Sustainable Food Digest | Issue One by Food Matters Live

A better tomorrow Welcome to the first issue of the Sustainability Digest from Food Matters Live, where we explore the future for sustainability in the ingredients sector, and the wider world of food and drink. There is much to applaud and recognise throughout, not least from our partners, who discuss the work they are doing to make the industry increasingly sustainable. The breadth and complexity of achieving that sustainable future is explored in the first ‘Insight’ section, which features the WWF, the Food and Land Use Coalition, the PlantBased Alliance, and extracts from Henry Dimbleby’s insightful book ‘Ravenous’. And, of course, sustainability is a global issue. The second ‘International’ section looks at how Spain is at the vanguard of deploying new tech solutions to become increasingly sustainable, offering invaluable insight to other countries looking to do the same. Meanwhile Anglo American’s latest mine, tucked away in North Yorkshire, is focused on delivering a natural solution for any farm around the world looking to make their operations more regenerative.

A regenerative approach will be vital to any sustainable future, as will adopting a sustainable approach to ingredients and formulation. That will be the focus of September’s Sustainable Food Forum, and everything you need to know about attending can be found here. We also have a lively interview with veteran green campaigner Jonathon Porritt, one of the speakers at the Forum. The next section carries on the ingredients and formulation theme, looking at everything from algae to sustainable NPD. And finally, we look towards an innovative future, including the seedbanks preserving biodiversity, and what gene-editing crops means for food security. You can use the contents page to jump around the issue, which doesn’t shy away from confronting some hard truths, but also shines a spotlight on the positive work going on in the industry aimed at ensuring a sustainable future for everyone. And we look forward to seeing you at the Sustainable Food Forum to talk about it even more. James Halliwell Business editor at Food Matters Live

A complex challenge

Insight 16

Plant-based alliance: on plant-based food and the government

Henry Dimbleby: A Ravenous future

FOLU: The business case for sustainability

WWF: Eating for Net Zero

“It’s sickening, it’s unbelievable” Jonathon Porritt fires sustainable shots

Plant-based: Is it always better for you and the planet?

International 47

Spain: A Spanish recipe for sustainability

Anglo American: Regnerative farming

Denmark: The story behind Denmark’s £1bn plant-based revolution

Sustainable Food Forum

I N PA RT N E R S H I P W I T H

Formulation 81

Corbion: Keeping it tasty and colourful

EMF: “We must change the way we make our food”

Sustainable ingredients: how algae could help feed a growing population

Extinction or Regeneration conference: The system must change to secure the future of food

104

Net Zero emissions by 2045 – is net zero really achievable for the food and drink industry?

Innovation 110

Lionel Hitchen: Why people are the key to sustainable success

112

Aquaculture: it’s the fastest growing food industry in the world, and innovations are ensuring its sustainability

118

Seed banks: preserving biodiversity for the future of humanity

127

Defra Interview: Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser on gene-editing crops

Managing Director Briony Mansell-Lewis Editor James Halliwell Client Growth Manager Meshach Leigertwood Head of Content Marketing Carol Mahna Creative Direction Brita Lapatza

Cover Illustrator Ane Arzelus Designer Julia Sabiniarz Contributors Stef Bottinelli Fiona Holland Molly Long

A complex challenge James Halliwell It’s enough to make you lose your appetite. Big Oil might be the biggest villain when it comes to polluting the world, but the food and drink industry is no innocent bystander. Estimates vary, but conservative ones claim 25% of the total emissions attributed to global warming come from the food and drink industry. But it’s not just methane or pollutants causing trouble for the environment. The impact food and drink has on the planet is widespread. Some 26% of the world’s habitable land (not including deserts or polar ice caps) is used for raising livestock according to the UN, which also says a further 33% of cropland is dedicated to the production of feed to fatten up cows, pigs, sheep and chickens before they’re processed into meat products, which is done at triple the rate it was in the 1970s.

Then there is water - according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development the food and drink industry uses 70% of all daily freshwater withdrawals around the world. Transporting food around the world generates 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions alone according to a 2022 study by the University of Sydney, with fruit and vegetables generating ten times as many emissions from road miles as meat does. And there is the sheer volume of food that’s wasted every day - the FAO estimates onethird of all food produced for human consumption goes into bins not stomachs. Rotting food waste also generates harmful emissions. There are many words you could use to describe these levels of waste, consumption, production and pollution, but sustainable wouldn’t be one of 7

Food and drink is intoxicating, satisfying, cultured and fun. Socially it’s like glue

them. Yet the food and drink industry can point to several mitigating factors that offer some balance to the negative impact it has on the natural environment. Food and drink is intoxicating, satisfying, cultured and fun. Socially it’s like glue. The industry offers livelihoods to at least a billion people, one in seven people works in food and drink in the UK, making it invaluable from a socio-economic perspective. Livestock production does occupy great swathes of land and does consume startling amounts of water, but meat is rich in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. It’s also a good source of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin in the brain, boosting happiness and reducing anxiety. The majority of the global population enjoys eating meat in a great many pleasurable ways, untroubled by what goes on behind the factory walls, too busy devouring their juicy steak to care too much about how it arrived on their plate. That might be unpalatable for passionate eco-vegans to hear, but sustainability concerns were not on the agenda 8

when we first began to farm the earth. The first evidence of anything approximating farming was found in the Middle East and dates back to 10,000 BCE, where people grew wheat, barley, lentils, peas, and flax, plus indications remain of early animal farming in the shape of sheep, goats, and pigs to provide meat and milk. This period is known as the Neolithic revolution, when hunter-gathering evolved into settled farming. Settlements grew around these steady sources of food, which led to villages, towns and cities, and you know the rest. So farming has been going for around 12,000 years, and sustainability has only ever really been a serious concern for 30 of them. It’s a lot to rewind. Still, in 2023 it’s rare to find anyone in the production side of food and drink that doesn’t think the food and drink industry needs to accelerate efforts to become more sustainable. It’s become a corporate concern, nudging the top of the agenda in boardrooms. Ongoing eco-efforts cover everything from formulation to packaging, end product to

waste product, disposal, and much more besides. Those still pursuing methods of production widely condemned as unsustainable are slowly being restricted by regulatory policy, although it’s frequently plodding and ripe with loopholes to exploit. Meanwhile those experiencing the slow grind of pushing eco-friendly policy through official channels have recently had a publicity boost, albeit a questionable one, by the agile and in-your-face tactics deployed by activist groups like Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rising. Unquestionably, there is a huge amount of work going on within the industryto become more sustainable, but the scale of the challenge is like climbing a slippery mountain that keeps on growing. Deforestation still occurs. Intensive farming grows. Plastic remains in the oceans, now it’s in our stomachs. For every CEO of a global conglomerate brave enough to radically enhance its sustainable credentials (even if it puts a dent in the bottom line and arouses the

ire of shareholders) another industrial farm is built to house a million chickens. Like the Mudanjiang City Mega Farm in north-east China. It’s the largest farm in the world. It houses 100,000 cows, is five times the size of any farm in Europe, and covers 22.5 million acres. It’s the same size as Portugal. “Let’s stop denying that factory farming is inherently cruel and a major driver of wildlife decline and climate change,” Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, told the Guardian last Summer. In the same article, the British Poultry Council’s CEO, Richard Griffiths, took an opposing view, saying systems perceived as higher welfare are “more resource intensive with lower efficiency and productivity, with an accompanying impact on the environment and the cost of production.” The ongoing row over intensive farming is a micro example of the macro debate, complete with high emotions, individual priorities and competing truths. Reality and ideology collide, militant vegans go to war with nonplussed carnivores, and nuance and detail is collateral damage.

Some of the more polarised food-related climate arguments have got so fierce that they’re stopping traffic. In the UK in February, Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion that later rechristened itself as Animal Rising, blockaded Westminster Bridge to demand the UK “get out of its toxic relationship with animal farming and fishing and, instead, show commitment to tackling the climate and ecological emergencies with a plant-based food system ... in a nation of animal lovers it’s the only sensible choice.” A taste of what may be to come is going on in Holland, where the government plans to expropriate 3,000 farms to cut emissions.

Deforestation still occurs. Intensive farming grows. Plastic remains in the oceans, now it’s in our stomachs

Dutch farmers are famous for maximising every inch of farmland and deploying every technology available to produce outsized yields, at one time becoming second only to the USA in terms of food-related exports. But nitrogen emissions from animal waste and fertilizer are now being targeted by the government with matching intensity as a result of the ‘stikstofcrisis’, and 3,000 farms with the highest levels of emissions look set to be shut down, compensated by a government fund worth €25bn. At the time of writing, the plan has gained EU approval and will be finalised in the coming weeks. But since the plan was

announced farmers have protested furiously, blockading streets with tractors, insisting that no industry in Holland has done as much as they have to reduce emissions already. The situation is descending. Ministers in charge of the policy have received death threats, suicide rates among farmers have risen. Some have sympathy for the Dutch farmers who will see their lives ripped up to protect a far-flung future they won’t live to see. Others will support activists dedicated to preserving a future for generations to come. Dilemmas like these are difficult to digest, but the food and drink industry is munching on a plateful. Food and drink enables the world to eat, at the same time it’s chewing up the environment.

Intensive farming is more efficient and allows cheaper prices at the supermarket, and the importance of that in the current economic climate cannot be underestimated. It can also cause animals to suffer and can be harmful to the environment. For every angry vegan there is an angry farmer. For every person lamenting the fate of a dairy cow, someone else is pouring milk on their cornflakes. Plant-based activists claim if everyone switched to a plant-based diet climate change may be reversed, meanwhile McDonald’s sells 75 burgers every second

The question isn’t why or whether the system needs to change, but how. And for a simple question it has anything but a simple answer

to meat-loving consumers around the world. It sells 152 McNuggets every second in the USA alone. In the time it’s taken you to read this far, McDonalds will have boxed up 30,000 McNuggets for hungry Americans. But warnings persist that if the meat production and consumption keeps going on its current trajectory and average global temperatures go past 2C, then extinctions, extreme heat waves, droughts, famines and devastating floods await. In the middle of this unfortunate banquet arrives Food Matters Live’s Sustainable Food Week, which will explore what food and drink could do to have a more positive impact on the environment in the future, or at least significantly reduce the negative impact it’s currently having. The question isn’t why or whether the system needs to change, but how. And for a simple question it has anything but a simple answer. So Sustainable Food Week will explore how the food and drink industry can have a positive impact on the biggest issue facing it, and the planet Earth, today.

INSIGHT There is endless debate over the best way forward for the industry to become more sustainable. In this section our experts from the WWF, the Plantbased Alliance and the Food and Land Use coalition explore UK diets, the role of business and government in sustainability, plus we have extracts from Henry Dimbleby’s book ‘Ravenous’ and we talk to one of our speakers at the forum, veteran eco-campaigner Jonathon Porritt, about the food and drink industry and its role in climate change.

What the govt needs to do about plant-based food, diets and health

A predominantly plant-based diet does not need to mean the end of meat and dairy.

Marisa Heath Chief Executive at the Plant-based Food Alliance

Governments needs to be bold in telling people to shift to more plantbased diets. The idea that Government should not intervene in people’s food

We have been polarising our conversations rather than sensibly looking at how to win the battle against environmental degradation and to deliver long-term sustainability. We want a balanced approach to food systems that accepts the need to reduce meat and dairy consumption and most definitely stop the growth in consumption in wealthy nations like ours. Plant-based diets have a clear and permanent role to achieve this going forward, amongst other solutions. It is the responsibility of Government to look beyond commercial interests and to set out a clear pathway to better systems. We need UK food businesses to be innovating and manufacturing and Government must respond to their needs. But they must also look at the long-term cost impact on the UK economy of the wrong food being put in front of our population. This issue is not only about environmental sustainability, it’s also about our sustainability as individuals trying to live healthy, long, and constructive lives. Poor health linked to poor diet is the greatest barrier to levelling up, it’s also the greatest cost to the NHS. But alongside that, loss of biodiversity and global warming is a huge threat to every single person in existence.

Insight

choices does not stack up. Subsidies and policy has been used to shift food systems in certain directions for decades. Many people’s choice is limited to what is accessible and affordable and the economically focused systems around the food industry have formed that accessibility and affordability around high sugar, ultra-processed, refined starchy foods often built on inferior ingredients and too many animal products. Nutrition has been too simplified for the consumer. Yes, we need protein, calcium and B12, but we also need the fibre and phytonutrients found in plants as well as less saturated fat from animal products.

The first step to real sustainability is for the Government to target a 30% reduction in meat consumption, as recommended in the Dimbleby Food Strategy. That target needs to be linked into all plans around farming, food production and net zero, allowing a gradual shift towards more plant-based eating. Then Government needs to look at where it can release any shackles stopping companies investing in new food systems within the UK and manufacturing here, working with farmers to produce the raw ingredients that can support new plant focused food systems. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report was clear about the environmental benefits of plant-based diets. In the latest report they state that there is high confidence that “balanced and sustainable healthy diets and reduced food loss and waste present important opportunities for adaptation and mitigation while generating significant co-benefits in terms of biodiversity and human health”. Hidden in the footnotes they describe this “sustainable healthy diet” as a plant-predominant diet. There is now enough evidence now to a reduction target whilst helping a shift to more sustainable, local, and ethical ways of producing meat. We could be part of a real green revolution based largely on plants.

Nutrition has been too simplified for the consumer.

The UK is going through a tough time at the moment, we need to find places where we can show leadership and hold on to our identity as a civilised and advanced nation. This requires boldness and ambition and putting in place policy foundations that enable real sustainability. By improving the health of our nation we will have a strong, more productive workforce, by reducing the numbers of animals in intensive farming systems we will show our compassion and morality, by pressing our innovators and scientists to innovate around novel foods and new ways of delivering nutrition we will lead the way in food security and exports.

A Ravenous future for food and drink

For Henry Dimbleby, the business of food and drink has always been about more than leaving people licking their lips. It’s also about ethics, health, sustainability, diets and more - an approach made manifest in Leon, the healthy fast food joint he co-founded. In 2019 he was tasked by the government to deliver a National Food Strategy that would detail what the future for UK food and drink and wider society should look like, which he did. “Analytically tight, empirically thorough, the Dimbleby Report is not only a masterly study of UK’s food problem, but it also constructs a framework wide enough to be deployed for studying the food problems societies face everywhere. The Report’s recommendations are detailed, convincing, and would be entirely implementable if we cared about ourselves and the world around us,” said Sir Partha Dasgupta,

Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge and author of The Economics of Biodiversity. The government saw it differently, and ignored many of his key recommendations. Dimbleby was left frustrated by the government’s final plan. “It’s not a strategy,” he told the Guardian. “It doesn’t set out a clear vision as to why we have the problems we have now, and it doesn’t set out what needs to be done.” His subsequent book Ravenous lays out his original vision for the future of food and drink contained in the original report, but written in even more engaging, readable prose, written alongside his wife, journalist Jemima Lewis. Here are some of the best quotes from the book, which has variously been described as “truly important”, “compelling”, and a “must read”.

On ingredients... “On the train from the Lake District to London, I bought an egg mayonnaise sandwich from the buffet car. The front of the packet carried the proud boast ‘handmade’. Sceptically, I turned it over to read the ingredients. 1. Flour 2. Water 3. Malted wheat grain 4. Yeast 5. Wheat gluten 6. Barley malt flour 7. Toasted wheat 8. Salt 9. Dextrose 10. Soya flour 11. Sugar 12. Buckwheat flour 13. Monoglycerides of fatty acids

14. Diglycerides of fatty acids 15. Diacetyl tartaric acid 16. Esters of monoglycerides of fatty acids 17. Esters of diglycerides of fatty acids 18. Calcium propionate 19. Vegetable oil 20. Vegetable fat 21. L-ascorbic acid 22. Eggs 23. Rapeseed oil 24. Pasteurised egg yolk 25. Spirit vinegar 26. Mustard 27. Xanthan gum 28. Black pepper 29. Whey powder 30. Potassium sorbate 31. Citric acid 32. Carotenes” The word ‘handmade is intended to conjure up images of wholesome domesticity: fresh food made with familiar ingredients in a recognisable kitchen by a skilled cook. No doubt my sandwich was to some degree handmade - in the literal sense that human hands did some of the work of assembling it. Even now, there is a limit to what robots can do. But really, it wasn’t made by anyone: it was processed. And this is true not just of the sandwich, but of all its constituent parts.”

Insight

On the microbiome...

On processing... “It is unnerving to realise you don’t actually know what the food you are eating is; that its true provenance and composition is virtually unknowable, however hard you scrutinise the ingredients list. Modern industrial food processing is so high-tech and multi-layered as to be mysterious to almost everyone. But does that actually matter? All sorts of wonderful modern inventions, including life-saving medicine, are too scientifically complex for the lay person to understand. As long as a food product is tasty and safe to eat, what does it matter how it was made?”

“We each have around 37 trillion cells in our body, every one of which runs off the energy provided by the food we eat. But these are marginally outnumbered by the 40 trillion bacteria in our guts - our microbiome - which feed off the same food. We are just beginning to understand how important these bacteria are to the functioning of our bodies. In his book Food for Life, Spector says it is best to think of this collection of foreign bodies as ‘little chemical factories or pharmacies’. While the cells in our gut wall can produce about twenty enzymes to digest our food, our microbiome can produce thousands of chemicals that play a part in digestion. This is just one of the services our microbiome provides. We know that it also helps protect against other disease-causing bacteria, produces vitamins such as B6, and has a close relationship with our immune system. In laboratory experiments, mice reared to have no gut biome - or any exposure to microbes at all - lack a properly functioning immune system.”

On unused crops... “Another utilitarian argument for genetic diversity is that it could future-proof the food system. Currently, while 300,000 species of plant have edible parts, just twenty species account for 90 percent of the world’s food; and three - wheat, maize and rice - supply more than half. To be so heavily reliant on a tiny handful of crops puts humanity in a precarious position. ‘This thin cushion of diversity’, writes American biologist Edward O. Wilson in The Diversity of Life,

‘is biased toward cooler climates, and in most parts of the world is sown in monocultures sensitive to disease and attacks from insects and nematode worms... Modern agriculture is only a sliver of what it could be. Waiting in the wings are tens of thousands of unused plants.’ These alternative crops could be farmed as they are, or their traits bred into other plants to increase the resilience of the food system as our climate changes.”

On farming... “The case for and against meat is further complicated by the fact that we get more than just sustenance from our livestock farmers. In Britain, beef, dairy and lamb farming is largely responsible for the appearance of our ‘traditional’ pastured countryside. These animals are, literally, part of the landscape. They have their ecological uses, too. Some native breeds of cattle are being used in rewilding projects to create ‘pastured woodland?. Where trees and scrub are allowed to spread, the trampling and grazing of small herds of cows creates clearings in the budding forest; places where sunlight can get through and create an abundance of biodiversity. Some conventional farmers, too, are reintroducing cows and sheep as part of

a crop rotation system. This traditional practice, of allowing animals to graze on fallow land, fell out of favour after the Green Revolution. But growing numbers of farmers are now realising that it can improve soil quality, eliminate some plant diseases and reduce the need for expensive fertilisers and pesticides. In the right circumstances, and used in the right way, some people believe that cattle might even be able to effectively sequester carbon. It is important to encourage this kind of imaginative, ecological livestock farming. Realistically, however, it could never produce enough meat to cater to our current appetites. We simply cannot reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a safe level without cutting back on meat consumption.”

Insight

On precision fermentation...

On farmers... “We are expecting farmers to perform quite a juggling act produce enough food to feed the nation affordably, while simultaneously restoring wildlife, cutting their own carbon emissions, planting trees, managing flood plains and returning some land to the wild so that it can mop up the pollution produced by other sectors. If this seems a bit unfair - well, it is. Farmers are being asked to clean up everyone else’s mess, on top of their own. But the unfortunate fact is, they are the only people who can do it. They manage 75 percent of our uninhabited land.”

“The most futuristic - and potentially disruptive - form of alternative protein has emerged from the science of “precision fermentation’. This involves genetically modifying yeast cells so that they produce a particular kind of protein as a by-product of their fermentation. The yeast cells are then put in a tank and fed either a sugar solution or a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, so that they ferment and produce large amounts of protein. This technique has long been used to replace certain animal-derived products, such as rennet for setting cheeses and the insulin with which diabetics inject themselves. It is also similar to the process that makes the meat alternative Quorn, which has been around since the 1980s. But in recent years scientists have learned how to engineer yeast to produce all kinds of different protein molecules - including the leghaemoglobin that goes into Impossible Burgers.”

On animal welfare... “There’s no question that animal welfare standards are lower in Australia than in the UK. For example, battery cages for laying hens are still legal in Australia, as (in many states) are sow pens. And then there’s the horrific tradition of ‘mulesing’. Intended to prevent flystrike infestations in breeding ewes, this is common practice in Australia. The farmer trusses up a young lamb, with its legs chained up by its head, and suspends it from a metal clamp. He then slices the skin off its buttocks in strips, creating a butterfly-shaped expanse of raw and bleeding flesh across its backside. This is often done with no anaesthetic. When it eventually heals, the flayed area doesn’t grow back its wool, which makes it less hospitable to flies. Amazingly, there is still some debate in Australia about whether mulesing constitutes cruelty. But we don’t need to have that debate here. It would never

be allowed under British law, and the British public would be appalled if anyone suggested it should be. Yet the Australian trade deal means it is now legal to import into this country lamb born to mothers who have endured this barbaric practice. When I pointed this out to Liz Truss in private (I was a non-executive director at Defra at the time), she got so annoyed that she banned me from future government meetings on trade. In public, she continued to insist there was nothing in the Australia deal that would compromise our food standards. George Eustice - who was the minister in charge of Defra when the deal was struck - has since gone public to deplore the deal. The UK, he says, went into the negotiations with the strongest hand. But Truss was in such a hurry to agree a deal, so that she could unveil it at the imminent G7 summit, that she failed to press this advantage.”

On new tech... “Governments will invest in biodiversity restoration and carbon sequestration, but also in agricultural innovation, so that farmers can use new technology to increase their yields without slathering the land in chemicals. Weed. zapping robots and blight-spotting drones will become as much a part of the landscape as cattle from local native

breeds restored to their natural environment. To reduce the need for pesticides and herbicides, biologists will use photons of light of a specific frequency to switch on immune defences in genetically modified crops. None of this is science fiction: these are all real innovations currently being developed in universities across this country.”

Insight

On health... “Putting more public money into improving dietary health - particularly for those on the lowest incomes - will mean the NHS no longer has to squander its resources on treating the diseases caused by the Junk Food Cycle. Using a wide portfolio of public health policies - including taxes on junk food, better cookery lessons, universal free school meals and measures such as ‘social prescribing’ to get more fruit and veg into the hands of those struggling to eat well - we could begin to turn around the juggernaut of sickness created by the modern diet. This is not profligate - nor ideological - but sound financial planning, as it is always far cheaper to prevent illness than to cure it. On top of which, a healthier population would become a wealthier population, one that could remain productive for longer.”

Henry Dimbleby

‘Ravenous: how to get ourselves and our planet into shape’ with Henry Dimbleby WATCH NOW

Jemima Lewis

FOLU: we help you hit sustainable targets

Businesses don’t usually spend money unless it means they make money. Coca-Cola is the biggest selling soft drink in the world, but spends as much as any brand on advertising to keep it there. When clear lines can be drawn between spend and sales, a business case is evident. Investing in sustainability is less compelling. Business speaks in the language of measurability, of faster production lines and speedier supply chains, and the bottom line speaks loudest of all. Unilever, which has a glowing eco-reputation for a global conglomerate, found itself under fire from some investors for focusing more on sustainability than sales in 2022.

Insight

But even the most antagonistic activist investor would accept that any business in 2023 needs a robust and deliverable sustainability strategy, though evidently it’s more straightforward for some sectors than others.

we agree the sector is lagging, we do understand that there are still scientific question marks over how to account for some of these emissions, so we can’t really expect to see a huge amount of action in all areas.”

The climate change committee measures progress towards the government’s Net Zero target of 2050, but says current traction is “unlikely to put us on track for Net Zero by 2050”. And as far as food and drink is concerned, it says plans are “insufficient for much of the agriculture and land use sector.”

However, once that guidance is in place, she expects to see an acceleration. And FOLU is also releasing guidance of its own.

So food and drink is lagging behind other sectors. But achieving the Net Zero target is more complex than previous eco-related ones, says Natasha Mawdsley at the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU).

“We are trying to draw a balance between giving the sector a break, because this guidance is so new, versus not letting them off the hook for not acting fast enough,” says Talia Smith, director of knowledge and engagement at FOLU.

You do need to be responsible for this, but we can’t expect you to do it all on your own

FOLU is engaging with food and agriculture businesses to help guide and accelerate corporate action on net zero so they can meet their targets. “Previously, businesses were able to just set targets for their energy and electricity use, now they have to set these additional targets and actually understand their land-based emissions, which are a lot more complicated,” she says. She adds that it’s made trickier because “guidance from the greenhouse gas protocol on understanding these emissions isn’t even out yet. So even though

“In our papers we really want to shine a spotlight on the things that we don’t need more guidance for, where it’s already super clear that there’s a business case for the action that is needed, versus the things that are trickier, like accounting for soil carbon emissions.” The government is bound by legislation to hit its Net Zero target, but businesses are not. “Everything is voluntary at the moment,” adds Smith. “But there are regulations coming online that are going to move things into more of a compliance perspective, which will impact food and agriculture players.” Whether any of it will be enough to tackle the enormity of the issue is another

question. At the moment, she says there is “nothing at all around methane, even less is happening on regulating carbon removals. So it’s absolutely not comprehensive or complete enough.”

how do you drive it at the supply chain level in tandem with the demand side? And that’s one example of something that companies are having to get their heads around.”

And the fact it’s a global issue is “definitely a big problem,” says Mawdsley. “Things are progressing well in the EU, there is some stuff in the US, but unless we get these regulations replicated in China, it’s not solving the issue.”

It also lays bare the difficulty of solving the problem. Most businesses are sincerely sustainable in 2023, and ambition to become more sustainable exists. But if the theory is simple, the practical element is complex. FOLU can help business navigate that complexity.

So to return to the UK, how achievable is that 2050 Net Zero target for the UK? “My instinct is that people are taking it seriously and there is the best of intentions,” says Kitty Parker Brooks, project manager at SYSTEMIQ Ltd, which is working with FOLU. “But that alignment question ends up being the most difficult to answer. Because it’s not just individual specific targets, but whether they’re all met at the time that they need to be met, to the extent which they need to be met, by different stakeholders.” She also points out that the “kind of conversations you can have at a global level as a company will be very different to the conversations being had within regional manufacturing hubs, the conversations being had on the demand side can be totally different to those on the supply side. So the question is how do you drive engagement at the global level, but also at the regional level? And then again, at the national level,

“The trick is moving from target setting to implementation,” says Smith. “It’s easy to set a target and say, I’m going to deliver net zero by 2050. The harder part is aligning the incentives. There are companies that have set a target, but had no idea how to implement them. How the hell do I actually do this? “And our hypothesis for why that’s not happening is because a lot of the financial implications of implementing these solutions aren’t yet clear.” Ultimately what FOLU is saying to businesses is that it is here to help decode those blurry lines. “You do need to take responsibility for this, but we can’t expect you to do all of it alone,” she adds. “So we are looking to highlight the key areas where we can support the business case for sustainability. We don’t expect businesses to be able to do this on their own.”

Insight

How what we eat can help hit Net Zero

by Dr Joanna Trewern, Head of Consumption, WWF-UK We are faced with an urgent challenge. How to ensure food and nutrition security for a growing population while averting dangerous climate change and restoring the natural world on which we all depend. What we buy, cook, and eat every day, and how that food is produced, is key to addressing this ‘triple challenge’.

Our food system is global, but fixing it will require national leadership and local solutions. It’s hard to disagree with where we need to get to, we need populations eating more nutritious food, wasting less, and farming in harmony with nature. But what does that look like in practice in the UK, and how will we get there?

Aligning food production and nutrition to deliver more diverse diets will bring benefits for climate and nature In our new report, Eating for Net Zero, we explore the role of diet shift in enabling a nature-positive net zero transition in the UK.

and lower-footprint seafood, and limited amounts of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Transitioning to more sustainable diets will deliver a triple win for climate, nature and people. Aligning food production and nutrition to deliver more diverse diets will bring benefits for climate and nature. The provision of healthy, diverse diets will require greater agrobiodiversity, facilitating a shift away from input-intensive monoculture systems and restoring soils and nature. Prioritising the production of nutritious food for direct human consumption will enable us to halt the expansion of new agricultural land and preserve natural habitats.

Diets are not just a question of personal preferences. Our food choices are deeply influenced by what’s available, what we can afford, and how it’s marketed. Polling shows that citizens want to adopt healthier, more sustainable diets. But currently less than 1% of the UK population follow all of the UK government’s healthy diets guidance, and only 31% meet five out of the nine recommendations. Citizens face barriers largely beyond their direct control that make it challenging for them to eat better – including cost, limited choice, convenience, and confusion over what makes up a sustainable diet.G

We show that achieving a healthy, sustainable national diet is possible within current social norms and without costing more. And it doesn’t require everyone to become vegetarian or vegan or give up treats. The ‘Livewell diet’ is a flexible, balanced, plant-rich diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, legumes, pulses and wholegrains, some meat, dairy

Healthy, sustainable food should be available, accessible and affordable for everyone, both now and in the future. Government and businesses have a vital role to play in enabling and encouraging a shift to healthy, sustainable diets, especially during today’s cost-of-living crisis. And they have a clear mandate to act. Citizens want and expect them to

Insight

Seven key drivers of healthy, sustainable diets: Dietary guidelines – implementation of the Eatwell guide, for example in public food settings, should be a key policy priority, and the next update should bring guidance in line with the latest science on sustainable diets. Public food procurement – ensure nutritious, sustainable food is served in schools, hospitals, universities, care homes, prisons and government buildings. Safety nets and targeted support – introduce measures to help those who need it most to access the nutritious food they need to live healthy lives. Education and information – embed food education in school curriculums and provide healthy, sustainable diets training for key actors including catering and healthcare practitioners.

encourage healthier, more sustainable diets, including by increasing the availability of plant-rich foods and ensuring they are available, affordable and accessible in schools, supermarkets, restaurants and canteens. Urgent action is needed to accelerate the shift to healthy, sustainable diets, giving citizens the freedom to make healthier, more sustainable choices. It’s crucial this issue is prioritised so that we can transform

Food environments – increase the availability of plant-rich foods and ensure they are the most available, affordable, accessible and desirable options in supermarkets and dining environments (restaurants and canteens). Transparency and accountability – improve transparency and accountability on food system environmental and health impacts, providing a level playing field for food businesses to source and sell healthy, sustainable food. Investment in sustainable production – provide farmers, fishers and growers with financial support, a fair reward for their produce and the services they deliver, and a level playing field to upscale the sustainable production of a wide variety of nutritious foods.

the national diet by 2030, enabling us to hit our climate and nature targets and improve population health and equality. Kate Norgrove, executive director of advocacy and campaigns at the WWF, will be speaking at the Sustainable Food Forum in London on the 19th and 20th of September 2023, joining other leading international innovators to discuss what is making an impact in food formulation.

“It’s sickening, it’s unbelievable” Jonathon Porritt fires shots

James Halliwell With perfect timing, just before Jonathon Porritt answers the phone, Elon Musk starts tweeting about climate change. “Global warming risk is overblown in the short term, but significant in the long term” is the hot tweet from the richest man on the planet. And Porritt, one of the original eco-warriors, is unimpressed.

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“He’s a git. Sorry, but I really don’t know how to manage my contempt for many of the contributions he makes to these critical debates. He doesn’t know anything like as much as he thinks he knows. Tell Pakistan that it’s overblown in the short term, when they lose a third of their land for productive purposes because of a climate-induced disaster. Go and tell that to the people of Australia, or people in America who are increasingly affected by storms and wildfires. He’s a plutocrat who thinks he’s much smarter than he actually is. And frankly, he’s a pain in the arse.” Some consider eco-activists to be a pain in the arse, too. Blocking traffic for days, throwing soup over priceless works of art and supergluing themselves in inconvenient places have unquestionably delivered publicity for their cause, but opinion on their methods is mixed. Extinction Rebellion has recently said it will soften its approach in order to make progress with businesses and government, though splinter groups like Just Stop Oil and Animal Rebellion look set to continue with the headline-generating chaos. “You can’t win with this stuff,” sighs Porritt. “Nothing untoward took place during the Big One and the media didn’t give it any attention, even though 70,000 people were involved over four days. But if Just Stop Oil blocks a road the media is all over it. I think one has to be proportionate in the use of one’s tactics. Some of the disruptive campaigns have definitely alienated lots of people.”

Activist activity That said, Porritt does support Just Stop Oil when it comes to direct action, because “they’re very specific about their campaign ask, it’s just stop oil. It’s getting after the absolute sickening hypocrisy of Rishi Sunak and this government. They say they want to lead on climate issues, then they turn around and say ‘No, we’re going to licence 100 new developments in the North Sea, we’re going to continue to subsidise fossil fuel companies, we can have a new coal mine in Cumbria’. I mean, honestly, it is so sickening. It’s unbelievable. And if you’re a young person and you hear all of that, but you’re also reading the latest in terms of the climate science, I don’t know what else you expect a lot of young people to do. It’s not everybody’s thing to campaign in that way, but a lot of young people look at this deceit and

think direct action makes total sense. I think they’re brave, courageous and honest. Things are moving so fast, and the science is so gloomy, they feel that direct action is the only way to go.” Porritt is 72, and a wise old head in a sea of turbulent eco-activism, but perhaps it’s not surprising that after 40-something years of campaigning at the highest levels, he approves of any eco-messaging that cuts through, however it happens. He wrote his first book, Seeing Green, in 1984 (another ten followed). One chapter focused on food production agriculture, another on land use, because he believes the food and drink industry has always been central to the sustainability debate. Though when asked how things have progressed for the industry since it was published, he gives a rueful chuckle.

Collectively speaking, as a global industry, this is a totally shocking story which most people genuinely don’t know very much about

“There’s been some progress at the margins. We’ve got a significant number of people and organisations that are committed to producing food in intelligent, fair, and sustainable ways, and there are big, significant movements. We have people campaigning on animal welfare to try and eliminate some of the systemic cruelty in our current livestock production systems. But if you look at the degree to which those big numbers of people have actually shifted the dominant food production system, the answer is that it’s hardly moved at all.”

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Devastating Porritt believes the “big agriculture companies are as complicit in the accelerated destruction of the natural world as the big oil and gas companies are. This is a model of agriculture still dominated by animal protein, or fish protein. There are increasing percentages of plant based protein for sure, but the dominant model is still animal protein, which leads to the abuse of hundreds of millions of hectares of land all around the world to produce the feed that those animals need. And the combined effect of all of that is devastating.” Outside of the livestock and dairy industries he says “intensive agriculture systems are still using huge amounts of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides, causing massive damage to the natural world in terms of soil, water and biodiversity, subsidised to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars every year. It’s incredibly frustrating. I think the majority of people still don’t understand that agriculture today is the biggest single driver of biodiversity loss on the planet.

It’s the biggest multiplier of climate risk because of its activities, and the worst driver of poor health through undermining people’s diets. Collectively speaking, as a global industry, this is a totally shocking story which most people genuinely don’t know very much about.” A constant source of frustration is that “every year it continues as it was the year before. Most people might be concerned about certain aspects of it, but they don’t really see the juggernaut effect of this on people’s lives and on the planet. I am very angry about a lot of this. I’ve been a patron of Compassion in World Farming for a very long time, and I feel very angry about the continuing abuse of 80 billion animals every year that die to produce the so-called cheap meat that a large part of our diets depend on. I’ll continue to be angry about that, there are abuses in this system that have to be addressed at many different levels. I’m not just a reasoned campaigner trying to shift things, I’ve got a lot of anger.”

Direct and damaging So how would he change it? If we conjure up a utopian fantasy world where the government acts on the advice of seasoned experts, instead of commissioning authoritative reports then discarding them, what would he do on his first day in charge of UK food? “The first thing would probably be to implement almost everything in Henry Dimbleby’s report, because that is as good a starting place as I can imagine. A huge amount of time and effort went into it, and it’s a shame the government pretty much ignored it entirely. He had recommendations about reducing meat consumption, and how to use public procurement so that schools, hospitals, prison service and social care would be driven by a set of new guidelines emphasising nutrition. I would be much less permissive than this government is with advertising. I would go after the people who claim to be selling you healthy food when in fact they’re not. And I would think about a strategy to reduce the UK’s dependence on ultra-processed food, which makes up something like 40% of our food consumed in the UK. It’s far more than any other European

country and it is having a direct and massively damaging impact on wellbeing and health. So that would be day one.” It’s straightforward and pragmatic advice, and variations on similar themes have been pushed for years, but tangible progress remains elusive. Why does he think that is? “I think if you’re a government minister you need to stop bullshitting, which is what they’re all doing at the moment. Most politicians have a foot in two camps, one in the camp that made life work in the past, which was working with big business, and the damage done to the physical environment was seen as an acceptable price to pay for progress. But now they’ve got to get a foot in the new camp, and the new camp is saying, ‘We cannot create progress at the expense of the natural environment any longer’. And it’s uncomfortable having a foot in two camps, they don’t quite know how to extract the foot they’ve got in the old planet-trashing camp, which they lived with for a long time, and shift rapidly into this new world.”

Change is coming Meanwhile, he says governments are still subsidising “fossil fuels and Big Ag to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars every year. The vast proportion of which are undermining the goals we have to decarbonise our economies and get ourselves onto a more sustainable food production system. They literally take our money, and stick it right into the kind of business activities that are destroying life on Earth. It’s staggering. This government makes me despair, I have to admit. They are so far off the pace of what they need to be doing to address all of these different issues.”

for Defra is very hard to imagine. Her neglect of critical policy areas, and her patronising supercilious way of dealing both with farmers and campaigners beggars belief, frankly. She’s a total disaster.” There is room for some positivity, however. In 2009, Porritt said the combination of efforts by the public and business to become more sustainable made him hopeful for the future. So how does he feel in 2023?

He says he does draw “a lot of hope” from existing efforts being made elsewhere, saying “more and more people understand the necessity of change, and they are prepared to play their part in that. I take a bit of hope from business as well. So there’s plenty of reasons to be hopeful, but on a fairly regular basis those reasons are overwhelmed by the sheer paralysing incompetence of government ministers.”

“I’m not optimistic about this,” he cautions. “But I am hopeful that the moment of reckoning is not far off now. It’s impossible to go on concealing the degree to which our natural systems are collapsing in front of our eyes, and as soon as that is made manifest to millions of people, not just the relatively small number of people as is the case today, then change could happen very fast. I see us almost being in rehearsal mode right now, for the changes that will come. And when they do come, they will be very significant.”

Those ministers include Thérèse Coffey, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 25 October 2022, but Porritt hasn’t been impressed by her tenure. “A less well-qualified person to be Secretary

Jonathon Porritt will be speaking at the Sustainable Food Forum in London on the 19th and 20th of September 2023, joining other leading international innovators to discuss what is making an impact in food formulation.

Is plant-based always better for you – and the planet? Plant-based meat alternatives are supposed to be better for the planet and they are supposed to be good for you. But as they have grown in popularity, there are claims from some quarters that there is something of a halo effect at play, and that some of these health and environmental claims do not quite stack up. Evidence is offered which mentions the nutritional shortcomings of plant-based processed foods, as well as the carbon

footprint being far higher than vegetables or legumes. In the midst of a climate crisis, where greenwashing is commonplace, this stuff really matters and it can be hard to cut through the noise to get to the facts. Which is where today’s guest on the Food Matters Live podcast, Dr Chris Bryant, Research Associate at the University of Bath and Director of Bryant Research, comes in. He has reviewed a host of previous studies to see where we are up to.

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INTERNATIONAL Spain has transformed from a food nation to a food tech nation with sustainability at the core of its efforts. We explore how it’s changing and the insight it can offer to other nations as they look to do the same. Meanwhile Anglo American’s latest mine promises to give farmers from around the world looking for regenerative solutions a big boost. And Denmark has dedicated £1bn to investigating how its food and drink industry can be more sustainable. What has it found that others can learn from?

A Spanish recipe for a Sustainable Future

In partnership with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment Spain is one of the gastronomic capitals of the world. Bold and vivid colours blend with punchy smoky flavours like chorizo and pimentón, enjoyed everywhere from the lively Las Ramblas to the rural Basque country. Influenced over the centuries by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Moors, and of course the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, Spanish cuisine has returned the favour. It influences cuisine in countries around the world, both in terms of flavours, techniques and ingredients, as well as becoming one of the top exporters in

the world. And it has a huge focus on innovation and foodtech. As recent months have demonstrated, there is very little Spain can do about extreme weather and the effect it can have on a harmonious supply chain, but Spain is leading the way in terms of a tech-filled sustainable approach to producing food and drink. Spanish producers, manufacturers, retailers and start-ups are at the vanguard of food-related technology in pursuit of its sustainable development goals, and it’s gone from Spain Food Nation to Spain FoodTech Nation in the process.

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Spain is one of the main agricultural markets in the world. It’s the leading exporter of olive oil, with 60% of the EU’s production and 45% of the global supply, and it ranks third in the world of fruit and vegetables and wine. Exports are positive, hitting 14.7 million tonnes in 2021, nudging the historical maximum in 2019, and worth over €17.6m. Food is also important for the prosperity of the country, with the Spanish agri-food sector contributing 10% of national GDP and generates over 2.8 million jobs, directly and indirectly. It helps towards Spain’s ranking of the world’s 14th largest economy and the fourth largest economy in the EU.

For the global food and drink industry, Spain is a beacon in terms of sustainability

Its restaurants, from the legendary El Bulli (which closed in 2011 but is set to reopen in June 2023 as a gastronomic museum) to the tiniest tapas bar, have helped make Spain the number two tourist destination in the world, with over 80 million visitors a year spending over 90 million euros enjoying Spanish food and drink. In short, Spanish food is in a very tasty place. And though globally the food and drink industry is facing a series of sustainable challenges, Spain is tackling them with the same passion it usually reserves for debating the one true authentic recipe for paella.

In partnership with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment

As the latest Spain Foodtech Nation 2022 Report: Addressing new challenges across the food value chain shows, Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) is focused on improving sustainability in three areas: economic, environmental, and social, which amounts to a holistic approach. More than 30,000 companies are involved in the transition, alongside more than 50 universities and 20 tech centres. And Spain has a prolific ecosystem of foodtech entrepreneurship, with over 400 start-ups spread across agri-tech, production, distribution and retail, and restaurants. Two core strengths are in deploying the latest technology, and progress in alternative proteins, and the latter has seen investment rocket.

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Spanish alternative protein companies raised 42,91 million euros in 2022, up from 0.49 million euros in 2020 and 26 million euros in 2021. From 2021, the total amount of start-ups funding at Series A gradually increased, going from 23% to 27.5%. Overall, 2022 saw a total investment of €268M, up 9.38% on 2021, not including the high-profile deal between Delivery Hero and Glovo. Which leaves the question of where all this effort and investment is having the most impact. And like the best tapas menus, it’s a long list with plenty of highlights. Perhaps most impressive of all is its work on alternative proteins. A wide

range of alternative proteins in the meat and dairy sectors are developed and listed in retail and foodservice, supported by new infrastructure to enable the all-important scalability. Alongside this, increasingly sustainable ingredients are being developed utilising nanotechnology to micro-encapsulate bioactive ingredients, or by extracting the molecules responsible for the beneficial effects of broccoli, like sulforaphane and glucosinolate, and incorporating them into products.

Another industry trend is to make use of by-products, typically from manufacturing. For instance, Spanish start-ups like Byproductplace, a digital platform for the commercial exchange of by-products and waste, or Ingredalia, which develops natural functional ingredients using vegetable by-products from agri-food companies, or Cutiply, which uses fermentation as a tool to revalue by-products.

Spain is also driving a more efficient and sustainable agriculture, incorporating the latest advances in vertical farming and artificial intelligence to deliver ‘smart’ agriculture, producing predictive tools for pest and disease control, and productivity forecast in decision farming systems. Food safety has also been enhanced by working with blockchain technology.

They serve as micro-examples of the macro-effect that Spain is having when it comes to sustainability and food and drink, leading the way with an abundance of futuristic solutions to an age-old problem, bringing together companies, industries, institutions, and technology centres with a common goal; to promote the circular economy and move towards a more sustainable world.

If that’s the shiny new end of the tech on show, some existing evergreen sustainability-related issues remain, like food waste and packaging. But Spain has applied the same tech-heavy approach, such as creating innovative 100% natural edible coatings for fruit and vegetables that extends shelf life.

For the global food and drink industry, Spain is a beacon in terms of sustainability. Yet despite the advanced approach to tackling the wide range of sustainability issues that the global food and drink industry faces, from production, to manufacturing, to packaging and retailing, Spain has retained what may be the most

Spain has retained what may be the most important ingredient of all when it comes to food and drink – passion

In partnership with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment

The Spanish food and drink industry has evolved into a technologically advanced agri-food powerhouse important ingredient of all when it comes to food and drink - passion. Spain is passionate about quality food, about caring for the planet, and the sociable role food plays in friendliness, kindness and the wider community. Spanish food has always been about all these things and more, the evidence is served up on millions of plates every single day. It’s famous for its simple and respectful approach to ingredients, with dishes often featuring just one or two flavours, with liberal use of fresh and delicious ingredients like olive oil, tomatoes, peppers, rice and seafood. And of course Spanish wine, like Rioja, is among the most popular in the world. Yet beneath the surface, the Spanish food and drink industry has evolved into a technologically advanced agrifood powerhouse. For hundreds of years the rest of the world has benefitted from Spain’s recipes, its techniques and the food it produces. Now it can benefit from the sustainable progress it’s making behind the scenes as well.

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In partnership with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment

Mining for fertile and sustainable soil

In partnership with Anglo American Regeneration is the buzzword on everyone’s lips when it comes to sustainability. Taking a regenerative approach to farming boosts soil health, mitigates climate change, conserves biodiversity, and represents a positive shift towards a sustainable system of food production. Decades of overuse have led to a need to regenerate our soil. Unsustainable land management, intensive agriculture, deforestation and overgrazing have contributed to the depletion of essential nutrients from soils around the world, reducing its fertility and impacting on its ability to grow anything. A reliance on synthetic fertilizers to compensate for barren earth may have produced unnaturally bountiful crops above the surface, but beneath the surface it was a different story.

Anglo American is one of the largest mining companies in the world, so it knows all about what goes on beneath the surface. It mines in various countries across Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, extracting diamonds, copper, platinum, iron ore, coal and nickel. Now it’s pitched up nearby the coastal North Yorkshire town of Whitby to mine for something altogether different. In support of its sustainability programme, it’s focusing on digging out polyhalite, a naturally occurring evaporite mineral composed of potassium, sulphur, magnesium, and calcium, plus numerous micronutrients, to create an environmentally-friendly, suitable for organic farming, crop nutrition product it calls POLY4. For farmers looking for a natural solution, POLY4 is a winner. Not

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just in terms of improved yield, but also for food quality and the environment. Polish farmers growing potatoes saw yield increases of 3%. When used by farmers in France growing sugar beet, crops increased by 9%. Italian farmers growing tomatoes saw a 15% yield advantage, and a 43% reduction in green fruit. Many other ongoing trials across Europe have produced similar results with many different crops, including cereals, rapeseed, corn, grapes and olives. POLY4 trials with Aberdeen University showed a 40% increase in soil tensile strength for better soil infiltration, aeration, water-holding capacity, while preserving overall soil health, especially the rhizosphere, the vital nutrient-rich soil that surrounds and interacts with the roots of plants.

POLY4 can become a natural solution to supply the soil with essential nutrients improving root development, and optimising crop performance

Put it all together and it goes some way to helping mitigate the risk to farmers of transitioning towards regenerative, or organic, farming practices and allows them to boost their eco-credentials. POLY4 can become a natural solution to supply the soil with essential nutrients improving root development, and optimising crop performance. The improved quality of the resulting crops can also deliver more marketable yield, with a longer shelf-life and improved flavour and appearance.

In partnership with Anglo American

“POLY4 trials show consistent improvements in both yield and quality,” says Sarah Blackwell, Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients global marketing manager. “We can help the farmer produce more crops from the same amount of land, which is obviously really important, but allow them to do it in a more sustainable way. Farmers are looking at ways to adopt regenerative farming practices and POLY4 can help meet their nutritional needs, while enhancing the soil environment.”

it slowly dissolves, feeding the crops as and when they need it.”

“We look at it as replenishing the soil” she adds. “It’s unique because of its sustained nutrient release profile and it’s kind to the soil as POLY4 does not affect soil pH and is low in chloride. More so it helps preserve the soil and replenish it with essential nutrients improving soil nutrient legacy. It has the lowest carbon footprint at manufacturing and it’s also much more efficient than other conventional fertilisers, as

“It was designed from the outset to be pretty much invisible from the surface,” says Maurice Rankin, Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients global communications manager. “It’ll be the deepest mine in Europe and the largest single source of multi-nutrient polyhalite in the world. Once it’s complete, it will blend into the landscape, even the head frames are buried underground. All the mining operations will happen a mile

Historically, mining operations have come under fire for the impact on local environments, but the state-of-theart polyhalite mine being constructed near Whitby will become a beacon of eco-construction, as well as making a positive impact on the local economy and community. And it’s situated in the North York Moors National Park, where it will barely be visible from the surface.

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In partnership with Anglo American

Granulated POLY4 is more effective for the farmer. It’s very flexible, can be used as a straight, or blended fertiliser, and is suitable for all types of crops underground, and the material will be transported in a tunnel from Whitby to Teesside to avoid any impact on the environment and the people above. It encapsulates what low-impact, sustainable mining can be.” He also adds that during POLY4 manufacture, POLY4 has a “one-to-one product ratio - one tonne of polyhalite ore equals one tonne of POLY4 - with no waste, which is rare in the mining industry. There’s no waste product, all we do is mine it, crush it, and granulate it. Granulated POLY4 is more effective for the farmer. It’s very flexible, can be used as a straight, or blended fertiliser, and is suitable for all types of crops.” When it comes to the environment, he says Anglo American wants to show that sustainability “doesn’t just mean greenwashing or setting ambitious targets. It’s about delivering effective and positive change for the communities and the environments in which we operate. Here in North Yorkshire, we have an education programme to

In partnership with Anglo American

look after underprivileged children in the community, a small business programme to support developing companies and there’s a health programme being developed to tackle deprivation in some of the communities on the Yorkshire coast.” Meanwhile, construction of the mine and trials of POLY4 continue as it readies itself for launch in the year 2027. “We’ve done a lot of trials focusing on yield and quality and now we’re focusing on the environmental benefits, optimising nutrient efficiency, climate resilience and healthy soils.” says Blackwell. “We are exploring, learning and engaging. The trials are looking at different elements for a wide variety of crops across the world, because every crop has specific needs, and our product can help fulfil them. It’s about building resilience; it’s about improving food security. And now we are on a countdown to production and just a few seasons away from getting POLY4 to farmers.”

The story behind Denmark’s £1bn plant-based revolution Denmark is a key player in the global food system, from meat and dairy exports to beer production, the label “Made in Denmark” means a lot. And now, the country is turning much of its attention to plant-based in a major way. Over the last couple of years, the Danish government has set aside well over £1bn to support the production of plant-based food and a ‘green transformation’ of the agriculture sector. With plans to halve the country’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 2030, the investment will provide support to businesses, new

product development, education and research as they all make their moves towards plant-based. It is the largest ever investment in plant-based food throughout the European Union. So, politically, how have they got to this stage? What is the money likely to be spent on? And what is on the horizon for plant-based food in Denmark? Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, Secretary-General of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, and Regional Representative for Europe & Director of Policy Initiatives at the International Vegetarian Union, explains all.

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SUSTAINABLE FOOD FORUM Everything you need to know about the upcoming Sustainable Food Forum, which takes place in London on the 19th and 20th September, can be found here, including all the relevant times, dates, the line-up of speakers and details of all the sessions, and the attendees.

19-20 September

30 Euston Square, London

Explore innovators making an impact on the future of food formulation across the 2-day event The Sustainable Food Forum 2023 will bring together leading international innovators to share their challenges and initiatives that are making an impact in food formulation. Paving the way for change to happen, the forum will share the latest developments and innovations which demonstrate real impact on sustainability.

Across the two days, attendees will have the opportunity to make valuable and numerous connections, in a unique networking experience. Whether you join the Sustainable Food Forum in London or remotely, you’ll be able to connect with likeminded attendees throughout the event programme to establish changes that can be implemented to create a more sustainable planet.

Build lasting connections that will allow your business to elevate their sustainability developments. Networking opportunities include:

International Partner Presentations 66

Roundtable Sessions

1-2-1 Meetings

Sustainable Food Forum

Lead Partners International Partner ICEX Spain Trade and Investment

Impact Partner Anglo American

Supporting Partners

Attending the event All passes will include: Access to the two-day Sustainable Food Forum — Access to inspiring talks and panel discussions across the two days — The option to attend exclusive roundtable sessions

The opportunity to network with leaders in the food sustainability industry — The ability to connect and book 1-2-1 meetings with other attendees at the event to forge valuable connections

PURCHASE YOUR PASS HERE

PROGRAMME DAY 1 Tuesday 19 September Host: Samira Ahmed, Journalist and Broadcaster (UK)

08.45 – 09.15 Breakfast and registration

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09.30 – 10.15 The future of food: how to transform the global food production system Professor Tim Benton, Research Director, Emerging Risks; Director, Environment and Society Programme, Chatham House (UK) Marjolein Brasz, CEO, Foodvalley NL (The Netherlands) Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, WWF (UK) Sir Jonathon Porritt, Author and Environmental Campaigner (UK)

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10.45 – 11.30 Making the business case for sustainable food across the supply chain Anne Marie Butler, Global Director of Strategy and Innovation, Edlong (Ireland) Alberto Musacchio, CEO, Food Evolution (Italy)

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12.00 – 12.45 What mainstreaming sustainable food consumption looks like Patrick Holden CBE, Chief Executive, Sustainable Food Trust (UK) Alex Smith, Founder & CEO, Alara Wholefoods (UK) Dr Ann Trevenen-Jones, Lead: Food Systems Governance, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) (The Netherlands)

12.45 – 14.00 Networking lunch break

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14.00 – 14.45 Can (re)formulation save us? Joanne Elsdon, Head of Food and Drink, Greggs (UK) Charlie Fisher, Innovation Director, Wicked Kitchen (UK) Reniera O’Donnell, Food Initiative Lead, Ellen McArthur Foundation (UK) Annelie Selander, Chief Sustainability Officer, Westbury Street Holdings (UK)

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15.15 – 16.00 Innovations in ingredients and processing provide the key Shayna Fertig, Senior Advisor to the President, The Good Food Institute (USA) Gil Horsky, Founding Partner, FLORA Ventures (Israel) Serpil Tascioglu, Director, Global Foods Innovation and Strategy, Unilever (The Netherlands) A senior representative, Quorn (UK)

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16.30 – 17.15 Making an impact: learning from global innovators

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17.15 – 18.30 Close of day one and networking reception

PROGRAMME DAY 2 Wednesday 20 September Host: Seyi Rhodes, Presenter, Journalist and Broadcaster (UK)

09.30 – 10.15 We become what we eat, and so does the planet: changing global diets Jenny Arthur, Head of Cool Food Membership Development, World Resources Institute (UK) Edwin Bark, Senior Vice President, Redefine Meat (The Netherlands) Dr Fabrice DeClerck, Science Director, EAT (Norway) Paloma Lopez, Co-founder & CEO, Future Fit Foods (USA) Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, Co-founder and Executive Chair, Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition (Nigeria)

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10.45 – 11.30 Can global R&D deliver: top trends in ingredient developments Lucas Hardy, Global Customer Innovation Director, AAK (The Netherlands) Dr Carl Jones, Plant Sciences Director, Mars Advanced Research Institute (USA) Zbigniew Lewicki, Chief R&D and Sustainability Officer, Lipton Teas and Infusions (UK) Eve Martinet-Bareau, Global Innovation Program Director, Re-Imagine Clean™ & Re-Imagine Waste™, IFF (The Netherlands)

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12.00 – 12.45 Next-gen production processes and new technologies John Casey, Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Officer, Nuritas (Ireland) Dr Annette Granéli, CEO & Co-founder, Green-On (Sweden) Dr Stephan Verdier, R&D Director, Solvay Aroma (France)

12.45 – 14.00

Key themes at the forum

Networking lunch break

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14.00 – 14.45 Innovations in sustainable packaging

Sustainable product developments leading in changing the future of food

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15.15 – 16.00 Making an impact: learning from global innovators

The vital importance of choosing sustainable food

Jordi Gallés, Baker & Executive President, Europastry (Spain)

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16.30 – 17.15 Bring on the rainmakers: making change happen needs disruptors and disruption

Sustainable production processes and new technologies making a difference

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17.15 – 18.30 Final remarks and closing networking reception

Innovations in sustainable ingredient development

Mainstreaming sustainable food consumption across the globe

With more to be announced in the coming weeks...

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Learning from global food innovators and the impact that they are creating

MEET OUR SPEAKERS Our industry leading speakers will present their challenges and initiatives that are making an impact in food formulation.

Ann Trevenen -Jones

Patrick Holden, CBE

Lead: Food Systems Governance, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (The Netherlands)

Founder & CEO, Sustainable Food Trust (UK)

Annelie Selander

Stephan Verdier

Chief Sustainability Officer, Westbury Street Holdings (UK)

R&D Director, Solvay Aroma (France)

Edwin Bark

Annette Graneli

Senior Vice President, Redefine Meat (The Netherlands)

CEO & Co-Founder, Green-On (Sweden)

Jonathon Porritt

Serpil Tascioglu

Author, Environmental Campaigner (UK)

Director, Global Foods Innovation and Strategy, Unilever (The Netherlands)

Jenny Arthur

Marjolein Brasz

Head of Cool Food Membership Development, World Resources Institute (UK)

Managing Director at Foodvalley NL (The Netherlands)

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli

Gil Horsky

Co-founder and Executive Chair, Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition (Nigeria)

Anne Marie Butler Global Director of Strategy and Innovation, Edlong (Ireland)

Founding Partner, FLORA Ventures (Israel)

Carl Jones Plant Sciences Director, Mars Advanced Research Institute (USA)

Kate Norgrove

Charlie Fisher

Zbigniew Lewicki

Jordi Gallés

Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, WWF (UK)

Innovation Director, Wicked Kitchen (UK)

Chief R&D and Sustainability Officer, Lipton Teas and Infusions (UK)

CEO, Europastry (Spain)

Alex Smith

Fabrice DeClerck

Alberto Musacchio

Shayna Fertig

Science Director, EAT (Norway)

CEO, Food Evolution (Italy)

Lucas Hardy

Paloma Lopez

Tim Benton

Global Customer Innovation Director, AAK (The Netherlands)

Co-founder and CEO, Future Fit Foods (USA)

Research Director, Emerging Risks; Director, Environment and Society Programme, Chatham House (UK)

Food Initiative Lead, Ellen McArthur Foundation (UK)

Eve Martinet -Bareau

John Casey

Samira Ahmed

Seyi Rhodes

Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Office, Nuritas (Ireland)

Journalist and Broadcaster, Sustainable Food Forum Moderator

Presenter, Journalist and Broadcaster, Sustainable Food Forum Moderator

Founder & CEO, Alara Wholefoods (UK)

Global Product Manager, IFF (The Netherlands)

Senior Advisor to the President, The Good Food Institute (USA)

Reniera O’Donnell

Roundtables at the Sustainable Food Forum Our roundtables enable businesses to meet with leading brands whilst discussing their company’s impact on sustainability. Types of roundtable themes include: Sustainable Food Formulation For ingredient providers to showcase their sustainability credentials to leading food brands, manufacturers, QSRs and retailers. Sustainable Food Business Ideal for law firms, marketing agencies and companies looking to help food brands, manufacturers, QSRs and retailers with sustainable business.

Mathys and Squire will be hosting a roundtable at the Sustainable Food Forum. Ahead of that, Food Matters Live would like to invite you to a Summer Reception in association with our partners Mathys and Squire on the 25 July on the 15th floor of The Shard, London. Experience stunning views of the city with complimentary drinks whilst meeting and connecting with like-minded industry leaders ahead of the upcoming events in the 2023 calendar. If you are interested in attending, contact the team to confirm your place here.

Thanks to our partners

ATTENDEE BREAKDOWN Whether you’re working in a leading brand, manufacturer, ingredient provider, AG-tech farm, QSR, retailer, or an investor/ VC looking to create real impact in sustainability. The Sustainable Food Forum will allow you to build lasting connections that can help your business evolve into prioritising sustainability and impact on the planet.

Brands include

Retailers include

With job roles including: Head of Sustainability Head of Innovation Senior Brand Strategy Manager CSR Lead NPD Manager Policy Development & Campaigns Manager Senior Nutrition Manager Lead Nature & Forests Manager Supply Chain Manager

Sustainable Food Forum

AG-tech include

QSRs include

Itsu | Nandos | Pizza Express Pizza Hut | Starbucks | Subway

With job roles including: Heads of Sustainability

With job roles including: Head of Innovation NPD Manager Sustainability Manager Nutrition Lead Insights Director Brand and marketing manager

Head of Innovation Founder Director Head of Start-ups

Investors & VCs include

With job roles including:

Heads of Sustainability

With job roles including:

Food Services Aramark | BaxterStorey | Bidfood CompassGroup EnRouteInternational | ISS | Sodexo

Heads of Innovation Heads of Nutrition Senior Brand Strategy CSR Leads New Product Developers Food Service Director

Head of Sustainability Founder Director Partner Head of Investment Head of Start-ups

FORMULATION There are many ways formulation plays a sustainable role in our food, we explore some of them here, while the Sustainable Food Forum will be devoted to the topic. In this section Corbion talks taste and colour, we look at the latest from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to promote sustainable principles within NPD, and explore the role algae could play in a sustainable future. There are also podcasts featuring Dan Saladino and George Monbiot.

Keeping it tasty and colourful

In partnership with Corbion “Discolouration is not a good look,” says Corbion’s Karleen Saffiera, politely. Change of colour isn’t a good look at the best of times, but certainly not for food and drink. A steak looking past its best may be perfectly edible, but if it’s anything less than a vibrant red colour then it’s more likely to end up in a bin than a shopping basket. Perhaps it shouldn’t be that way, but that’s the way consumers are. Colour is the number one reason that shoppers say they use to determine freshness. Over half believe that any amount of discolouration means food is unsafe to eat, with 54% rejecting it outright.

In partnership with Corbion

Another 34% are so put off by discolouration that they choose another type of meat altogether. And 42% said if they found discolouration on their meat when they returned home, they would take it straight back for a refund. “Colour is the first thing people look at when they are buying or throwing away a product, so the colour of meat is so important for consumers when it comes to purchasing decisions” says Saffiera. “And the retailers want it to be as attractive as possible to consumers. Not just for fresh meat but also deli meat, which is always exposed to oxygen and light.”

The food product can look good, but it doesn’t taste right after a certain amount of shelf life “Aside from colour in the organoleptic perspective, taste is the other important aspect for the consumer. The food product can look good, but it doesn’t taste right after a certain amount of shelf life. This is mainly caused by rancidity, the normal term of fat oxidation due to oxygen, light and presence of water which is abundantly available in food products. The rancid taste is mostly found in products with high fat content such as, frankfurters, dressings, chips and crisps, frozen products and even crackers.” Preservatives, colour fixers and antioxidants have been used by producers, manufacturers and retailers for decades to preserve appearances and taste, most importantly, to give products as long as possible on the shelf, dating back to the 1950s, starting with

vitamin C before evolving into more scientific solutions. But the next generation of shoppers are becoming acutely aware of additions to a natural product, hence the rising trend for labels with recognisable and natural ingredients, and natural solutions to existing problems, as opposed to artificial ones. Rosemary is increasingly popular as a natural antioxidant. Less well known is the Acerola fruit, a wholesome rising star in the ‘clean’ antioxidant world indigenous to Brazil which has at least 100 times the amount of vitamin C as an orange or a lemon. “Preservation is what we do, it’s what we have done for a long time, not only

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related to food safety but now also beyond microbiology,” says Saffiera. “The solution that we have for this preservation beyond micro is from a whole new source, derived from nature and is minimally processed.” It’s a way to satisfy consumers who want bold fresh colours as well as whiter than white labels. But it’s also a way for manufacturers and retailers to connect with consumers who take an interest into supply chains and the source of the product. Securing a stable supply of high quality acerola fruit is not always easy, the supply chain has been compromised in the past with regard to labour practices or origin labelling. So Corbion works closely with its suppliers to navigate

In partnership with Corbion

the challenges, ensure equity and opportunities, noting that in the past some regions have been underpaid despite being the natural source of high-value plant-based ingredients. Saffiera says by “ensuring more of the processing occurs locally, we can minimise our carbon footprint and shipping while enriching the local economy with opportunities for people to contribute to what we do in a high impact way.” Ultimately, she says consumers do want to see a “big shift towards natural, but they are also interested in understanding what kind of impact the product they are buying has on the world they live in. And it’s our vision to preserve food, but also preserve the resources we have to produce those solutions, and the people involved that work there.”

“We must change the way we make our food” Sailing solo around the world put Ellen MacArthur in great peril, but it was the peril the world is in that her voyage got her thinking about, even before she set off. She started pondering when she was packing for her trip, cognisant that every inch of space would count. Forced to consider the finite nature of loo roll, instant noodles, shower gel and more, everything on her boat was, for the duration of the trip, a precious resource that would run out at some point. And when it did, it would be gone for good. And once she set sail, surrounded by the power and fragility of nature as far as she could see, the parallels between her resources and those in the natural world were too much to ignore. After she’d returned home and dried off, the end result was the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes a circular economy among 84

consumers, business and governments. You can guess how that circular element fits in with MacArthur’s exploits, but its latest initiative involves food, specifically a Big Food Challenge aimed at promoting the concept of circular food design. Entrants can enter new products, or redesigned existing ones, using circular design principles, which essentially means they are produced in a way that regenerates nature, tackles biodiversity loss and addresses climate change. “We know the problems,” says MacArthur. “The current food system is a key driver of biodiversity loss and accounts for a third of global greenhouse gases. By applying the principles of circular design to our food system, we can create food that regenerates nature

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and tackles some of our most pressing global issues.” Also backed by The People’s Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund, The Sustainable Food Trust, The Global Farm Metric and The Schmidt Family Foundation, and supported by Coca-Cola, Danone, Google, Nestle, Unilever, and Waitrose, entries to the Big Food Challenge are now open. “We’re delighted to be involved and look forward to stocking our shelves with some of the innovative products that are being created with nature in mind,” says Ben Thomas, senior environment manager at Waitrose. “The world’s industrial food system wasn’t designed for resilience or sustainability, qualities we would require if we built it today,” says Wendy Schmidt, president and co-founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation. “Instead, we’ve spent the last 100 years working for mechanical efficiency at low cost, often sacrificing quality and ignoring externalities. But the consequences of this approach are contributing hugely to climate destruction.

“If we don’t dramatically change the way we source, produce, distribute and discard food, we face a future with ongoing plastic pollution, a warming atmosphere, and an ocean losing both the oxygen we breathe and the marine life half the human population depends on for its primary protein. “We’re supporting the Big Food Redesign Challenge because it offers an inclusive pathway forward towards a healthy food system in a Circular Economy, designed for humans and the planet.” The competition is now open, with the first designs expected by the end of this year. Successful food product ideas will then be invited to go into production and made available in 2024. Here is everything you need to know if you want to take part. Reniera O’Donnell, Food Initiative Lead at then Ellen McArthur Foundation, will be speaking at the Sustainable Food Forum in London on the 19th and 20th of September 2023, joining other leading international innovators to discuss what is making an impact in food formulation.

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Sustainable ingredients: how algae could help feed a growing population

Fiona Holland When it comes to sustainable ingredients, there’s been a growing conversation around algae and how it could help to feed an increasing population healthily and sustainably. Large-scale cultivation of algae has happened for a while now in the biofuel industry, but in more recent years algae’s potential as a sustainable food source for the future has also picked up pace. Last year, the European Commission proposed a series of actions to “fully harness the potential of algae in Europe”. These include increasing consumer awareness and understanding of algae and algae-based products and their benefits and growing research and technological developments by funding SMEs and projects which work with the algae. So, what are algae? The term refers to a large group of organisms that grow in a range of waters including fresh and

saltwater. There are two varieties of algae which can be used by the food industry. The first, known as macroalgae, or seaweed, have been a staple part of the human diet for thousands of years in some parts of the world like Japan, China, and Korea – featuring in sushi rolls, soups and salads. Some of these include wakame and kombu which are brown seaweeds, sea lettuce and umibudo which are green seaweeds, and nori and Irish moss which are red seaweeds. The other type is microalgae, which are microscopic single cells that take in carbon dioxide, nutrients and water and turn them into proteins, fats, and carbohydrates through photosynthesis. Some edible microalgae varieties include chlorella, spirulina, tetraselmis and nannochloropsi. While we can’t see microalgae with the naked eye, they are primary producers in the food chain and have been essential to the survival of the ecosystem for centuries.

What makes algae sustainable? The main reason algae are deemed to be sustainable is that they don’t require arable land to grow. They nourish themselves through photosynthesis and don’t require much to survive besides an aquatic environment, seawater/freshwater temperatures, plenty of light, and CO2 – which also makes them natural sequesters of carbon. Dr Craig Rose (aka Doctor Seaweed), Founder of organic seaweed supplier Seaweed & Co. explains: “Algae, in terms of seaweeds, are an inherently sustainable food source as they generally do not require land, freshwater or fertilisers to grow – which are key factors that limit sustainability of terrestrial plants and animal production.”

water use.” There are even some types of microalgae that can grow without the need for sunlight by using glucose for energy through a process of microbial fermentation, he explains. Such a process can often result in greater growth: “When microalgae are grown by fermentation, much higher yields can be achieved, in the order of 50 to 200x higher per volume of water and area of land as compared to outdoor cultivation.”

When compared to animal sources of nutrition all algae are significantly more sustainable in terms of carbon footprint, land use and water use

Andrew Spicer is the Chief Innovation Officer, Chair and Founder of Algenuity Ingredients, which develops a range of Chlorella-based microalgae ingredients agrees: “When compared to animal sources of nutrition all algae are significantly more sustainable in terms of carbon footprint, land use and

While algae are naturally found in fresh and seawater spaces, they aren’t tied to these areas either. As Andy Zynga, CEO at EIT Food explains: “Algae can also be farmed in places where many other food ingredients can’t be grown, from open seas to rooftops and industrial areas. This flexibility means that as algae production becomes more widespread, supply chains can be shortened to keep production closer to processing and retail sites. This has the added benefit of reducing the emissions from transporting products to market, as well as increase product shelf life and reduce food loss and waste.”

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The nutritional profile of algae Algae are incredibly good for us. They are nutrient-rich and contain a lot of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, iron, zinc, and magnesium. They are also a primary source of essential amino acids such as omega-3 – all the fish we currently consume get their omega-3 from consuming algae. They also offer a source of vitamins and minerals that many humans don’t include enough of in their diets such as iodine, says Dr Rose. “The breadth of nutrients in algae are unparalleled in land-plants”, he says. “The key nutrient in our PureSea seaweed, iodine, is severely lacking in the UK and European wide diets, with between 70-84% of people not getting enough, and around 2 billion people globally.” Some types of microalgae like Chlorella are also known to be complete sources of protein, says Spicer. “The protein quality is high and can support muscle metabolism and growth”, he explains. They also contain a wide array of plant fibres, polyamines, and antioxidants that have several health benefits such as being good for gut heart health, and cognitive function to name a few. Spicer explains: “Some microalgae including

Chlorella have been described as ‘superfoods’ mostly because they are strong nutritionally regarding macro and micronutrients but also because they include various other plant compounds that have associations with health and well-being.” While there are plenty of varieties of algae, they aren’t all suitable for consumption. As Spicer notes: “While there are potentially hundreds of thousands of different species of algae on the planet, only a small number are currently approved as food ingredients and eaten in various forms.” As well as having great nutritional value, both micro and macroalgae are also known for having a distinctive taste of the sea, which can be described as an earthy or umami flavour. Most types of micro and macroalgae also have a strong green colour which is difficult to omit during production. Both the strong taste and colour of algae have proven to be a barrier in the past when it comes to making it a universal ingredient for food and drink products, as it has limited what it can be added to.

Food applications of algae

Despite the challenges that come with using algae as an ingredient, an array of innovation in the food industry has meant that algae have been able to become more versatile, and easier to add to a variety of food and drink products and supplements. According to Dr Rose, “Seaweed can be added to anything (and I would argue to everything!) in the sense it offers a huge amount of essential nutrition for a very small inclusion”. While a variety of seaweed has existed on supermarket shelves for years, they have also more recently become available in the form of supplements and as an added ingredient to a variety of food and drink. Seaweed & Co.’s PureSea ingredients made from Hebridean Ascophyllum seaweed for instance are being developed to be suitable for use in a range of product applications. As Dr Rose explains, the ingredients are suitable for enriching and develop the flavour of plant-based fish. Despite having a naturally strong sea-like flavour, the company has also been able to develop a flavourless version of the

ingredient which is still seaweed-based and makes it suitable for use in sweet food and drink products. Algenuity Ingredients has also developed microalgae ingredients which are both neutral in flavour and colour with its white non-GMO Chlorella varieties, created using microbial fermentation. During the production process, Algenuity’s experts can select specific traits for the white Chlorella, such as colour, macronutrient composition, digestibility, and productivity. “All of these are based on the natural variation that can be achieved within the genetics of the organism. By creating white Chlorella varieties, we have established a food and beverage ingredient that is neutral and colour and taste while retaining the nutritional benefits,” says Spicer. “By removing the barrier associated with the dominant green colour and very poor sensory properties, we have developed an ingredient that can now be used at significantly higher rates of incorporation in foods and beverages to deliver simpler, tasty, healthier foods”. The versatility of the ingredient means

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Seaweed can be added to anything, it offers a huge amount of essential nutrition for a very small inclusion

it can replace dairy and egg-based ingredients in a range of applications and can also be used to complement and improve NPD in plant-based fish and seafood. Another company that has created its own white Chlorella ingredient is Aliga Microalgae, which spent over two years researching new ways to naturally remove the gene that produces chlorophyll in its Chlorella. Overcoming such a hurdle has enabled the company to develop a “clean-label whole food ingredient” which can be used in a variety of food applications, the company’s co-founder David Erlandsson explains. “[The ingredient] is an excellent complement to soy and pea protein in a broad variety of plant-based food formulations, such as fish, seafood and chicken analogues. For example, by blending just a small percentage of our white Chlorella with pea isolate in a High Moisture Extrusion, the texture and fibre formation is greatly improved, and a juicer mouthfeel is achieved due to the algae’s water absorption capabilities.”

Barriers facing the sustainable production of algae While boosting the use of algae in food products would be incredibly beneficial for our health, the sustainable nature of algae production very much depends on how it is farmed. As Dr Rose explains: “There are instances where intensive algae farming will have fertilisers added to the seawater, which can cause wider ecological damage.” When too much fertilizer enters the sea, this can cause an abundance in algae growth, resulting in lower oxygen levels in the surface waters, which in turn means fish and other sea species are unable to survive. There are alternatives to intensive farming such as wild harvesting, but these also come with difficulties, says Dr Rose: “Equally, wild harvesting still offers massive potential as a supply source, and can be sustainable, but some species are not well suited to this and can be over harvested quite quickly as demand grows.” Better management of the farming sites could help to overcome these barriers in algae farming, he says, stressing that these are “simple bad practices [which] in no way hold back the potential of algae food and nutrition opportunities.” The development of microalgae ingredients also isn’t a carbon neutral process, according to Spicer: “There is a lot

Algae is an emerging sector, so financial support is crucial of energy needed to move (by mixing or pumping) the large volume of liquid in which microalgae grow and a large energy need required to dewater and dry the microalgae. There are exceptions to this rule but, generally, microalgae production outdoors is not carbon neutral or carbon negative based upon the energy needed in the production and harvesting.” Cultivating microalgae through microbial fermentation, which how Algenuity grows its Chlorella, isn’t emissions-free either, he says. “While the full production process is not carbon neutral or negative, similar to mycoprotein, we are vastly better than animal sources of nutrition in terms of carbon footprint, land and water usage and we are on a mission to improve that position further.”

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The future of algae While algae could feed more people nutritiously and more sustainably, much work and support is still needed to help the sector fulfil its potential. As Zynga explains: “Algae is an emerging sector, so financial support is crucial to ensure that growth conditions are optimised for sustainability as we accelerate and scale production. “Innovation will play a key role in improving and scaling production systems,” he continues, “as well as training professional technicians on common problems and how to mitigate them. Offering education, training and incentives for farmers and producers can also help to ensure that algae continue to be produced in a way that minimises environmental impact.” While financial support can help to improve technology in the sector and make it more sustainable, if the world is to reap algae’s benefits, the gap around consumer’s understanding of its nutritional

and environmental values needs to be filled. According to Zynga, the EIT Food Citizen Participation Forum study found that just 3% of those surveyed knew that algae sequester carbon dioxide. Educating the public around the many benefits of algae is essential, he says, as is involving consumers in the co-creation of new algae-based products, which can help to boost interest and demand in such goods once they launch on the market. The future potential of algae is promising, thanks to the ever-growing innovation in the sector as well as a growing interest from EU leaders, which will provide some of the financial support this area needs. Developing consumer knowledge and demand for the product, as well as new methods for making algae cultivation more sustainable is now the next crucial step to making it a staple sustainable ingredient in the food industry.

Dame Joanna Lumley is patron of Compassion in World Farming

The system must change to secure the future of food, is the key message at the Extinction or Regeneration conference Stef Bottinelli Organised by Compassion in World Farming in partnership with a number of organisations, including IPES Food and BirdLife International, the Extinction or Regeneration conference took place at the QEII Centre in London this May. The two-day event saw several worldrenowned academics, food experts,

ecologists, activists and farmers discuss topics ranging from soil health and regenerative agriculture to the role of governments, business and investment in the food system. The purpose of the conference was clear: finding solutions to ensure the health of people, animals and planet.

The need for change From Professor Tim Benton, Compasjust some of the issues hindering the sion in World Farming Global CEO food system and creating disparities Philip Lymbery, former food tsar Henry across the globe, according to Olivier Dimbleby, IPES Food Co-Chair and UN De Schutter. The IPES Food Co-Chair Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty stressed the importance of finding duand human rights Olivier De Schutter, rable solutions to food poverty, movand Dr Vandana Shiva, activist founder ing away from the concept of charity. of Navdanya, to Primatologist Jane He also highlighted the importance Goodall, Dr Susan Chomba, of listening to farmers, identiDirector of Viable Landfying solutions and chalscapes for Africa at the lenging the power of big World Resources Inagri-food corporastitute, Seth Wattions. Debt relief, juskins, Pinhook Farms tice and support for farmer and Ruud Global South counZanders, Foundtries in the face of ing Partner at Kipclimate change is ster Revolutionary also of the utmost Farmers, all speakimportance to tackRattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science ers shared one opinle poverty and ineThe Ohio State University ion: the current food quality, he added. system doesn’t work. Professor Tim Benton Record high food prices, spoke about the need to reagribusiness oligopoly, growthink how we grow food from a ing global hunger and debt crisis, food sustainability point of view, rather than poverty, declining living standards and a quantity perspective. He said that the health issues such as obesity in low inconcept of continuously growing more come households in wealthy countries, and more produce to meet consumcentralisation of production of certain er demand, using high tech to offset foods, export-led agriculture in conthe lack of enough land, is an ideology tinents like Africa to satisfy the need which is not based on science. He addof richer countries for produce such as ed that demand can be changed by coffee and cocoa, and poor relations restructuring the market and agro-ecobetween government and farmers, are logical approaches can feed the world

Waste is a crime against nature.

if we change our diet. Whilst this approach can be accused of being ideological, Benton is a firm believer that the market can be restructured and the onus should not be put on consumers. Less agricultural efficiency but more system efficiency, cutting down waste, structural market change, eating less meat and consuming more varied diets are just some of the changes needed to reshape the food system, he said in his speech. Stefanos Fotiou, Head of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, echoed Benton’s beliefs, advocating for sustainability at action and scale, providing evidence that sustainable food systems are beneficial for people, planet and prosperity. “Waste is a crime against nature,” said Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science at The Ohio State University, who stressed the need for cutting down on food waste by at least 30-50%, producing more from less land, using less water, pesticides, fertilisers and energy, increasing the consumption of pulses, eating more plant-based foods, improving access to food, bettering distribution, addressing poverty, inequality, political instability, and wars. He was unequivocal when he spoke about famines, saying they were “man-made” and “unthinkable, morally toxic.” Professor Lal was passionate when talking about the importance of soil health, pointing out that all life depends on it and that “the rhizosphere is the only place where death is resurrected into life.“

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ASTE IS CRIME GAINST ATURE Out with the old: the need for regenerative agriculture

Far from being left out from the conversation, since they are the ones who most closely work with the land, farmers took to the stage at Extinction or Regeneration, sharing their experiences of regenerative agriculture.

For Ruud Zanders, Founding Partner, of poultry company Kipster Revolutionary Farmers, animal welfare is top priority. His chickens live in wooden coops, and enjoy roaming around outside. The land is fenced and netted to keep predators

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out, and when the birds get hungry from all that time spent outside, they are fed food that would otherwise go to waste, such as leftover bakery items. Kipster’s farms are as sustainable as possible and run on solar energy. Zanders and his partners are great believers that animals are sentient, and respect for their chickens’ lives and feelings forms the basis of the organisation. Despite selling eggs and meat, Kipster believe that a plant-based diet, rather than slaughtering animals, is ultimately the preferable choice.

of Viable Landscapes for Africa at the World Resources Institute highlighted the ‘reductionist model’ that she said has been promoted by the west in areas like Africa. Farmers on the continent want to diversify and grow crops that are resistant to climate change, she explained, but legislation and export demands often prevent them to do so, growing crops to satisfy western diets instead. She stressed that everyone wants to help Africa, but few truly understand its needs.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston, scholar, activist and artist, spoke of her Indigenous American culture’s way of farming and the concept of ‘kincentricity’ – managing land in kinship with other species and treating them as equal as opposed to beings put on Philip Lymbery, Global CEO earth to be exploited Compassion in World Farming by humans.

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, co-founder and CEO of USbased Tree Range Farms, also shares Zanders’s beliefs that his poultry must live a good, healthy life before slaughter. The chickens on his regenerative farm are raised in forested pastures, where they forage on plants and insects and aren’t fed antibiotics. Haslett-Marroquin believes that his methods are not just sustainable, but produce better meat, because his birds are cared for and live healthy lives before they meet their maker.

Decent, nutritious food is a human right.

The need to shift from traditional agriculture and looking at methods utilised by other cultures, as well as understanding the food and farming needs of different regions of the world, was also a hot topic. Dr Susan Chomba, Director,

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The importance of respecting the land and its inhabitants, animals and plants included, was also key to Dr Vandana Shiva’s speech, who added that farmers must be treated as physicians – and paid accordingly – because they take care of the land, and know it inside out. For her there’s no doubt that farming has to be local, biodiverse, organic and regenerative. As Philip Lymbery said in his opening speech: “If we continue as we are, we face a perpetual winter. We have

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to focus where we can have the most impact. What is the biggest land user on the planet? Food. Food needs a big shake up. “We need a solution: regeneration, rewilding, rethinking protein – reducing our reliance on animal protein – bringing animals back to the countryside, farm animals out of the factory farms and given the opportunity to experience the joy of life. It requires all of us, the UN, governments, to come together and move away from industrial agriculture and factory farming. It requires us to understand big changes are needed. We can’t afford not to change. “Decent, nutritious food is a human right. How can we continue to allow people in poverty to consume poor quality, factory farming food?“ The feeling at the conference was that everyone present is hopeful for solutions that promote regeneration, but will those with the power to change our food system listen?

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Net Zero emissions by 2045 – is net zero really achievable for the food and drink industry? There is no getting away from the fact that the global food and drink industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, estimated to make up 20 to 30 percent of the total. That means the industry has to play its part when it comes to striving achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Net zero means cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed. By doing so, the United Nations says, we may be able to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and therefore limit the worst impacts of climate change.

So, in this episode of the Food Matters Live podcast, we ask: How is the food industry doing when it comes to its net zero targets? How do we speed up the pace of change? And what challenges lie ahead? Joining our host, Stefan Gates, to discuss the issue are two people with vast experience in this area. Andy Wright is Director of Responsible Business at the food manufacturer, Samworth Brothers. And Emma Piercy is Head of Climate Change and Energy Policy at the Food and Drink Federation.

But that is easier said than done. Scientists are already predicting that we will exceed that temperature within five years, albeit temporarily. Targets have been set and good work is being done, but there is plenty more still to do.

LISTEN NOW

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Join the sustainability conversation… Gunhild Stordalen: ‘The food system is killing us, but we can fix it’

Dan Saladino: Why I won’t stop telling the stories of food

The heartbreaking story that inspires WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb

George Monbiot: ‘Protein production must move from farm to factory’

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INNOVATION Any desire to be more sustainable frequently requires innovation. We look at some of the ways the industry is innovating in this section, from focusing on people to deliver a sustainable business, to the potential offered by sustainable aquaculture, and how seedbanks literally preserving biodiversity for future generations. And a podcast speaks to Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser to explore what gene-editing crops could do for the future of food security.

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Why people are the key to sustainable success In partnership with Lionel Hitchen When people hear the word ‘sustainability’ in 2023, their first thought is usually about the environment, especially climate change. But the fundamental definition of sustainability, as defined by the United Nations in 1987, is really about people. It said sustainability means “fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations, while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being.” So for any company, putting people at the heart of their drive to become more sustainable is key. And it’s especially true of the UK food and drink industry.

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Food and drink employs over four million people across the UK in various sectors, from agriculture to hospitality. The manufacturing sector alone employs around 450,000 in the UK, but the industry is currently reporting in the region of 6% vacancies, compared to around 3% in the general manufacturing sector. It’s vital the food industry becomes a more appealing occupation if the UK is to become more self-sufficient, which is a government goal. Attracting and retaining talent is one way to make the food and drink industry more resilient, less reliant on imports, and therefore more sustainable in cyclical fashion. An increase of talent

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theoretically leads to an increase in output and exports, bringing in more money to the British economy to enable greater investment. Over the last few years Lionel Hitchen Ltd has focused on staff retention and recruitment, recently recognised via an Employee Engagement Award from the Solent 250 Organisation. Most recently we have reviewed our bonus scheme, which we changed to a profit-sharing incentive bonus. It’s sustainable because it encourages employees to think about how we can maximise our profits, which in turn supports more investment and growth in the business. We also have a continuous improvement programme in place that enables everyone in the business to put forward ideas for improvements, and many of those ideas have been instrumental in improving our eco-credentials, energy efficiency ideas, waste and plastic

packaging reduction, and water use management. We also now report on our progress in four key sustainability areas, human rights, environment, supply chain and business ethics, through our sustainability report. The report details our strategy to put sustainability at the forefront of everything we do, recognised with a silver award from Ecovadis, following a recent assessment. The UK Food and drink and grocery industry pioneered the Ethical Trade Initiative to improve lives around the world and through our supply chains. It recognised, back in the 1990’s, that we had to look after people first and foremost because it was absolutely the right thing to do, but also because if people don’t want to work in an industry that’s unsafe, or doesn’t pay a fair wage, then the industry will collapse. In other words, it’s unsustainable. Which brings us back to that original UN definition of sustainability. It is about future generations wanting to continue to grow those particular crops, or manufacture that food in a particular way, because there are benefits for them and for their children in doing that. And that way lies a sustainable future for food and drink.

Lionel Hitchen wins the ‘Business Culture’ and ‘Employee Engagement & Wellbeing’ awards at The Solent 250’

In partnership with Lionel Hitchen

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Is aquaculture the secret to sustainable seafood ingredients?

Anna Turns Aquaculture, the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants in both saltwater and freshwater, includes the farming of fish, prawns, oysters, mussels, octopus, sea cucumbers and seaweed. This is the fastest growing food industry in the world and is set to more than double by 2050 according to the World Resources Institute, with the emphasis on the need for that growth to be sustainable. Aquafoods could contribute 40% or more of the world’s projected protein needs; that’s about 550 million tonnes, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization blue transformation strategy. The beauty of this big blue

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revolution perhaps lies in the three-dimensional nature of the ocean. Because aquaculture can produce a much bigger volume of farmed animals within one cubic km of sea than on the same area of land, yields can be much higher and aquafarms are considered by the World Economic Forum to be more efficient than terrestrial farms. Aquaculture may well prove to be more resilient in the future too – the temperature conditions in the ocean are more buffered and less prone to extreme fluctuations so perhaps less vulnerable to climate shocks. Nicholas P. Sullivan, author of The Blue Revolution: hunting, harvesting and farming seafood in the information age, states that “farmed fish are increasingly important to global food security because the wild catch has been flat for 30 years”. Sustainable aquaculture could reduce pressure on wild capture fisheries, yet any farming, whether that’s on land, in rivers or at sea, has an environmental footprint. Making aquaculture more efficient, productive and sustainable is the way forward and in 2018, farmed fish accounted for 52% of global fish consumption and overtook fisheries as the main source of fish for human consumption for the first time. Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the most exciting eco-innovations that are advancing large-scale sustainable seafood production in the UK. Systems are becoming more circular, supply chains are getting shorter, technology is getting much more savvy and offshore farming, which is the Holy Grail for many entrepreneurs according to Sullivan, is making waves too.

Into the deep John Holmyard runs Europe’s first offshore rope-cultured mussel farm, six miles off the south coast of Devon. Currently, Offshore Shellfish harvests 2000 tonnes of live mussels every year, with scope to expand to produce 10,000 tonnes, exceeding the yield of Scotland’s entire mussel industry. “The chief reason for us going offshore is to get the space,” he explains. “Everyone wants to sail their dinghies or flush their toilets into inshore waters – with more space we could go to a much bigger scale which enables us to tap into big export markets.” The mussels are growing better because the conditions are more constant than in a tidal estuary for example. As Holmyard explains, there are no sudden changes in salinity or temperature and the mussels are under the water and able to feed all the time. “We hadn’t fully expected the productivity in terms of meat content to be quite so high – when we [previously] produced in Scotland it was around 22% meat, last year at their peak, ours reached nearly 49% meat. So per tonne of mussels we’re producing an awful lot more actual food than you would from an inshore farm.”

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There are environmental benefits too. Native blue mussels are grown on a series of 240 floating lines anchored on the seabed 20-30 metres beneath the waves, without the need for any additional chemical inputs. This structure creates the base for a complex ecosystem and biodiversity is increasing within the farm, while the mussel shells act as a carbon sink. On the ropes alone, studies have found more than 60 different species of worms, sea squirts, anemones, crabs, shrimps and seaweeds. Llucia Mascorda Cabre, a marine biology PhD student at University of Plymouth, is studying how the biodiversity in the sea and on the seabed is changing within the mussel farm. “We’ve seen there has been an increase by a third of fish and shellfish that move – now, through our video monitoring, we’re seeing shoals of black bream, seabass, whiting, mullet and even some tuna. This sheltered habitat acts as a nursery for baby scallops and crabs too,” she says. This ‘spillover effect’ boosts marine life and fish stocks. “As crabs are moving out from the mussel farm and fishermen are potting right outside the farm.” This area had been heavily trawled in the past and the seabed had been ‘decimated’, according to Mascorda Cabre. “There has been a significant change in complexity of the sediment too – partly because trawling has stopped, and partly because this mussel farm is increasing the rate at which the seabed is recovering.” So this form of sustainable aquaculture is a great strategy for ocean regeneration in the right locations.

Waste not, want not “Aquaculture is the key for feeding the world with enough nutritious food and the use of by-products [within the industry] is changing,” says Libby Woodhatch, executive chair of MarinTrust, the governing body for marine ingredients, many of which are used to make aquaculture feed. She explains that about a third of fish meal globally comes from by-products such as trimmings, bones and heads that are leftover once fish have been processed for human consumption.

on. But that information about the trimmings has, until now, been lost and essentially thrown away. “Now, there’s a global move to keep that information.” By its very nature, the aquaculture industry is fragmented so a crucial step is to make sure all parties are providing accurate, consistent data. That’s exactly what the Global Dialogue for Seafood Traceability is doing. This WWFrun platform ensures the reliability of seafood information through the use of ‘key data elements’ – specifics about where a product was caught, for example – that stay in place all the way throughout the supply chain until a product reaches the retailer or fish meal plant, for example. Supply chains are becoming much shorter too. In Peterhead, northeast Scotland, a company called Lunar that catches and processes fish has just built its own fish meal plant, so they can use their own by-products on-site to produce feed for salmon farms, for example.

So much data is collected about fish – where and when they were caught, which skipper landed them, and so on. But that information about the trimmings has, until now, been lost and essentially thrown away

“We don’t like calling those by-products waste – that perception is changing and now it’s about full utilisation [of the fish],” says Woodhatch. “We want to improve the perceived value of these by-products…then the systems to collect it, store it and manage it will then improve.” So much data is collected about fish – where and when they were caught, which skipper landed them, and so

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Feeding fish: flies, soy and hemp When it comes to the contents of fish food, as Woodhatch explains, ultimately fish eat fish – but she adds that the proportion of marine ingredients has reduced over the years. “You can’t remove marine ingredients, that is what fish need to thrive and survive and provide nutrient rich food,” she says. But fish feeds can include a list of about 80 ingredients that are produced all around the world, including concentrated soy protein. Scientists are researching suitable low-carbon alternatives such as black soldier flies that feed on food waste, and also hemp seeds which are a by-product from hemp plant production for textiles and building materials and so on.

assess its feasibility as a core feed ingredient. “There are lots of novel feed ingredients coming into the aquaculture sector, but the hemp seed trial is about making the best use of local ingredients,” says Suneet Shivaprasad, managing director and co-founder of Rare Earth Global. “Hemp is one of the fastest growing plants, using minimal water and capturing up to eight times more carbon than most trees, which makes it a highly sustainable choice for so many different products and materials.

Our aim is to ensure that every part of the plant delivers maximum impact, which is why we are focusing on aquaculture.

With support from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre and the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, industrial hemp producer, Rare Earth Global, is currently exploring how hemp seed protein impacts the health and wellbeing of farmed Atlantic salmon in Scotland to

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“Our aim is to ensure that every part of the plant delivers maximum impact, which is why we are focusing on aquaculture. Our studies show that protein conversion rates in salmon are much higher than for cattle or poultry, highlighting significant potential for the sector to introduce it as a new, sustainable feed ingredient. The process could be scaled up very quickly and we could see an entirely new UK-based supply chain for fish feed emerging in the near future.”

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Engineering sustainability Based in a lab in Glasgow, SalmoSim is a start-up that’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in terms of developing aquafeed nutrition. Scientists have created a fish gut simulation machine using a series of bioreactors that can assess how salmon would respond to different fish food ingredients or veterinary medicines in terms of digestibility, absorption, gut microbiomes and antibacterial activity. This in vitro technology makes it much easier, cheaper and quicker to test out fish ingredients. Off the west coast of Scotland, tiny acoustic tags, the size of a grain of rice, have been inserted into over a thousand young wild salmon known as ‘smoults’ as part of Atlantic Salmon Trust’s West Coast tracking project. The data collected by 200 underwater listening stations deployed along the rivers and coastline provides vital information about how these salmon migrate out from 10 Scottish rivers and where the pinch points might be – perhaps pollution, overfishing or temperature changes. Meanwhile, out in the open ocean, remote locations make aquaculture challenging in terms of patchy connectivity and communication for fish farming systems. A company called Krucial has launched a platform called Connected Seafarm that taps into cutting-edge satellite technology to connect with smart devices such as weather stations and sensors that monitor oxygen levels and temperature and unlock large-scale digitalisation. Kevin Quillien, co-founder of Krucial, said: “For aquaculture to feed the world sustainably,

it needs to be as efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. This can only happen by maximising understanding of conditions in the water environment. While manual data collection is common, it can often only be done intermittently, when staff can get to site, and typically from a single location. Digitisation of operations, meanwhile, can result in near real time access to data from anywhere on earth, and in any conditions …that leads to insights on fish welfare, environmental impact and process efficiency.” Heather Jones, CEO of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre, says that in the right marine and freshwater locations, responsible sustainable aquaculture is “the right thing to do” because everything from natural sunlight, heat, and the ocean’s ability to absorb any inputs are being harnessed. Taking that to extremes, a new low-cost wave energy converter, named MANTA, is being developed to power remote aquaculture farms with wave energy rather than fossil fuels. She adds that “there’s a rapid and increasing adoption of innovative technologies which are about reducing waste and that includes reducing mortality.” That includes game-changing technology that improves disease diagnostics, makes better vaccinations, uses subsea cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor fish welfare and water quality and so much more. Ultimately, as Jones concludes, the sustainability of aquaculture fundamentally hinges on making systems as efficient and streamlined as possible.

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Seed banks: preserving biodiversity for the future of humanity

Molly Long Bomb-proof, resistant to extreme weather, and protected from earthquakes and other natural disasters. This may sound like the description of a bunker built for a President or Prime Minister, for use in the event of an apocalypse – in fact, it is a description of a seed bank. Given their impenetrable appearance and war-worthy specs, seed banks often conjure images of Armageddon, or at the very least, science fiction. But these buildings are very real, and are dotted around the world. As the name suggests, the teams that run them are concerned with collecting and storing a plethora of seeds.

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An insurance policy for plants Humans have had practices akin to seed banking for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Some early human civilisations, including Norse and ancient Persian peoples, developed mythologies and legends which are thought to relate to the practice of curating seeds and plants for preservation. It was Russian-born Nikolai Vavilov who brought the practice to a truly widespread audience in the early 1900s. The botanist was enraptured by nature, and on one of his many expeditions, claimed to have come across the “centre of origin for the apple” in what is now modern-day Kazakhstan. Fascinated with the abundance of apple species, he collected their seeds and brought them back to his research facility. The facility became one of the world’s first modern seed banks.

just three – maize, rice, and wheat – for more than half of the calories consumed worldwide. These numbers paint a grim reality for the future of plant diversity. And that is without considering how factors like the climate crisis and wars could further impact the issue. “It’s a race against time to protect our incredible plant life,” RBG Kew Future Leader Fellow Dr Elena Castillo-Lorenzo tells Food Matters Live. Elena works at the Millennium Seedbank, located in rural Sussex, England.

It’s a race against time to protect our incredible plant life.

In the era of the climate crisis, such vaults are arguably more important than ever before. Two in five plant species are at risk of extinction, with the ones humans don’t rely on for food the most at risk. And while some scientists estimate there are some 200,000 edible plant species on Earth, we rely on

She describes the work done by MSB, and other banks like it, as “an insurance policy for plants”. Many seed storage facilities are home to thousands upon thousands of seed varieties – from common crops and flowers to plants intricately linked with the culture and lifestyles of indigenous peoples. “The seed bank is a safety net against extinction and research into the traits plants have developed in the wild to adapt to climate and similar phenomena,” she says. “Thus, the seeds could be used to restore ecosystems or recover extinct species if ever needed.”

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The scale of the mission Trying to preserve the flora of our world for the future is undoubtedly a worthwhile cause. However the industrial-looking, warehouse-like spaces which are used to house seeds are a far cry from lush and verdant green spaces.

grow and harvest fresh seed samples where needed.

This is, of course, intentional. As Elena explains, most plants produce seeds, the majority of which can withstand drying and freezing in an airtight container. This practice can prolong the natural lifespan of certain seeds by up to hundreds of years.

The rows and rows of underground shelving units found in many seed banks the world over then are essentially a space saving hack. “It is possible to conserve a large amount of diversity in a small space and at a relatively low cost,” Elena says. The scale of the inventory is hard to exaggerate. MSB is home to 2.4 billion seeds, belonging to around 40,000 species – this includes nearly all the plants native to the UK, and 16% of the whole world’s wild plant species.

To ensure the health of frozen seeds, it is common for researchers to periodically assess them. Dr Charlotte Allender, Senior Research Fellow at and Manager of the Warwick Genetic Resources Unit, which holds the UK Vegetable Genebank, says her team performs germination tests every 10 years. They also have the facilities to

Other seed banks are just as impressive: the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in holds more than a million seed samples across thousands of plant varieties, while the Vavilov Institute in St Petersburg, Russia, houses around 325,000 seeds and the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado, is holds half a million.

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A symbol of global cooperation Beyond their impressive capacity, seed banks are also notable for the cooperation they help foster between countries. Typically vaults house not only seeds native to their own country, but many others as well. MSB, for example, conserves seeds from 190 countries in total, Elena says. Meanwhile the UK Vegetable Genebank is one of several such institutions in a European network. The groups embark on research together – it’s most recent focus has been on the humble carrot, which the network has been testing in 12 field trials across the continent. Data collected from these experiments will be collated and shared with others for future use. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located on the Norwegian island of Svalbard near the North Pole, is perhaps one of the best examples of international teamwork in the name of seed preservation. The seed bank, known colloquially as the ‘doomsday vault’, has a particular focus on crops and plays host to valuable

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genetic material from the likes of the Native American Cherokee Nation, the Philippines, Estonia and more. Svalbard differs from other banks in the fact that it actually acts as a long-term storage facility for other seed banks – a back-up of a back-up. “The Seed Vault works as an insurance policy for these genebanks should they lose their material for any reason,” it explains. “By providing a safety back-up, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault contributes to securing crop diversity important for the world’s food production.” So far, only one bank has ever needed to make a withdrawal from Svalbard – the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Originally headquartered in Aleppo, ICARDA was forced to close during the Syrian Civil War in 2012. ICARDA used its withdrawal from Svalbard to rebuild its own collection, as it set up a temporary home in Beirut, Lebanon. The seed accessions were eventually re-deposited in 2017.

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Beyond doomsday preparations War and human agricultural collapse are by far some of the most extreme reasons why seed banks exist. The others are much tamer. “The research work carried out with seed collections is very diverse, but in general it focuses on obtaining information on their propagation and germination for use in nature and in restoration programs, studying the biology and ecology of seeds and their properties,” explains Elena.

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Beyond discovering and cataloguing new seeds, protecting and re-establishing already known ones is an equally important mission. The Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute has a particularly interesting modus operandi in this regard – it is one of very few living seed banks. As the name suggests, the EBI ‘stores’ its seeds by actually growing them in neighbouring farm fields. It does this by partnering with local farmers. Of its 62,000-strong seed collection, some 40,000 of them are sown in the ground. There are many benefits to this, according to the EBI. Chiefly, it allows them to collect seeds that cannot tolerate the processes require for safe storage. It also allows the team to grow the amount of genetic material in the collection of rarer plants, ensuring their survival into the future.

Of its 62,000-strong seed collection, some 40,000 of them are sown in the ground.

“From a global perspective, the single focus of gene banks seems to be on collecting and preserving whatever samples they can find, and they call that conservation,” explained agronomist Dr Melaku Worede, one of the founders of the EBI, in an interview with farmer advocacy non-profit GRAIN in 2009. “We, on the other hand, believe in conservation through use, in keeping diversity alive as you use it, without compromising the diversity already built up over centuries by farmers.”

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Aiming for diversity A similar philosophy is held by the staff at the UK Vegetable Genebank. As Dr Charlotte Allender explains: “The whole point of conserving crop genetic diversity is so that it can be used.” As a result, the team routinely send out seed samples to plant breeders, researchers, and other organisations to use in their work. One of the main reasons people are so interested in working with seeds from UKVGB is diversity, Charlotte says. As previously stated, global plant and crop diversity is declining and the situation is not helped by agricultural practices inherited from the mid-20th century Green Revolution, which favour mono-culture farming and very slim genetic diversity among crops. The UKVGB bank holds around 14,000 seed samples in its collections, including multiple species of brassicas

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(cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, for example), carrot, onion and lettuce. “Scientists and breeders are often interested in the breadth of diversity for a particular crop, so they use our collections to look for new traits to develop new varieties,” she explains. Resistance is a key focus. Charlotte says many scientists search for varieties which reduce the need for synthetic pesticides, or those which are resistant to bacterial and fungal diseases. In the era of climate change, many scientists also use seed banks to identify plants that are particularly resilient to adverse weather like drought, flooding and storms. As the environmental crisis continues to grow in intensity, such research will only become more important to ensuring the world’s population is fed.

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Interview: Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser on gene-edited crops In March this year, the UK Government passed a new law allowing gene-edited food to be developed commercially in England. It is a controversial subject and one which has its supporters and its detractors. Those in favour say it will improve food security, making it easier to develop hardier crops that will help us meet one of the challenges of climate change. Critics fear as-yet, unknown, unintended consequences for the food system and

the environment. So, what does the new law actually allow for? What safeguards are in place? And what does all of this mean for the food industry? Professor Gideon Henderson is Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra and has been Professor of Earth Sciences at the Department of Earth Sciences in the University of Oxford since 2006. In this episode he speaks to Stefan Gates about the introduction of the Precision Breeding Act, and what it means for the future of crops.

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