In 2020, during Concerns about food supply and quality were very high during the Covid-19 crisis. This prompted big changes to the way some food is produced: There was a rise in the use of regenerative farming principles—methods of growing food that also support nature by, for instance, keeping soils healthy and stable, improving water and air quality, and improving local biodiversity—and an expansion of food production in and close to cities, leading to less waste.
In 2021, PepsiCo, Danone, Nestlé, and Unilever—vast, multinational, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies—announced they were adopting regenerative agricultural practices across millions of acres of farmland. This has been complemented by growth in urban farming, with vertical farming business Infarm recently opening the largest urban farm in Europe, covering 10,000 square meters. These developments are important steps towards a more resilient system of food that benefits both humans and nature.
We know today that food systems must be resilient to unexpected shocks like the pandemic. In 2023, we will be redesigning food to also help us solve pressing global challenges including climate change and biodiversity loss.
This is possible only if the entire system can be designed to be regenerative. Instead of bending nature in order to make food, the food system must be designed to allow nature to flourish. FMCGs as well as retailers and innovators in 2023 will assume this responsibility, working together with farmers to establish a circular economic system for food.
They will start to choose ingredients that aren’t only regeneratively produced but are also lower-impact, diverse, and upcycled. You don’t have to make breakfast cereals with wheat from conventional farming. Instead, use a mix of peas and wheat. According to a recent study, making cheese, cereal, and potato products using this approach could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the food industry by 70 percent and reduce its impact on biodiversity loss by 50 percent in Europe. It is significant because the global food system accounts for one third of all greenhouse gas emissions.
We’re already seeing seeds of change that will grow in 2023. Brazilian coffee producer Guima Café, supported by Nespresso and reNature, is becoming a regenerative coffee farm, producing more types of ingredients from the same land and diversifying its offering. Products that are made with upcycled ingredients are appearing on supermarket shelves, including Renewal Mill’s Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix and Seven Bro7hers’ Sling It Out Stout, brewed using upcycled Kellogg’s Coco Pops. British food brand Hodmedod wants to find lesser-known and less impactful foods, such as black badgerpeas or fava beans.
It is not only policymakers who are taking actions. New government schemes in the UK reward farmers and land mangers for their services, such as providing clean water to wildlife and plants. It allows them to thrive, and helps reduce climate change. There are pilots already in operation and more UK land managers will participate in 2023.
The list is just the beginning. In 2023, we will see the launch of an innovation challenge—supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery—aimed at FMCGs, retailers, and food innovators to bring more iconic food products made with lower-impact, diverse, upcycled, and regeneratively produced ingredients to market. These products will demonstrate the benefits of circular design in food production. 2023 is the year that whole food products will be redeveloped to support nature’s growth.
