EIT Food

In a year full of challenges, we are profoundly grateful for you — our peers, our community, and everyone working to transform our food systems into ones that are more fair, resilient, and sustainable. 🙏🌍 Your dedication to helping both people and nature thrive inspires us to keep pushing forward, even when the path isn’t always clear. ✨ This year, we’ve witnessed the incredible resilience of our community in Europe and beyond, and the real impact our collective efforts are having on people, the planet, and the climate. 🌱 Wishing you a season filled with warmth, reflection, and hope. 💚 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FoodSystems

Climate change is happening all around us, and the #FoodSystem is both a cause and casualty. 🌍🍽️ There are many ways the food system can drive positive change and reduce its environmental impact. 🌱👇 Our Net Zero Food System mission framework is based on three targets where the EIT Food community can have the most impact, and in the areas of greatest need. These are: 1️⃣ Establishing regenerative agriculture as a commercially viable option in key value chain 2️⃣ Reducing food loss and waste 3️⃣ Growing the circular food economy through packaging and labelling This is reflected in our community building and advocacy activities and underpins the design of our funding and partnership opportunities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ds8je3bU What key areas do we need to scale to create net zero food systems? #ImprovingFoodTogether

We took big leaps forward in the transformation of the food system in 2024! Great collaborative efforts across all industry members & professionals have helped achieved pivotal milestones in our journey toward a sustainable future. 🤝✨ Change in our #FoodSystems is urgently needed to tackle climate change, give everyone access to a healthy and nutritious food, and protect the environment. 🌍🌾 At the heart of this transformation is the #EITFoodCommunity, driving innovation to create healthier lives for all. Together, we’re building fair, resilient, and sustainable food systems. Let's continue championing innovation, sustainability & resilience in 2025 for a greener #FutureOfFood 🍽️🌿 #ImprovingFoodTogether

🌱 What does it take to finance the transition to a healthy, sustainable and regenerative food system? 🚀 We have been exploring the specific challenges related to financing and scaling regenerative agriculture, including: 🔵High initial costs and transaction fees. 🔵Longer windows needed to see returns. 🔵Misaligned practices for setting goals and collecting data across the food value chain. During the discussion at Building Bridges last week, we identified several pathways for accelerating the shift towards sustainable food systems, considering solutions like: 🔵Blended public-private financing models to reduce risk. 🔵Measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) technologies to build trust. 🔵Innovative funding pathways to improve farmers’ access to capital. How do you think we can overcome barriers to financing regenerative agriculture? Listen to our Katherine Foster as she shares her thoughts on the discussion and tell us what you think in the comments.👇 #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableFinance #FutureOfFood #ImprovingFood

Food plays a key role in many aspects of our lives, and we all have a part to play in ensuring everyone has access to nutritious, safe, and sustainable food. 🍽️🌱 A huge shoutout to all the innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, and partners who are tirelessly working together to tackle global food challenges and drive sustainable change. 🌟 We are immensely proud of the largest agrifood innovation community, which continues to make a real difference in transforming #FoodSystems for a healthier, more sustainable future. 🌍💚 What bold steps can we take in the new year to support more sustainable and inclusive food systems? Share your thoughts! 👇 https://lnkd.in/dQ66vVkg #SustainableFood #FutureOfFood #ImprovingFoodTogether

Innovative startups are uniquely positioned to push boundaries in how we produce, manufacture, trade, and consume food. But with startups often working on solutions at a micro level, how can we ensure they make a significant impact toward transforming the whole food system? 🤔🌍 Brilliant startups in our #EITFoodCommunity are bringing countless products and services to market, supporting the transition to healthier, more sustainable, and resilient food systems. We’re proud to celebrate their success and impact through The Marketed Innovation Prize. 🎉👏 "We’re thrilled to recognise startups that have participated in EIT Food programmes and are now making a tangible impact by introducing their innovations to the market. These winners are driving meaningful change across our food system, and we look forward to supporting their continued success in the years to come," says our CEO, Richard Zaltzman. Huge congratulations to this year’s winners: 🌾Ullmanna: Next-gen AI solutions for weeding machines in agriculture. 🌿 SAM-DIMENSION: Drone-based weed mapping to identify and target upcoming weed problems. 📷 farmAIr: Using thermal and optical cameras to prevent and minimise plant stress. 🐟 BettaFish: 100% plant-based fish alternatives made primarily with European seaweed. 🍑 Kern Tec: Upcycling industrial by-products into high-value ingredients for food & beverage. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/deP5VwSt How can we continue to empower innovative startups to drive the food systems transformation we urgently need? ✨ #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

Nearly 4 in 10 people globally can’t access or afford healthy diets (FAO). Food insecurity is an escalating threat for individuals, communities, and regions, and solutions are urgently needed. 🌍 Addressing #FoodInsecurity demands radical change. The challenges are complex and interconnected, often varying by region, so solutions must be tailored accordingly. By combining political, economic, and technological interventions, we can tackle food insecurity at multiple levels. Fortunately, promising efforts by individuals, organisations, and governments are making a difference. Collaborative action is crucial to mitigating this crisis. Explore four key solutions, from reducing #FoodWaste to driving activism 👉 https://lnkd.in/daCVgEHH #FoodEducators #GetWasted #FutureFoodMakers #ImprovingFoodTogether

Why and how should we finance the transformation to regenerative food systems? 🌱💰 With half of the global GDP dependent on nature (WEF), protecting biodiversity and ecosystems is vital for economic resilience. Starting at the beginning of the food value chain, advancing climate-smart and regenerative agriculture is critical to addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity. But it also presents significant challenges, including financial barriers for early adopters, and limited risk-sharing models. So, how do we overcome these barriers and promote solutions? At EIT Food, we’re exploring practical pathways to unlock the growth of regenerative agriculture through data, finance, policy, and collaboration. Some ideas include: 💡 Standardising metrics and improving transparency to measure outcomes and build trust across the value chain. 🤝 Blended public-private financing models to pool resources and reduce risks. 📜 Risk-sharing contracts to lower financial barriers for early adopters and support farmers transitioning to regenerative practices. 🔗 Multi-stakeholder collaboration hubs to drive regional solutions and ecosystem-wide alignment. Read more on our report: https://lnkd.in/dzCrdTqE We will further develop the key findings from the report with a wide group of stakeholders, including those from the finance industry, at our upcoming workshop during #BuildingBridges24 on Thursday, 12th December. What practical financial innovations, policies, or collaborations can help advance regenerative value chains? 👇 #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableFinance #FoodSystems #ImprovingFoodTogether

The difference between life or loss lies beneath our feet. 🌱 Soil health is our health. 💚 Soil erosion happens naturally, but human activities like intensive farming, deforestation, and overgrazing have sped it up by as much as 1,000 times the natural rate. This rapid loss of fertile topsoil affects agricultural productivity, increases risks like landslides and floods, and threatens biodiversity. 🌍 Since 95% of the food on our plates has grown thanks to soil, tackling soil erosion and degradation through sustainable farming is key to securing both our food supply and the planet’s health for the future. 🍽️ Regenerating soil requires a full systems approach, so what are the challenges and solutions? 🤔 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dRQbBmxx #WorldSoilDay #SoilHealth #SustainableAgriculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

What an exciting and inspiring time at ‘The Futures of Food through Biotechnology and Bioprocessing’ event at Slush 2024! Co-organised by EIT Food and VTT, this event brought together a full house of investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders eager to explore how biotechnology and bioprocessing are set to reshape food systems. 🍽️🌱 A key highlight was the EIT Food Accelerator Network 2024 Helsinki cohort, where innovative startups showcased groundbreaking solutions in alternative proteins, sustainable food production, and AI-driven bioprocessing. 🚀 In addition, Amparo de San José Riestra and Blanca Chocarro Ruiz from EIT Manufacturing shared a compelling new study on women founders in European deep tech start-ups at #INNOVEIT. The findings are eye-opening: In 2022, only 24% of deep tech start-ups had at least one woman in the founding team, and a staggering 15% of seed funding went to women-led ventures. While women are making great strides in the deep tech space, challenges remain in accessing the resources they need to scale. It’s time for us to address these funding gaps and level the playing field for women founders. Explore the full findings of the study here: https://lnkd.in/dNk6M6YJ How can we ensure more equitable access to funding and opportunities for women in deep tech? How can we unlock innovation by supporting more women-led ventures? 🌍💡 #WomenInTech #FutureOfFood #ImprovingFoodTogether