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Weekly Short
9 June, 2023
We can and must change the way we make our food. Our current food system accounts for a third of global greenhouse gases and is a primary driver of biodiversity loss.
To help accelerate this change, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with the Sustainable Food Trust has launched The Big Food Redesign Challenge. This will bring together producers, retailers, start-ups and suppliers to embrace circular food design.
The Challenge tasks participants with designing new food products, or redesigning existing ones, using circular design principles, producing them in a way that regenerates nature and eliminates waste, therefore addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Participants will explore how the redesigned products use materials and ingredients that promote healthy soils, improve local biodiversity, air and water quality, have lower impact or are upcycled, and are free from problematic packaging.
The past few years have seen more innovations aimed at redesigning our food system for long-term resilience — with 3D-printing, fermenting, upcycling and cultivating a host of planet-friendlier alternatives to some of our most popular (and environmentally harmful) foods. The Big Food Redesign Challenge aims to inspire businesses to bring this innovation to the mainstream.
What is particularly valuable about this challenge is the support that participants will be provided on the product (re)design journey. Food businesses of all sizes can join a series of learning events, get advice from experts, and have free access to the world’s largest product and ingredient impact measurement tool.
The successful teams will get to take their design into production, and pitch to major retailers to bring their product to market in 2024.
This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to demonstrate how they can be leaders in designing the future of food.
Could you cook up a winning idea? Or know someone who could? If so, sign up, or send this on!
By Alice Railton