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World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2021 – State of the industry
I recently attended the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2021, where Thomas J Vilsak, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, gave the opening remarks. He stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s origins were rooted in science, and he sees that as the path forward for this sector. The Department of Agriculture was formed in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln…
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The Economics of Cultured Meats
Jim Mellon, experienced food-tech investor and entrepreneur, has made the prediction that cultured meat will eventually be more affordable than both factory farmed and plant-based meats. This could become a reality within the next five years, according to Mellon. As an investor in the food-tech industry myself, a statement like this is incredibly interesting. Cultured…
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The Covid-19 Pandemic, Consumer Habits, and Plant-Based Meats
I recently attended a fascinating talk from Fiona Lavelle (Queen’s University Belfast) titled “From the pandemic to the pan: A cross-continental overview of changes in consumers cooking and food practices during COVID-19”. She spoke about her research which gives a cross continental overview of changes in consumers cooking and food practices during covid-19. Pre pandemic…
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Women Entrepreneurs in AgriTech
There’s no question that technology is revolutionising farming. Agriculture is now infinitely smarter thanks to the many ‘Agripreneurs’ whose companies offer sensors, robotics, 3D printing, cloud-based computing, and artificial intelligence. Drones and connected machines are more affordable, giving rise to smart devices for farming suppliers and service providers, allowing the exchange of vast amounts of…
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Catalysing Finance for Young Food Entrepreneurs: Independent Dialogue
As part of the United Nations Food Summit 2021, Bettina Marta Prato, Senior Coordinator of SAFIN, chaired a discussion on how to catalyse finance for young food entrepreneurs. SAFIN, the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network, is comprised of 48 institutions across agricultural finance, who share a commitment to accelerating access to finance for…
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The Halo Effect in Food Selection
I recently attended the Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference 2020, which included several thought-provoking and varied presentations. Heidi Zamzow from the London school of economics and political science gave an incredibly engaging presentation on a psychological effect known as the ‘halo’ effect. She opened her talk with “do you think David Attenborough pays his taxes on…
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LEAP Conference 2020: Is lab-grown meat the future?
At the recent Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference with the University of Oxford, I was very interested to hear about the benefits of lab-grown or cultured meat in a talk by Professor Burkhard Schafer. I also found Professor Schafer’s discussion of some of the issues in bringing cultured meat products to the market highly illuminating. Lab-grown meat can…
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LEAP Conference 2020: The Nutritional Quality of Plant Based Meats
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the recent Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference, hosted by the University of Oxford. There were a number of highly interesting talks and discussions through the course of the conference. I was particularly fascinated by the talk hosted by Roberta Alessandrini on the macro-nutrient profiles of plant-based meat substitutes as compared to…
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Future-proof and sustainable healthy diets based on current eating patterns in the Netherlands
Earlier this week I attended the Livestock, Environment and People Conference (LEAP), hosted online as all such events have been in 2020. One session I attended was provided by Marcelo Tyszler, PhD on “Future-proof and sustainable healthy diets based on current eating patterns in the Netherlands.” Mr. Tyszler looked at the current dietary patterns in the Netherlands, alongside the required environmental…
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Public attitudes to lab-grown food and other problems
I recently attended the University of Oxford’s Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference, which included a fascinating panel discussion of attitudes towards lab-grown food, specifically with regard to cultured meat and how the use of such products may be encouraged. An analysis of Twitter responses discussing cultured meat found a polarisation of views on the matter. On one side, there are the…