Globally, food waste is estimated to cost $1trn every year. The eye-watering amount of food lost and wasted is bad news for people, planet, and quite obviously profit, and policymakers are taking notice. How are stakeholders – from manufacturers through to retailers – working to solve this colossal problem? We ask the Consumer Goods Forum how working together, from farm to fork, can move the needle on food loss and waste.

Chair: Donna Eastlake, Deputy Editor, Food-Navigator Europe 

Discover the transformative potential of regenerative agriculture—an approach that sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and enriches soil biodiversity. Join us to explore how practices like reduced tillage, cover cropping, and crop rotation can restore degraded land, improve soil health, increase supply chain resiliency, and mitigate climate impact. In this presentation we’ll delve into the fundamentals of regenerative agriculture, discuss its impact, and share insights into successful implementation and grower challenges. Stay informed about the evolving landscape and changes on the horizon.

What’s not to like about upcycling? Take a side stream, repurpose it, and boom! You’ve got a new ingredient. What’s more, it curbs food waste, adds value, and supports the circular economy. While the opportunities are endless, risks remain very real. How can innovators ensure a constant supply of raw materials? What challenges exist in bringing new products to market? And importantly, do consumers want – and understand – upcycled food?

Chair: Nicholas Robinson, Editor, Food-Navigator Europe

Manufacturers can make all the sustainable food they like, but if consumers don’t want it, ‘greener’ products will soon be withdrawn from the market. This begs the question: do shoppers want eco-friendly food and drink? And amid a cost-of-living crisis, are they willing to pay for it?

More and more environmental labelling start-ups are popping up on the food and beverage scene. But in the absence of EU-wide regulation, eco-labelling cowboys could be getting away with bad data or irresponsible footprint calculations. Foundation Earth believes that’s where the role of eco-labelling governance comes in. Join the non-profit’s executive director Cliona as she explains why greater transparency is needed across this burgeoning sector.

As the world is faced with increased food insecurity challenges from climate change and other drivers, earth observation (EO) has emerged as an innovative tool for many aspects of the ag ecosystem. EarthDaily, an EO and geospatial analytics provider with a focus in agriculture, will provide a view into what is available now and what is coming next to help mitigate the risk from climate change tracking variables critical to food production such as weather, soil moisture, and water. EO can offer growers, food production and the lenders, insurers, and traders of ag commodities early warnings against storms, climate change impacts, and water pollution, ensuring farmers can take timely preventive measures.

There is huge confidence in the transformative potential of technology in agriculture and its ability to support a more sustainable and productive food ecosystem. From crop protection, precision farming to gene editing, we’ll explore the solutions promising to bring real and valuable impact.

Chair: Oliver Morrison, Editor, AgTech-Navigator