Reflections on #AgriVision2023: future-proofing protein

Our recent #AgriVision2023 brought together more than 300 people from 42 countries to explore pathways for future-proofing protein. We were thrilled to have representation from every continent except Antarctica, from across the whole value chain, and from academia, government and media. With such a diverse group, we were able to look at the challenges facing our industry through an expanded lens and explore new opportunities to come together to future-proof protein and feed our growing global population.

Most of us in the industry have heard the projection that by mid-century, our world will need to produce enough nutritious food to serve an estimated global population of 10 billion people – and do it in a way that protects our planet. This is the foundation of Nutreco’s purpose of Feeding the Future, and, as an industry, we play an essential role in addressing this challenge.

We believe that what we do matters – both for people and the planet. But to ensure we can feed the global population sustainably, the world needs our protein industry to change, to produce more while also helping to change the trajectories of global warming and declining biodiversity. Consumers increasingly want more sustainable products – and this should provide a very powerful stimulus to drive our industry in this direction.

Our speakers at AgriVision 2023 outlined many of the headwinds we face – from climate change and biodiversity loss to socio-economic and political challenges to market and supply chain turmoil – but also how our industry is turning these into opportunities to create positive change.

We explored a 50-year forecast, with speakers who helped us envision what Feeding the Future would really look like. For example, campaigner, author and former CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman , talked about the urgent need to tackle problems like poverty, inequality and climate change – and the fact that we are far behind on the goals we set as a global community nearly a decade ago. But he also found optimism in the tremendous momentum already there and accelerating, by governments, investors, large companies, entrepreneurs and others, who are acknowledging the challenges and working to fix things.

We heard perspectives on future-proofing protein, as seen through the lens of government, NGOs, science, producers, suppliers, retailers and consumers. Ahold Delhaize’s VP Health and Sustainable Diets Imke van Gasselt was one of these stakeholders. She shared how the retailer is working to make healthy and sustainable choices easy for everyone and bringing alternative proteins to market.

And we heard real-world success stories. For example, Mr Abhay Hanjura , co-founder of Licious, shared what he called “The Great Indian Meat Story.” He described how Licious has been a disruptor, making it possible to deliver high-quality, fresh meat to consumers in a responsible and sustainable way.

During the conference, there was also time for panels, debates, conversations and networking, as we built connections that will help us tackle challenges we could never solve alone.

Nutreco CEO, Fulco van Lede wrapped up AgriVision 2023 with a call to action, asking participants to embrace four behaviours that will help us turn change into opportunities:

1.??????Engaging, not only at AgriVision, but outside of the forum, with retailers, consumer organisations, NGOs, politicians and others.

2.??????Building trust through transparency, so we can ensure people really understand our stories and can join us on the journey.

3.??????Building coalitions across the value chain, within the rules of competition – because the problems facing us are too big for any one company to solve.

4.??????Innovating, to help improve farmers’ productivity without the use of antibiotics while lowering their costs and their environmental footprints.

During AgriVision 2023, we saw the tremendous potential within our industry to navigate obstacles and take actions that will be critical for the future of our planet and our human race. It made us more optimistic than ever that by leveraging our long history of innovation and collaboration, we could take a giant step forward in Feeding the Future and futureproofing the protein value chain.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be highlighting more of the fresh, exciting and forward-looking viewpoints shared at AgriVision 2023, so keep an eye on this space!