From Farm to Future: Innovations Shaping Sustainable Food
This week’s newsletter dives into the theme of sustainable food systems, highlighting innovations and practices that are reshaping how we grow, produce, and consume food. In a recent Forbes article, I explored Milkadamia’s "Flat Pack" oat milk sheets—an important move toward reducing waste and embracing regenerative farming. This innovation not only redefines delivery of plant-based milk but also offers a model for preemptively addressing packaging and transportation emissions.
Our Essential Reads feature other important efforts, such as sustainable protein production that slashes energy costs, smarter food safety regulations, and empowering smallholder farmers with co-designed farming methods in Malawi. We also look at transformative global movements, including agroecological rights advocacy and the call for a radical overhaul of food and energy systems at the APEC Summit. These stories emphasize the critical importance of collaboration and inclusivity in driving change.
In this week’s Research Corner, we delve into a study on how technology can revolutionize the food production-consumption chain, reducing waste and ensuring equitable distribution. These insights underscore the potential for innovation to tackle food insecurity and waste while advancing global sustainability goals.
Join us as we explore these inspiring efforts to build healthier, more sustainable food systems. Let’s dive in!
Featured Article:
Sheet-Form Oat Milk: A Bold Move Toward Sustainable Food Systems
In my recent Forbes piece, I delved into innovation in sustainable food systems by Milkadamia. The company’s new "Flat Pack" oat milk sheets are redefining plant-based milk production, reducing packaging waste by 94% and transportation weight by 85%. This innovation addresses the dual challenges of scaling plant-based products and mitigating environmental impact in the growing $7.3 billion market.
The company’s “pre-cycling,” approach focuses on waste reduction at the design stage, moving beyond traditional recycling. Complementing this is Milkadamia’s commitment to regenerative farming. Their “free-range trees” thrive in natural ecosystems, needing no irrigation or artificial inputs, embodying the ethos of growing crops where they belong.
Flat Pack is more than a packaging innovation—it represents a shift in consumer habits. By requiring "some assembly," it reintroduces hands-on preparation, transforming convenience into a mindful act. Launching early next year, this product invites individuals to engage in a personal revolution against waste while contributing to a collective movement toward sustainability.
Read more: Milkadamia's Sheet-Form Milk: Innovating Sustainability In Plant-Based Products
Essential Reads:
Sustainable Protein Innovation
Happy Plant Protein secures €1.8m funding to revolutionize plant protein production, cutting costs by 90% and energy use by 85%. Its sustainable process creates high-protein functional foods and empowers local manufacturers, reducing reliance on imports and global supply chains.
Food Safety Reforms
FSA Chair Professor Susan Jebb addresses the cost of food safety regulation and the price of failure at City University's Food Thinkers seminar. She advocates smarter regulation, better data use, and enhanced collaboration to ensure a safe, healthy, and sustainable food system.
Read more: FSA Chair's speech to City University's Food Thinkers seminar
Advocating Peasants' Rights
La Via Campesina joins the UN Working Group on Peasants' Rights, emphasizing agroecology, food sovereignty, and combating structural dispossession. The session discussed implementing UNDROP to protect rural communities, biodiversity, and human rights, while addressing challenges like corporate control and inequitable trade systems.
Read more: Food Systems for People | Peasants' Rights
Co-Designing Sustainable Farming
In Malawi, the Mixed Farming Systems initiative empowers smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, to co-design intercropping innovations like Mbili Mbili. This participatory approach enhances soil health, crop productivity, and social inclusion, fostering gender equity and environmental sustainability through tailored farming solutions.
Contract Farming for Growth
Experts advocate contract farming to stabilize African agriculture, enhance farmer incomes, and reduce production risks. This approach ensures market access, technical support, and financial stability for smallholders while addressing climate challenges and food system complexities.
Read more: Experts Push Contract Farming to Boost Africa Food Systems, Farmers’ Income
Transforming Food and Energy Systems
At the APEC Summit, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized radical changes in food systems to reduce $400 billion in food loss, enhance clean energy use, and meet global nutrition needs. Innovations, investments, and a just energy transition are vital to achieve sustainable growth and the "Four Betters."
Sustainable Food Leadership
Bryan Flower, NIU's assistant director for food systems innovation, leads the Edible Campus project promoting sustainability through "free-to-pick" gardens. At home, he runs Red Home Farm, practicing regenerative agriculture with grass-fed livestock, embodying his global culinary expertise and passion for sustainable food systems.
Read more: NIU’s Flower grows sustainable approach to food production
Advancing Agricultural Innovation
CropLife International, led by CEO Emily Rees, champions agricultural innovation to tackle global challenges like food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss. By advocating for sustainable practices, intellectual property protection, and multilateral trade, the organization fosters resilience in global agriculture through cutting-edge technologies and international collaboration.
Read more: Building Resilience: The Future of Agriculture with CropLife International
Research Corner:
This study from the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science highlights how technology can revolutionize the food production-consumption chain. It presents a 2×2 typology showcasing how innovations influence food production, distribution, and waste reduction, ultimately contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2 (zero hunger) and 12 (sustainable consumption). By identifying gaps in existing solutions, the authors offer a roadmap for technology-driven strategies to reduce food loss and waste while boosting equitable distribution. This framework paves the way for practical advancements that align with global sustainability efforts.
The regenerative business practices and sustainability innovations highlighted in this week's Regenerative Insights directly tackle the critical issues of corporate responsibility explored in my recent book explored in my recent book, The Profiteers: How Business Privatizes Profit and Socializes Cost.
Quick Takeaways:
Affordable Plant Protein: Cutting costs and energy boosts sustainable food production locally.
Smart Food Safety: Data-driven regulation ensures healthier, sustainable food systems.
Rights for Farmers: Supporting agroecology protects rural livelihoods and biodiversity.
Co-Designed Farming: Farmer-led innovations improve soil health and gender equity.
Contract Farming: Stabilizing incomes strengthens African food systems.
System Transformation: Overhauling food and energy systems tackles loss and boosts nutrition.
Edible Gardens: Community projects promote regenerative food practices.
Agri-Tech Leadership: Innovation and collaboration foster global agricultural resilience.