The road to naturalThe road to natural

In the glare of the overhead lights at Natural Products Expo West, there is no shortage of photos of farms, or farm logos or stage-set barns and farm houses.

But even in that bright light, it's not always easy to spot the farmer. The connection between American farmers and the natural products industry, particularly the dietary supplement industry, can be tenuous to the point of non-existent. To explore how that connection could be made stronger, Nutrition Business Journal Editor Rick Polito and organic farmer/activist Andrew Pittz climbed into Pittz's Ford Focus in early March and drove from Boulder to Anaheim—the long way—stopping to interview farmers, innovators and producers along the way.

They saw where the connection could be strengthened, and they saw where it has snapped. This is that story.

Follow their journey here:

Day 1: Finding a place for farmers in the nutrition industry

Day 2: Missed connections

Day 3: Past and future, challenges and solutions

Day 4: Understanding what's possible

Day 5: The end of 2 roads

Watch their from-the-road video diary here.

Read their pre-trip chat here.

See what retired Sen. Tom Harkin said about their trip here.

This series was underwritten by: