How can the food industry address the impacts and causes of climate change?

This is an invitation to everyone working with and for our food industry to reimagine how we grow, care for, and share the true value of food in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Now is the time to start designing the future of our food to be more abundant, nature positive, and truly regenerative by design.?

"Our challenge is not how to produce more food, but how to realise more value in new ways, wasting less, with less impact on the planet. We can do that by transforming the linear way we take, make, and waste our food to circular loops of regeneration and value creation.”

How we produce our food is critical to reducing emissions and biodiversity loss.

Motivated to feed the world we have created a highly productive and efficient and accelerated distribution model centred around just 12 crops and five livestock species that account for 3/4 of our total food supply. Unfortunately, as a result, it accelerates the impacts of climate change, environmental pollution, and undernourishment.

• Food systems contribute 34% of global greenhouse gas emissions — 71% from agriculture and land use and the remainder from supply chain activities.
• The food system is the largest driver of biodiversity loss.

The current value of our food is being lost or underutilized.

• Nearly 1/3 of all food in the world is wasted, despite NZ food organisations rescuing & redistributing approx 8,000 tonnes of food annually.

The potential of NZ's food industry and global leadership is boundless.

• Food is the foundation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s export economy – totalling $42.3 billion in 2022. It currently represents 62.8% of the $67.3 billion total export goods. Looking at future consumer demand, there are many opportunities to diversify New Zealand’s portfolio of food exports and markets and reduce capital, workforce capability, supply chain and environmental risks.
• NZ's Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) requires us to urgently design solutions for issues of organic waste streams, emissions, and more. This is an opportunity.

We can transform the impact of our food, our industry and systems and global leadership, and meet consumer expectations and nutrition here and around the world.

Introducing a circular economy for food

A circular economy for food mimics nature’s systems of regeneration so that any waste can become feedstock for another cycle or season. Organic resources, such as those from food by-products, are free from contaminants and can safely be returned to the soil in the form of natural fertiliser.

Everything, including our food and how we receive it, has been designed, so how might we make the shift to circular design for food to address some of the negative externalities we are currently experiencing?

“Circular design for food makes possible a future in which food is good for nature, farmers, and business.”

— Ellen MacArthur Foundation, The big food redesign

“A circular economy for food could reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by 49%, or 5.6 billion tonnes of CO2, by 2050. By creating a circular economy for food, annual benefits worth USD 2.7 trillion could be generated for cities alone by 2050.” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

How do we make ‘nature-positive food’ mainstream?*

1. Prioritise healthy foods with lower environmental impacts
2. Prioritise local, seasonal, and organic produce
3. Scale up regenerative, circular agricultural processes, promoting closed nutrient loops
4. Remove food waste along the entire product life cycle

*Source The Circularity Gap Report 2023.

Designing a circular food economy for Aotearoa

Here in Aotearoa, indigenous heritage should be a cornerstone of our food sector transformation. It’s important to connect and work in true relationship with these knowledge holders of mātauranga Māori in order to shape food systems that will be truly connected, reciprocal, and regenerative. That is why I am thrilled Dr Jessica Hutchings is one of the experts joining us at XLabs: Future of Food.

How can your business start working towards this new future of our food industry right now?

XLabs: Future of Food is a circular economy lab for businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand looking to address the environmental impact of growing, producing, and delivering their food to customers and consumers. Presented in partnership with Circularity, the Ministry for the Environment, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, XLabs: Future of Food is our response to the changing landscape of the food industry and the need to address environmental impacts.

The XLabs program is designed to support the food industry in addressing the key actions outlined by the Emissions Reduction Plan. We hope this will accelerate the industry’s shift towards a more regenerative, resilient, and valuable future.

Join 100’s of businesses who have already completed our online and in-person accelerator program.

• 92% of participating businesses felt excited about taking action at the end of the program
• 88% agreed they came away with at least one thing they/their business could change or start doing in the next 6-12 months.

This year, the XLabs Future of Food program is open now with limited places for our in-person design sprint in Nelson 20th - 22nd August (limited spots, get in quick). We have options to suit businesses of all sizes and budgets.

“It is important that the changes we need to make don’t sit on a few shoulders within an organisation - we need everyone. People within the business wanted to contribute to our sustainability programs but didn’t know where to start - the XLabs LEARN program brought them up to speed quickly and empowered them with actionable tools to create change”?

XLabs participant 2024

At XLabs: Future of Food you will -?

• Work as an individual or team from your business
• Have access to our online LEARN program for engaging resources, activities and community hub.
• Create a system map for your business to define an opportunity.
• Develop a vision and goal for your circular opportunity in the Future of Food.
• Work alongside experts to explore circular redesign strategies to create a new concept for your business.?
• Develop a clear roadmap for one chosen idea.
• Pitch your solution to experts on the 6th Sept
• Become certified in "Designing for the circular food economy"

There has never been a better time to design the future you want to see than right now and we would be thrilled to work alongside you (and the other amazing experts who are joining us) to make that a reality for your business.

Join us to redesign the future of food at XLabs - it starts here

Secure your place by registering today https://circularity.typeform.com/to/nzkGoHPh?typeform-source=www.google.com

Here are three amazing case studies.

I look forward to working alongside the food industry to create the future of food in Aotearoa!

Where could the XLabs program take you?