Can Global Food Companies Make the Shift to Regenerative Agriculture? | Steve Presley | TED

Introduction

The speaker introduces themselves and mentions their career at Nestle.

• The speaker started their career at Nestle in a Beverage Factory in Suffolk, Virginia.

• They currently run the largest business division of Nestle, which is the world's largest food company.

Nestle's Presence and Portfolio

The speaker discusses Nestle's presence and portfolio in North America.

• Nestle is one of the largest food and beverage companies in North America.

• They have a wide range of brands, including DiGiorno, Stouffer's, Hot Pockets, Starbucks at home coffee, Coffee mate, and Purina Petco products.

• Nestle products are present in 95% of households in the US.

• They have 30,000 team members across 119 facilities in 28 states.

• Globally, they sell a billion Nestle products every day in 188 countries.

Challenges in Farming and Food Production

The speaker discusses the challenges related to farming and food production.

• Food production accounts for about 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

• Agriculture plays a significant role in these emissions.

• Regenerative agriculture is crucial for making progress towards Net Zero commitments.

• Working with over 500,000 farmers directly and indirectly supports over a million farmers globally.

• The complexity lies in addressing different challenges for various crops such as carrots, apples, dairy, beef, etc.

Shared Responsibility and Creating Shared Value

The speaker emphasizes shared responsibility and creating shared value.

• Nestle recognizes its responsibility towards farmers and suppliers.

• They aim to share the risk with farmers and support them in transitioning to regenerative practices.

• The approach is focused on creating shared value, benefiting Nestle, farmers, suppliers, consumers, and the planet.

Goals and Priorities

The speaker discusses Nestle's goals and priorities.

• Nestle has a net zero commitment by 2050.

• They have already made progress in reducing carbon emissions.

• Four key pillars guide their approach: ingredients, packaging, manufacturing conversion process, and local communities.

• They aim to be 50% regeneratively sourced by 2030.

• Significant progress has been made in reducing plastic packaging and transitioning to renewable electricity.

Conclusion

The speaker concludes the discussion on Nestle's sustainability goals.

• Nestle is committed to achieving its sustainability goals while considering ingredients, packaging, manufacturing processes, and local communities.

• They are making significant progress towards being more sustainable and reducing their environmental impact.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the concept of regenerative farming and its importance in improving soil quality and biodiversity. They also highlight various practices that can be implemented to achieve regenerative farming.

Understanding Regenerative Farming

• The speaker defines regenerative farming as a practice that aims to improve soil quality and biodiversity at the end of every crop cycle.

• Simple practices such as crop rotation, live root farming, low till or no-till techniques are considered part of regenerative farming.

• Regenerative farming can range from small-scale practices like crop rotation to large-scale installations of manure systems that reduce greenhouse gases on dairy farms.

New Section

In this section, the speaker explains how their company is advancing regenerative practices in different aspects of food production, specifically focusing on pizza ingredients like wheat, tomatoes, dairy, and meat.

Advancing Regenerative Practices

• The company is investing in over a hundred thousand acres of wheat farming in the U.S. to produce enough wheat for their DiGiorno pizza crusts.

• Majority of their tomatoes are already being farmed using regenerative practices and they are working with an external firm called Leading Harvest for verification.

• The company has joined the U.S. Dairy Net Zero initiative and is working with live farms across the country to implement practices that can achieve net-zero emissions for dairy farms.

• They have formed a partnership with Cargill and the National Wildlife and Fish Foundation to promote regenerative ranching practices in over 15 states for meat production.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses areas where they feel progress could be faster in implementing regenerative practices.

Areas for Faster Progress

• To drive significant change at scale, it is not just about one farm, but the entire farming ecosystem needs to change.

• The speaker mentions that packaging and recyclability is an area where progress could be faster due to insufficient recycling infrastructure in the US.

• They have invested in supporting infrastructure and responsible extended producer responsibility to address this issue.

• Overall, there is a need for increased tempo and urgency across the industry complex to achieve their goals and make a significant difference.

New Section

In this section, the speaker concludes by highlighting their commitment to investing in regenerative practices and their belief that it is the right investment for their food and beverage business.

Commitment to Regenerative Practices

• By 2025, the company plans to invest 3.6 billion dollars in regenerative practices worldwide.

• They emphasize that these investments are crucial as they aim to provide products for consumers' enjoyment while considering sustainability for future generations.

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Ensuring Continuity and Growth

In this section, the speaker discusses how they ensure continuity and drive growth across their company.

Company-wide Drive for Growth

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of driving growth across all company complexes.

• They mention that this focus on growth is evident in their commitment to counting and tracking progress.

• The speaker expresses pride in the company's dedication to growth, as reflected in the 30,000 employees in North America and nearly 300,000 worldwide.

The language used in this section is English.