The meals system is close to a breaking level as a rapidly rising inhabitants calls for each extra and better high quality diet whereas local weather change, soil degradation and geo-political tensions rise – threatening manufacturing and world provide chains.
The UN initiatives the worldwide inhabitants will develop by greater than 2 billion folks from 8.2 billion immediately to 10.3 billion by 2080 – a quantity that will pressure present manufacturing practices however may very well be unsustainable given the present fee of soil degradation, which scientists estimate compromises the equal of 4 soccer fields each second – or about 100 million hectares per yr.
In a current report, data-driven simulations weighing these and different important components carried out by the enterprise requirements and enchancment firm BSI and futurist consultancy Synthesis counsel the subsequent decade shall be important for change if the meals sector is to supply sufficient prime quality diet to maintain a rising inhabitants.
On this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, one of many report’s authors – BSI’s International Managing Director for Shopper, Retail and Meals Todd Redwood encourages the meals trade to rethink how meals is produced and consumed to steadiness human and planetary wants. He additionally shares three pressing steps that stakeholders can take immediately in addition to three important questions – the solutions to which might change the course of the meals system and handle the myriad threats to our long-term diet safety.
Discover previous episodes of Soup-To-Nuts podcast
By no means miss an episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast – subscribe immediately.
6 meals tendencies giving customers extra of what they need – On the Winter Fancy Faire, the Specialty Meals Affiliation revealed six rising tendencies reshaping how customers interact with meals and beverage as they search extra worth as inflation and GLP-1 use minimize into quantity and greenback gross sales
The hidden prices of chocolate and what actual options truly appear like – Trade leaders unpack how local weather change, poverty and fractured provide chains collided – and what it’s going to take to repair cocoa for good
Customers are able to say ‘sure’ to components once more – if manufacturers give them a cause – New insights from Cargill reveal a shift from fear-based meals choices to a extra intentional, benefits-driven mindset that’s reshaping how customers think about well being, indulgence and worth when shopping for meals and drinks
Trendspotting 2026: Why customers are ditching excessive diets and embracing steadiness – Mintel dives into the meals tendencies of 2026, revealing the place perseverance, playfulness and sensible merchandise meet within the grocery aisle
Danone reveals what’s subsequent for protein – With demand for protein climbing however understanding about differing kinds and advantages lagging, Danone unveils how it’s serving to customers transfer past grams per serving to know high quality, digestibility, variations in plant- and animal-based choices and extra
What’s going to the M&A panorama appear like in 2026 for CPGs? – Seasoned deal advisors share the rising tendencies shaping valuations, investor expectations, and what founders should do now to remain aggressive
The time to behave is now
In line with Redwood and the report’s different contributors together with Futurist for Meals Tony Hunter and Synthesis’ Lee Fordham and Bilge Arslan, the subsequent decade is “important” to “rethink, rebuild and reimagine” how meals is made and consumed.
Redwood explains stakeholders should handle a convergence of threats, together with local weather change, soil degradation resulting from present farming practices and meals loss and waste – all of which compound one another and threaten future meals provide.
“We’ve sensed that the meals system, and due to this fact the meals trade that creates the meals system, wants to vary dramatically to have the ability to put together itself for what’s coming as a result of we all know that not solely do we’ve robust, difficult occasions for the time being with the local weather change actuality we face, however there may be additionally the geopolitics, there may be the rising inhabitants,” Redwood mentioned.
On the identical time, he added, “farming practices that we’ve been utilizing have led to some severe soil degradation,” which is reducing the dietary worth of the meals grown in it. For instance, he mentioned, we have to eat the equal of 1 and a half oranges immediately to obtain the identical dietary worth of an orange grown 40 years in the past, and by 2035 we might want to eat two oranges for a similar equal diet as in 1985.
Meals loss and waste is one other important problem that prices about $1 trillion yearly and which contributes to local weather change with about one-third of all that’s produced misplaced or wasted.
Might ‘dramatic diversification of meals manufacturing’ buttress provide chains and gross sales?
Redwood argues that the extent and complexity of those challenges is so important that incremental tweaks aren’t sufficient to meaningfully alleviate pressure on the meals system.
Relatively, he and his co-authors advocate for the dramatic diversification of meals manufacturing, which they middle on three pillars – prioritizing various proteins, adopting regenerative agriculture practices and inspiring meals sovereignty.
Of those three, Redwood and his colleagues argue scaling various protein manufacturing holds important potential to scale back the environmental influence of the present meals system that facilities on animal protein, improves meals safety and will foster financial development.
However, additionally they notice within the report that “realizing this potential would require greater than innovation,” an concept that Redwood reinforces when he describes cultivated meat as in its infancy. To develop, he says, it’s going to want collaborative help, regulatory readability and frameworks that encourage belief throughout stakeholders.
Fascinated with studying extra concerning the state of cultivated meat and different various protein manufacturing strategies?
Be a part of trade leaders in San Francisco this March at Future Meals Tech. Take a look at who shall be there, the agenda and register: https://futurefoodtechsf.com/
Regardless of the challenges dealing with various proteins, Redwood careworn that change is important and persevering with enterprise as normal, together with standard animal protein manufacturing, will result in extra challenges in ten years. To that finish, Redwood advocated for credible verification of novel meals manufacturing strategies, together with bioreactor meals security and enter traceability.
He additionally lifted up the potential for AI to hurry developments in mobile agriculture and precision fermentation in addition to extra conventional protein manufacturing by way of enhanced forecasting, similar to lengthy vary climate and different patterns for predicting waste discount.
Transferring regenerative ag from buzzword to a enterprise necessity
Along with scaling manufacturing of other proteins, Redwood and his colleagues advocate for the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices. However once more, he mentioned, standardization and traceability are important for buy-in and to measure influence.
“Regen farming is just not a brand new idea, it’s truly farming prefer it was finished, however which we’ve moved [away from towards] very intensive farming practices utilizing lots of chemical substances and stripping prime soil away, and due to this fact is just not conducive to sustainable farming practices,” he mentioned
Whereas buzz round regenerative agriculture has been constructing lately, Redwood notes it’s held again by an absence of standardization – together with outlined measures that may be tracked and reported.
He additionally mentioned regenerative agriculture has been stalled on “reporting,” however that not sufficient modifications have been applied and measured to help environment friendly replication that might transfer the needle notably.
Whereas there is probably not a single world definition of regenerative agriculture, there are a number of established and revered certifications for regen ag which have clear measurable and auditable requirements. These provide manufacturers some safety within the face of greenwashing allegations and might foster client belief.
However Redwood’s level about auditable requirements goes past regenerative agriculture and could be utilized to nearly any sustainability objective touted by an organization – together with efforts to scale back scopes 1, 2 and three emissions. He careworn that efforts want to scale back emissions must transcend theoretical or just measuring and they should embody actions to scale back emissions and monitor progress in the direction of ESG objectives.
Might shorter-supply chains and cultural relevance reinforce the meals system?
Whereas concrete, trackable ESG and regenerative practices can reinforce the meals system, different threats to the provision chain can compromise entry, which is why Redwood and his colleagues encourage meals sovereignty versus merely meals safety because the third pillar to diversifying meals manufacturing.
He defined that whereas meals safety focuses on making certain there are sufficient energy to feed folks, meals sovereignty goes a step additional to make sure “cultural appropriateness,” which in flip might increase buy-in, decrease meals waste and improve native economies.
The meals provide chain snarls that occurred in the course of the pandemic underscored the significance of each safety and sovereignty and steered a shift in sourcing extra meals domestically might improve resiliency and reliability.
Profitable methods are already in place
Past diversifying meals manufacturing, Redwood says trade stakeholders can additional reinforce the meals system by taking advantage of what’s already produced, similar to by way of upcycling can be wasted aspect streams or serving to customers use extra of what they purchase. This can be a technique being seized by startups and huge producers alike and which is gaining traction with customers, due to the Upcycled Meals Affiliation’s requirements and certification for the declare.
An instance of how CPG gamers can encourage customers to waste much less is the mayonnaise model Hellmann’s Make Style Not Waste marketing campaign, which mother or father firm Unilever spearheaded to indicate customers methods to use the condiment to show leftovers into inventive new meals.
These are simply two examples, however CPG corporations, ingredient suppliers and others within the provide chain are piloting and championing a variety of options, which present how reinforcing the meals system additionally reinforces companies’ prime and backside strains.
