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VERGE 20 Program

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  • All VERGE Food Tracks
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating
See the Full VERGE 20 Program

Sustainable Supply Chains

All sessions listed below are in Pacific Time (PT).  View the Schedule summary here.

Monday, October 26th, 2020
11:30am to 12:00pm
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How Alternative Proteins Will Reshape the Food Industry

The growth of alternative proteins is one of — perhaps the — most important trends in food over the past few years. Protein is being sourced from an increasingly long list of plants, synthesized from carbon dioxide sucked from the air and extracted from insects. Meat substitutes built from these proteins are starting to taste like the real thing, and cuts of actual meat are now being grown in the lab. This revolution will impact almost every part of the food system, from agriculture and ingredients to supply chains and workforces. In this session, we will ask alternative protein experts to look into their crystal balls and answer a question: How will these new developments have changed the industry five or 10 years from now?

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating

Speakers

  • Amy Huang
  • Rebekah Moses
  • Steve Myrick

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1:00pm to 1:30pm
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The Food Microgrid: A New and Decentralized Food System

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted food supplies and reminded us again that our food systems are ever more centralized. So what does realistic reform look like? Is there a way of retaining the benefits of the current system, including wide variety year-round and low prices, while also engineering a supply chain that is more resilient to shocks and less damaging to the environment? Meet the food microgrid, a new system that combines local farmers, digital distribution and high-tech production technologies to safeguard supplies and reduce impacts.

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Stephan Dolezalek
  • Konstantin Kakaes
  • Natalie DiNicola

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Tuesday, October 27th, 2020
9:00am to 11:00am
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Food Systems Dialogue

This two-hour, invite-only session features a discussion among leaders from global food companies and investment firms on food systems policies and practices. Topics include the coherence and rigor of Sustainable Development Goals measurement and reporting, internalizing food system externalities and investor use of disclosed information for portfolio management decisions. The session is open to senior executives and investors. Please email [email protected] at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development for more information. We extend our apologies if we cannot accommodate everyone’s interest in the event.

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating

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11:30am to 12:00pm
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The Science of Scaling Regenerative Agriculture

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to draw down billions of tons of carbon dioxide while simultaneously restoring soil health. Yet interest in the approach from producers, food companies and legislators has not translated into widespread adoption of regenerative methods. The good news is that new data and initiatives from entrepreneurs, policy makers and technologists looks set to take regenerative agriculture mainstream over the next few years. Come to this session to learn about the latest soil science results and to discover what the data means for the food industry.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Cristine Morgan
  • Jay Watson
  • Taryn Barclay

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Building a Better Food System for America's Cities

The coronavirus pandemic shuttered restaurants, closed school cafeterias and generated hardship that lengthened lines at food banks in cities across the country. Businesses and communities are now building back. But what would it look like if those cities returned not to normal, but something better than normal? In this session, you’ll hear from officials, policymakers and organizers who are building urban food systems that are sustainable, nutritious and inclusive. Their projects present an inspiring future for their communities — and for cities everywhere.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating

Speakers

  • Stephen Ritz
  • Jonathan Toews
  • Meserete Davis
  • Danielle Nierenberg

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12:00pm to 12:30pm
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The Business of Scaling Regenerative Agriculture

Lightning Talks

Regenerative agriculture has the potential to draw down billions of tons of carbon dioxide while simultaneously restoring soil health. Yet interest in the approach from producers, food companies and legislators has not translated into widespread adoption of regenerative methods. The good news is that a slew of new initiatives from entrepreneurs, policy makers and technologists looks set to take regenerative agriculture mainstream over the next few years. Come to this session to hear from the leaders behind the projects and learn how your company can get involved.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Debbie Reed
  • Erin Callahan
  • Steele Lorenz
  • Robyn O'Brien
  • Emma Fuller

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1:00pm to 1:30pm
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How Lessons from the Pandemic Can Make Food More Sustainable

The coronavirus pandemic is bringing to life previously abstract threats. Supply chains are straining under changing patterns of consumer demand and producers are struggling to keep their workforces safe. These are immediate challenges but not new issues. As the pandemic evolves, long-standing questions about the resiliency and sustainability of our food system are getting more attention. Join this session to hear a panel of experts explain how to leverage lessons from the pandemic to boost sustainability efforts, and to share experiences on how your sector of the food industry is coping.

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating

Speakers

  • Matthew Walker
  • Ertharin Cousin
  • Janie Hipp

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Wednesday, October 28th, 2020
11:30am to 12:00pm
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Buyers Guide: What to Know Before Buying Soil Carbon Offsets

Panel

Investing in farming practices that draw down carbon dioxide is an exciting new option for companies interested in using offsets to reduce their carbon footprints. In this session, you'll be introduced to what we do and don't know about the potential of these offsets. Leading experts will explain how soils store carbon, why soil sequestration delivers much more than carbon reductions and what your company needs to consider before investing in this rapidly growing segment of the offsets market.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Alexsandra Guerra
  • Danny Cullenward
  • Jim Giles

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12:00pm to 12:30pm
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How Tech and Collaboration Can Make Food Supply Transparent

Food supply chains are notoriously hard to monitor. Meat, produce and agricultural commodities are aggregated and passed between multiple intermediaries. Supplies sometimes come from remote farms in poorly regulated countries. The side effects of these challenges range from fraud to deforestation to public health threats, prompting consumers and shareholders to demand more transparency from every player in the supply chain. There is no silver bullet for a problem this complex, but progress is taking place on multiple tracks, including blockchain technologies and more openness between supply-chain partners. Get up to speed on the latest projects — and learn how your business can get involved.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Rod Snyder
  • Brian Griffith
  • John Davies

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Thursday, October 29th, 2020
11:30am to 12:00pm
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New Accounting Methods Reveal Food’s True Environmental Cost

Panel

What impact is your company having on the environment, communities and public health? The interconnected nature of food businesses makes such an assessment daunting. Enter True Cost Accounting (TCA), a road-tested and practical method for conducting holistic impact evaluations. Come to this session for insights from leaders who have used TCA in their businesses.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Pavan Sukhdev
  • Christian Geis
  • Laura Mervelskemper
  • Jan Köpper
  • Lauren Baker

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12:00pm to 12:30pm
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Pathways to a Radically More Sustainable Food System

Lightning Talks

Our global food system is simultaneously a marvel and an enormous problem. Innovations at all levels, from farm to supply to retail, have helped to dramatically reduce the number of people who go hungry. Yet the system still fails to get nutritious food to those who need it. And too often, the food we produce comes with unsustainable impacts on biodiversity and climate. How do we transition this system — which needs to feed almost two billion more people by 2050 — to be more sustainable? In this session, you will hear from panelists who have mapped out the radical changes to diets, food waste, farm operations and many other areas of the food system that can contribute to this transformation.

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains
  • The Future of Eating

Speakers

  • Tim Searchinger
  • Melissa D. Ho
  • Mark Tester
  • Leah Penniman
  • Deanna Bratter

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Friday, October 30th, 2020
12:00pm to 12:30pm
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Deforestation Remains Part of Food Supply. Can We Fix That?

Destruction of old-growth tropical forests presents a profound threat to the planet — a threat that the food industry has recognized and pledged to eliminate. Yet, food sourced from newly deforested land remains part of global supply chains. In this session, industry experts with inside knowledge of sourcing and supply will talk frankly about why it has proved so hard to address this problem and what it will take to finally remove deforestation from supply chains.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Jean Timmers
  • Ben Soltoff
  • Karimah Hudda

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1:00pm to 1:30pm
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More, Less or None: The Role of Meat in the Future of Food

A growing number of thinktanks and environmental organizations are arguing that dramatic reductions in meat consumption, particularly beef, are needed to rein in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. So should we all go vegetarian? Or can changes to the way that meat is produced allow us to cut down on emissions and keep our burgers? And what role will alternative proteins play? In this session, experts from all sides of the debate will give their take on the best way forward.

Tracks

  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Jim Giles
  • Heather Tansey
  • Sujatha Bergen

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1:30pm to 2:00pm
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How Blockchain, Data and AI Can Create Sustainable Fisheries

Global consumption of fish and seafood has more than doubled in recent decades, but more than a third of the world’s assessed fisheries are thought to be overexploited. And while the rise of aquaculture has helped take demand off wild stocks, the process brings with it new environmental impacts. In this session, the innovators behind new fishing technologies will chart a course to better ways of managing wild and farmed stocks. Discover how blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help create a truly sustainable future for an industry that is playing an increasingly important role in meeting global protein needs.

Tracks

  • Emerging Technologies
  • Sustainable Supply Chains

Speakers

  • Kristina Furnes
  • Baan Slavens
  • Jennifer Kemmerly
  • Espen Braathe

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