In the crypto space, FTX and FTX US were among the biggest and most well-known crypto exchanges. Under Sam Bankman-Fried’s leadership, FTX reportedly surged to astronomical heights.
However, on November 11, the digital empire crumbled, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Bloomberg Evening Offering, November 11, carried a quote that has meaning and applicability to the produce industry: “The company and Sam Bankman-Fried seemed trustworthy.”
Besides the question of who in the world understands crypto, one could ask: How do you assess risk—with the product, the companies which operate in that space, and, most importantly, the people behind the curtain.
The same questions can be asked of our industry, not in terms of the product (lettuce is nothing akin to crypto), but in terms of the companies and the people involved.
Keep in mind how produce is traded: it is bought and sold on open account, based on the perceived trustworthiness of the parties. In other words, is one’s so-called promise to pay credible and believable?
Do you get a sense of the importance of what the word “trust” means? No matter how obtuse a product might be or complicated in its financial sense, it all comes down to one word, Trust. Pretty basic and simple.
Trust and honesty are words that are easily understood, but not easily practiced. It is easy to be “perceived” as being honest but difficult to “be” honest. One can act and speak a good game, but talking and walking, at the same time, and in a straight-up, honest manner, are hard to do.
