had been 24 hours since my last not-so-wonderful experience with this edible fruit. I tried it and ended up eating two. It was delicious.

How could such a nasty tasting fruit be transformed into something so yummy? I am sure someone had an idea, tested a few versions, added some yummy flavors that are more acceptable to my pallet, and voila — transformation. That process is called innovation.

Innovation is what we need most in our industry to deal with our current issues including labor, consumer demands, and pathogen controls. We cannot keep doing what we have always done and expect different results. We need leaders in academia and innovators in industry to develop the new improved way to grow and process chickens.

Yep, it’s scary. There will be some failures. There will be some successes. There will be some disruptors that change our world and make life easier for all of us. There will always be those that don’t agree and say, “We cannot do that because … .” We need some new thoughts and some innovation.

Robotics were one of those things that could never be done, yet we are doing it. I remember speaking with some of these creators of robotics and they were literally laughed at and told “never." Yet here we are.

Who will be those willing to take the chance and disrupt our industry? Who has some great idea that will change our industry? If you are a disruptor, go with your gut and take the chance — just like that person that turned a durian into an edible food. I am a believer that it can be done.

Signed: a fellow disruptor

Innovation: From rotten eggs to yummy

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