1st International Food Innovation Conference
Farms, Labs and Beyond: Fixing a Broken Food System – This conference will take place online –
1st International Food Innovation Conference
The past decades in food production have seen a move in one direction only: towards a growing worldwide entanglement along the nutrition value chain. But this chain is being challenged – by changing consumer demands, by new technologies and, lately, by the pandemic.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the multiple facets of sustainability, from ethical standards to responsible manufacturing, and are demanding more control over the provenance of the products they buy. At the same time, climate change, shrinking farmland and a growing world population are putting pressure on traditional methods of food production and distribution.
When it comes to meeting the challenge of feeding nine billion people while preserving the natural environment, innovation will be key. Already, startups and established companies alike are implementing novel ways to produce, process, distribute and recycle our daily bread. Plant-based meat has made its way onto supermarket shelves. Thanks to significant investment, scientists in laboratories around the world are recreating our nutrition, from dairy to meat. Is cellular agriculture the future of food?.
At the 1st International Food Innovation Conference, we will introduce you to cutting-edge research, revolutionary new business models and smart thinkers, presenting the latest in food innovation.
An online event
This conference will take place as a livestream event with online-networking.
Special offer
We are offering a two-for-one deal for the livestream of the event: register two participants now and the second person attends for free.
Exclusive industry event on 30 June 2021
Following the conference, Migros, Bühler and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute will be hosting the exclusive industry event "Enabling the Cell-Based Food Revolution" on 30 June 2021.
Illustration: Jim Cooke
Speakers
Lord Adair Turner
Great Britain
Chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of leaders from across the energy landscape committed to achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century. Lord Turner is a Senior Fellow of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and former Chairman of the british Financial Services Authority; a columnist for Project Syndicate; and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society.
Sjaak Wolfert
Netherlands
Theme Ambassador Digital Innovation in Agri-Food, Wageningen University & Research. Important research topics are the application of the Internet of Things and Big Data with special attention to socio-economic aspects such as data sharing, business modelling and governance.
Chris Smaje
Great Britain
Author of the book “A Small Farm Future: Making the Case for a Society Built Around Local Economies” and of the blog “Small Farm Future”. An academic social scientist, Smaje is currently on the board of directors of the Ecological Land Co-op . He has written on agricultural and environmental issues for a variety of publications and co-runs a small farm in Somerset, southwest England.
Emma Slack
Switzerland
Professor at the Laboratory for Food Immunology, ETH Zürich. Slack’s group aims to understand the underlying mechanisms controlling the interactions between the immune system, the microbiota, host- and microbial metabolism, and diet. Further, they aim to apply this understanding to develop oral vaccines and food-based therapeutics.
Martin Zehnder
Switzerland
Category Manager Meat, Migros. In this position, he is responsible for Food, Fresh Produce, Near/Non Food and Special Markets. Prior to his current position, Zehnder was Supply Chain Manager for seafood at Micarna and Sales Manager Catering Services at the Migros Cooperative Eastern Switzerland.
Costa Yiannoulis
Great Britain
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Synthesis Capital, which invests in companies driving the food technology revolution. Synthesis is a spin-out of CPT Capital, one of the leading and longest standing investors in the alternative protein space. Costa led the building and development of the CPT Capital venture portfolio over the last 6 years including early investments in Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Perfect Day, Memphis Meats and other food tech market leaders.
Przemek Obloj
Switzerland
Managing Partner, Blue Horizon. Obloj is responsible for Blue Horizon’s growth capital and private equity business. Prior to joining Blue Horizon, he was the Managing Director and Head of European Private Equity at PSP Investments, a C$ 170 billion Canadian pension investment manager. Obloj started his career at McKinsey & Company and holds a MSc in Finance from Warsaw School of Economics.
Matthew Kenney
USA
Founder, Matthew Kenney Cuisine. Kenney is an American Chef, entrepreneur, author, and educator specializing in plant-based cuisine. He has authored twelve cookbooks and is also the founder of Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy, an education and wellness business offering courses in eight cities worldwide as well as online.
Moderator
Florian Inhauser
Switzerland
Journalist and moderator. Florian Inhauser presents the main newscast at Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SRF and he is also the anchor of the foreign news magazine «#SRFglobal». With a master in history and anglistics he speaks English fluently. He has also an excellent reputation as an international correspondent, covering conflicts and crises around the globe.
Start-up speakers<
Start-ups in Cellular Agriculture
In the afternoon of the conference, we will meet these pioneering start-ups from all around the world who work at the forefront of cell-based products.
Breakout Moderators
Orit Ronen-Bernstein
Orit Ronen-Bernstein is a trusted pathfinder and “bridge builder” connecting companies headquartered in Switzerland with the world. Her speciality is not just connecting companies but the right people – their visions, minds and hearts. She has an established network and her door-opening impact gives her access to many decision makers, especially in the food area.
Matthew Robin
CEO of ELSA-Mifroma, a group of six food companies in Migros Industry. Robin has pioneered Migros strategy, investments and activities in the cultured meat area. Educated in England as a chemical engineer, he pursued a career in Switzerland and the USA in the pharmaceutical manufacturing and medtech area, before moving to the food sector.
Beth Loberant
Head of Regulatory Affairs Manager at SuperMeat. Loberant has over 35 years of experience in production, technology and regulatory compliance in the plant tissue culture, herbal dietary supplement, and food and meat processing industries. In recent years she has worked to establish regulatory pathways and compliance in the cell-based meat industry.
Programme
9.00
Keynote
David Bosshart (CH), Author and Executive Advisor, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Farms, Labs and Beyond: Fixing a Broken Food System
- Why we need a food revolution and why it needs to be now.
- Understanding the underlying basics of this change.
- Feeding 9bn people is easy – if we want it.
Keynote
Lord Adair Turner (GB), Chairman, Energy Transitions Committee and Senior Fellow, Institute of New Economic Thinking
Climate Crisis: Why Food is the Real Challenge
- In energy, transport and industry, renewable electricity provides a clear way forward to a zero carbon economy.
- But the global food system’s impact on the natural environment seems a more intractable challenge.
- Will synthetic biology provide an answer?
10.20
Break, networking, yoga
11.00
Presentation
Sjaak Wolfert (NL), Theme Ambassador Digital Innovation in Agri-Food, Wageningen University & Research
Smart Agriculture: Digital Innovation for Sustainable Food
- How new technologies such as the internet of things, big data, AI and blockchains bring agriculture to the next level.
- What does state-of-the-art innovation in food production look like today, and what lies ahead?
- Bottlenecks, future challenges and how to address them.
A conversation with
Chris Smaje (GB), Social scientist, author and small scale farmer
Small-Scale Farming: Food Production Relocalized
- How can the challenges to the existing global food and farming system be addressed?
- In a relocalized future, what would be the economic and distributional implications within the food sector?
- To what extent can politics contribute to enabling this shift?
Presentation
Emma Wetter Slack (CH), Professor of Food Immunology, ETH Zurich
The Microbiome: Small Creatures, Big Impact
- How does your microbiome influence your response to food?
- How can we intervene in microbiome-associated disorders?
- When will we be seeing such interventions in daily practice?
12.30
Break, networking, roundtable discussions
14.00
Keynote
Paul Shapiro (US), author of “Clean Meat”
Clean Meat: Growing a New Industry
- What are the motivations behind the burgeoning movement to create meat without having to raise and slaughter animals?
- From growing meat from animal cells, using microbial proteins, plant proteins, to hybrids: an overview of new ways to recreate the meat industry.
- This is how major food companies are responding to the protein diversification.
- Who will win and who will lose in the food industry?
A conversation with
Martin Zehnder (CH), Category Manager Meat, Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund
The Consumer Perspective
Short presentations by pioneering start-ups in cellular agriculture:
Lou Cooperhouse (US), President and CEO, BlueNalu
Sandhya Sriram (SG), CEO and Co-founder, Shiok Meats
Lejjy Gafour (CA), Co-founder, Future Fields
George Peppou (AU), Founder and CEO, Vow
Benjamina Bollag (GB), Founder and CEO, Higher Steaks
Raffael Wohlgensinger (DE), Co-founder and CEO, Formo
Ido Savir (IL), CEO and Co-founder, SuperMeat
Breakout Sessions
Meet the Pioneers
Breakout Session 1: Benjamina Bollag (Higher Steaks) and Lou Cooperhouse (BlueNalu), moderated by Beth Loberant (SuperMeat)
Breakout Session 2: Raffael Wohlgensinger (Formo), Ido Savir (SuperMeat) and Sandhya Sriram (Shiok Meats), moderated by Matthew Robin (Elsa-Mifroma)
Breakout Session 3: Lejjy Gafour (Future Fields) and George Peppou (Vow), moderated by Orit Ronen-Bernstein
15.50
Break and networking
16.15
Panel discussion with
Costa Yiannoulis (GB), Co-founder and Managing Partner, Synthesis Capital
Przemek Obloj (CH), Managing Partner, Blue Horizon
The investors’ perspective
- $3.1B was invested in the alternative protein space in 2020: strong secular growth or a market bubble?
- Plant based, fermentation and cultivated: Where are the next big opportunities in the alternative protein space?
- Which markets are the most accepting of alternative proteins and where do you expect the biggest growth?
Presentation
Matthew Kenney (US), Founder, Matthew Kenney Cuisine
The Plan(e)t Momentum: Crafting the Cuisine of the Future
- How to welcome meat lovers to a new experience.
- The secrets of satisfying pleasure seekers with plant-based alternatives.
- The role of lab-grown products in tomorrow’s cuisine.
17.15
End
Information
Date
29 June 2021
Language
English
Changes to the programme
The programme is subject to change. If an event does not take place, fees will be refunded. Further claims are ruled out.
Cancellation
If you are unable to attend, please let us have your cancellation in writing. The fee will be reimbursed on cancellation thirty or more days before the event. After this term and until five full working days prior to the event we will charge 75% of the fee. In the event of later cancellations we will charge the full participation fee. Substitute participants welcome.
Venue
Online, you will receive the participation link shortly before the conference.
Fees
Livestream participation: CHF 500
20% early bird discount until 31 May 2021: CHF 400
Register two participants and get the second participation for free.
Price for startups (Request for voucher code: brigitte.fischer(at)gdi.ch):
In-person participation: CHF 500
Livestream participation: CHF 300
Not applicable anymore:
In-person participation: CHF 1200
20% early bird discount until 31 May 2021: CHF 960
The conference fee includes all food and beverages. Participants registering less than two weeks before the event can pay by credit card only.
List of Participants
Documentation
Über die International Food Innovation Conference
Die International Food Innovation Conference ist eine jährlich stattfindende Veranstaltung zur Zukunft der Ernährung. Sie umfasst sowohl technologische als auch gesellschaftliche Veränderungen im Ökosystem der Ernährung. Ziel ist es, aktuelle Trends in einen übergeordneten Kontext zu stellen und langfristige Perspektiven für alle beteiligten Akteure zu entwickeln.
Unter dem übergreifenden Thema «Der Aufbau eines nachhaltigen Food-Systems», bringt die ganztägige Konferenz Vordenker, Experten und Startups zusammen. TeilnehmerInnen sind EntscheidungsträgerInnen aus der Lebensmittelindustrie und verwandten Branchen, UnternehmerInnen, AkademikerInnen und JournalistenInnen von Schweizer und europäischen Qualitätsmedien.
Vergangene Konferenzen
Advisory Board
Urs Niggli
Ehemaliger Direktor des Forschungsinstituts für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) in Frick, Schweiz. Urs Niggli ist ein Schweizer Agrarwissenschaftler und ein Vorreiter der Bio-Landwirtschaft. Unter Niggli ist das FiBL zu einer weltweit führenden Biolandbau-Forschungseinrichtung geworden. Niggli ist zudem Gründer von agroecology.science, einem Beratungsunternehmen für Nachhaltigkeit und biologische Landwirtschaft.
Matthew Robin
CEO von ELSA-Mifroma, einer Gruppe von sechs Lebensmittelunternehmen der Migros-Industrie. Robin leistete Pionierarbeit für die Strategie, Investitionen und Aktivitäten der Migros im Bereich des kultivierten Fleisches. Ausgebildet in England als Chemieingenieur, arbeitete er in der Schweiz und den USA in der pharmazeutischen Herstellung und Medizintechnik, bevor er in den Lebensmittelsektor wechselte.
Lee Howell
Ausserordentlicher Gastprofessor an der Universität Genf, wo er zwei neue Kurse über die vierte industrielle Revolution und über disruptive Technologien unterrichtet. Howell ist zudem Lehrbeauftragter an der Universität St. Gallen. Er ist Mitglied des Vorstands der EAT Foundation, einer wissenschaftsbasierten globalen Plattform für die Transformation des Lebensmittelsystems. Von 2009 bis 2021 war Howell als Geschäftsführer des Weltwirtschaftsforums für dessen Jahrestagung in Davos verantwortlich. Er gründet das Villars Institute, das die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Generationen fördern wird, um den Übergang zu einer Netto-Null-Wirtschaft zu beschleunigen und die Gesundheit unseres Planeten wiederherzustellen.
Björn Witte
Geschäftsführer & CEO, Blue Horizon. Die Firma investiert in ein neues nachhaltiges Nahrungsmittelsystem mit einem durchgängigen Ansatz, der über alternative Proteine hinausgeht – angefangen bei besseren Anbaumethoden bis hin zu nachhaltiger Verpackung und intelligenterem Vertrieb. Witte ist der strategische Denker und Macher von Blue Horizon, der als Unternehmer auf den internationalen Märkten die Lebensmittelindustrie verändert hat.
Location
GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
8803 Rüschlikon
Switzerland