If you’re over 35 and have eaten a McDonald’s burger or salad in the U.S., U.K., France, or China—you’ve most likely eaten food processed by Howard Long’s companies.

He still remembers the day, in 1985 when he walked a group of McDonald’s executives into a lettuce field—showing them the innovations and the quality he could deliver. At the time, he was just a regional supplier, everything changed that day.

Howard remembers: "I'm showing 'em the difference. Hard lettuce and our lettuce and ours is soft at the middle. So you don't have that hard, bitter, bitter flavor."

"And they told me, well Howard, can you do the whole country? I says, yeah, I could do the whole country. And just like that, 4,000 stores to 12,000 stores for the whole country in head lettuce. Now I'm the lettuce man."

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