A report published this week outlines a bold call to action for food brands, food manufacturers and grocery retailers to address some of the food industry’s most pressing challenges around sustainability and health.
Doing this, the report says, will build resilience, while eliminating some of the key hidden externalities associated with food, which are estimated to exceed $10 trillion annually.
The report, co-authored by FAI Farms and Twig, is designed to empower businesses to move beyond sustainability commitments and towards meaningful action.
Øistein Thorsen, Chief Executive of FAI Farms, said, “The food industry is at a pivotal moment. With climate change, biodiversity loss, antibiotic resistance and social inequities increasingly threatening supply chains and livelihoods, the need for systemic change has never been more urgent. Yet meaningful progress remains elusive because our food system was built on an outdated algorithm – one that no longer serves the complex needs of today’s world.
“To meet today’s challenges, we need a new approach, one that delivers positive outcomes for people, animals and the planet. We’ve got to move beyond commitments as we’ve seen too many of these fail to translate into action. Now, it is time to turn intention into impact, embedding sustainability into business operations to ensure long-term resilience and societal well-being.”
The report offers a comprehensive five-step 3Es framework for transforming the food system to balance ethics, the environment and economics:
- Groundwork: Understand business risks, opportunities and priorities
- Cultivate: Gather insights, engage stakeholders and align incentives
- Sow: Design actionable roadmaps with clear targets, transition plans and accountability mechanisms
- Grow: Implement changes, support suppliers, foster innovation and train employees
- Gather: Track progress, report transparently and foster a culture of resilience and continuous improvement
Philip Gibson, Managing Director of Twig, said, “Businesses have a critical role to play in this transformation and the opportunities for value creation are immense – through building secure supply chains, resilient ecosystems, thriving businesses and healthier societies. The framework we’ve outlined in this report is intended to help companies take proactive action, based on clear strategic thinking and communication, to safeguard their future and contribute to a thriving planet.”