Food Tank is traveling to Anaheim, CA to participate in the Natural Products Expo West 2019—an event that hosts thousands of companies in the natural products industry. Throughout the five-day event, there will also be a variety of speeches, panel discussions, and information sessions on a variety of exciting food system topics.
In preparation for Expo West, Food Tank has put together a list of 15 events that are worth stopping in for anyone interested in the intersection of food, agriculture, health, and sustainability.
1. Meeting Today’s Nutrition Demands for All Consumers
Food Tank President, Danielle Nierenberg, will join a conversation with Chef Michel Nischan, entrepreneur Shayna Harris, and PepsiCo. Director of Innovation and Strategy Brian Hannigan on what accessible nutrition means across the consumer spectrum. While some consumers are concerned with how to integrate premium nutrition and innovation in their daily lives, many underserved consumers often struggle just to access basic nutritional needs. This panel will discuss how the natural products industry can address this range of needs and work to find solutions for all consumers.
2. The State (and Future) of Natural and Organics
New Hope Network’s Carlotta Mast and Nick McCoy, co-founder and managing director of Whipstitch Capital, will delve into the data on growth and trends in the organic and natural foods categories. Following that, a panel discussion with Walter Robb, former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, and others will explore the future of the natural and organics food sector. Their discussion will touch on topics such as supply chain limitations, mitigating climate change, addressing consumer confusion, and how to radically collaborate to address challenges.
3. Climate Action Consultation
The Climate Collaborative is bringing together a group of seasoned consultants and corporate sustainability leaders to offer expertise on topics like energy efficiency, renewable energy, packaging, and climate action planning. Attendees will be able to pose questions to representatives from the Sustainable Food Trade Association, Organic Valley, Hirshberg Strategic, and Pure Strategies.
4. Innovations for Good in Organic
Innovations for Good in Organic will highlight developments, insights, and leaders that are supporting and coming together around organic. The event will include a talk given by Laura Batch, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, a brand highlight on Organic Valley, a discussion on organics in the 2018 Farm Bill, and much more.
5. A Seat at the Table for All: The Benefits of a Unified Natural Products Industry
This session will include films, talks, and discussions that explore how race, culture, age, heritage, experience, gender, background, and ethnicity shape experiences in the natural products industry and how the sector can work towards more inclusivity.
6. Growing the Plant-Based Market
In this session, participants will hear from experts working within the plant-based market about the future of the category. The people—including Carolina Bushnell of the Good Food Institute and Jack Day author of The Vegan Way: 21 Days to a Happier, Healthier, Plant-Based Lifestyle That Will Transform Your Home, Your Diet—behind some of the top plant-based brands will share their secrets on how they are convincing consumers to ditch meat and dairy. Strategists, certifiers, and thought leaders will provide both high-level overviews and in-depth explorations on how other businesses can achieve success in the plant-based category.
7. UC Davis Education Track
Four experts, Bruce German, Ph.D, Charlotte Blitekeoff , Ph.D, Maria Maria Marco, Ph.D, and Dr. Lind Harris, from University of California Davis will individually speak and answer questions on food safety, personalizing diets, improving health through microbes, and the politics of natural foods product claims.
8. Building Bridges Between Farmers & Brands
This session will bring together companies, farmers, and organizations to deliberate how farmers and manufacturers can collaborate to build a better, more regenerative food system. Panel discussion themes will cover palm oil, infrastructure, and direct trade.
9. From CRISPR Babies to Regulatory Loopholes: The New GMO Landscape
Rebecca Spector, west coast director of Center Food Safety, will moderate a conversation about the state of the non-GMO landscape. Panel discussants, such as the executive director of the Non-GMO Project, will explore the new threats and failures of emerging GMO techniques, highlight what brands are doing to keep GMOs out of consumers shopping baskets, discuss consumers’ changing attitudes towards GMOs, and delve into the implications of the USDA’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard for consumers, brands, and retailers.
10. Farming for the Future: Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture
Unilever’ and Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture are hosting this panel discussion on sustainable and regenerative agriculture. Representatives from Ben and Jerry’s, Pukka Herbs, Unilever, and Stone Barns Center will tell stories of collaborating with farmers, chefs, and eaters to advance resilient farming, restoring soil health in the soybean farms and rice fields of America’s heartland, and pioneering conservation programs in India.
11. Impact through Inclusivity: Celebrating Biodiversity from Farm to Fork
This panel celebrates the environmental and health importance of biodiversity and explores how regenerative agriculture can address the crises of global biodiversity decline. Representatives from General Mills, Applegate, Kuli Kuli and Alpha Food Labs, and Food+Connect discuss how their companies are paving the way and building innovative new models to generate supply and demand for practices that support biodiversity.
12. Working Together Toward a Good Food Future: Presented by Esca Bona
The Esca Bona platform engages and serves companies working to create a food system that is regenerative, nourishing, and accessible to all. The session will include background information on Esca Bona and more-in-depth discussions from industry leaders that are tackling the three pillars required to grow the good food movement: infrastructure and supply, food access, and increasing the nourishment provided by the food we eat. These will be followed by a break-out session with opportunities to discuss with the speakers.
13. Regenerative Organic Alliance: Global Certification Pilot Updates
This seminar will provide a background on the Regenerative Organic Alliance and the Regenerative Organic Certification standards (ROC), review the auditing process for ROC, and share next steps for the regenerative agriculture industry. There will be representatives from several global pilot projects working on ROC’s three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness. There will be time for Q&A with speakers such as Jeff Moyer, executive director of the Rodale Institute.
14. Friday Afternoon Keynote: U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and co-author of the 2018 Farm Bill, will address the future of food in the United States. She will explore topics such as the 2018 Farm Bill and the key provisions impacting local food systems and communities, organic agriculture, conservation efforts, hemp production, food access, and the natural products industry.
15. Making the Impossible Possible: Big Thinking for Sustainable Packaging
This afternoon-long event will bring together leaders in the natural products industry that are radically rethinking packaging. The speakers recognize that packaging waste and plastic byproducts are a major problem in their industries and that the current solutions and infrastructure are not enough. Brand highlights include Alter Eco (a chocolate company), World Centric (a compostable container company), and Oakland Coffee Works. Panel sessions will feature topics such as chemicals and toxicity in packaging and how to collaborate on scaling sustainable packaging.
