Seeds&Chips 2018 - International Summit on Food Innovation begins on May 7
Seeds&Chips 2018
International Summit on Food Innovation begins on May 7: Water takes center stage in a dialogue between startups, incubators and opinion leaders from around the world
On May 7th, the Summit opens with a keynote address from Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman of Starbucks, one of the most successful companies in the world and renowned for their commitment to CSR
On May 8, 68th US Secretary of State John F. Kerry will deliver a keynote speech on the impact of the food system on global climate change and sustainable political initiatives
Other honored speakers include Nathan Myhrvold, ex CTO of Microsoft, co-Founder of Intellectual Ventures and principal author of the Modernist Cuisine; Howard Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer of Mars Incorporated; Sarah Toumi, CEO and Founder of Acacias for All: Seth Goldman, Executive Chairman of Beyond Meat.
12 April 2018- The fourth edition of Seeds&Chips - The Global Food Innovation Summit, the most important international event dedicated to Food Innovation, was presented today in Rome at the Farnesina. In attendance at the participation were Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for International Promotion, Culture and Innovation; Kostas Stamoulis, Assistant Director-General, FAO; Alan Rizzi, Undersecretary for the presidency of the regional council, Lombardy Region; Diana Battaggia, Director of UNIDO ITPO Italy; Giorgio Marrapodi Director General for Development Cooperation; Marco Gualtieri, President and Founder of Seeds&Chips; Livia Pomodoro, President of the Milan Center for Food Law and Policy; HRH Princess Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme, advocate for the participation of young farmers at Seeds&Chips; Francesco Loreto, Director of DISBA - CNR; Massimiliano Costa, Director of ShareTheMeal, the first app developed by World Food Programme to fight global hunger; and Harald Cosenza, CEO of Robonica.
Seeds&Chips - The Global Food Innovation Summit, will take place from May 7-10 at MiCo- Milano Congressi. Over four days, conference sessions and meetings will be held on a diverse range of themes related to food and innovation, from climate change to robotics, from e-commerce to precision agriculture, and from food waste to circular economy, with many more topics to be featured. There will be an exhibition hall featuring startups, companies and incubators who will present their projects to visitors, and more than 200 speakers from around the world including investors and policymakers who will discuss the major challenges facing the planet.
This year’s Summit has placed particular focus on the subject of water, which stands as one of the greatest global challenges in the coming years. Seeds&Chips began this focus with the WaterFirst! Initiative, which launched a Call for Ideas in November 2017 for innovative projects in water conservation and management. The initiative, in collaboration with UNIDO ITPO Italy (the Office for the Promotion of Technology and Investments of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization), the National Research Council (CNR) and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), was aimed at innovators from around the world working on the sustainable use of water. The competition received 65 submissions from 23 countries and 4 continents, and of the final 30 projects, 5 will be awarded a "hospitality" contribution for the trip and accommodation in Milan during the Summit. The top project will win a 10,000 euro prize dedicated to Ambassador Giorgio Giacomelli, a Milanese diplomat and honorary member of the UN Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, who passed away last year.
Marco Gualtieri, President, and Founder of Seeds&Chips noted that "The fourth edition of Seeds&Chips represents a crucial step in a path set forth worldwide in 2015 when food and the environment became the leading themes of the debate on the future. From EXPO to the signing of the SDGs at the United Nations to the Paris climate agreement, in that one year, the world really began to grasp the importance of food and environmental issues to the future of our planet. Today the challenges set forth in those 12 months come to the Seeds&Chips stage, through the voices of both young people and some of the most important actors in the world food revolution. Seeds&Chips wants to continue along this revolutionary path in the knowledge that all of these messages, new models, innovations, and opportunities related to food must be disseminated to every corner of the planet ".
Diana Battaggia, Director of UNIDO ITPO Italy, said: “We don’t need more food, but more technology and applied innovations to bring about economic growth and lift people out of poverty in developing countries and feed the world in the coming decades. UNIDO ITPO Italy elevated the importance of innovation in the agribusiness sector as a fundamental enabler of economic growth in developing countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals – Agenda 2030. This is the reason why we have strengthened our relationship with Seeds&Chips year after year by acting as an advisor for developing countries, where agriculture remains the backbone of economic activity and employment”
Michele Scannavini, President of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), said:” For the second consecutive year, ITA is proud to collaborate with Seeds&Chips to promote this event on the international stage, and to offer Italian companies the opportunity to meet with influential figures from around the world. Italy has one of the most highly evolved food systems and a tremendous edge in food technology, with particular strength in innovation that emphasizes efficiency and sustainability. Italian industry is widely recognized abroad, and Seeds&Chips represents a unique platform to launch interesting new proposals from our various startups.”
The nation of The Netherlands is a partner for the forthcoming edition of The Global Food Innovation Summit, with the participation of HRH Princess Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme who will collaborate on a series of farming-related initiatives with Seeds&Chips. The project focuses on assisting farmers in developing countries in the use of innovative technologies to bolster their living and working conditions, as 80% of the world’s food is produced by family farmers, most of which live in severe poverty. To ensure food security and to continue to feed the global population, we need a new generation of farmers who can take advantage of the most innovative technologies to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental development. At the May 8th session, young farmers from Honduras, Senegal, Algeria, and India will participate in the Summit along with Carola Schouten, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands and Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD.
HRH Princess Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme stated, "I am excited about this collaboration with Seeds&Chips as it is a unique opportunity to connect the network of small farmers in developing countries with young innovators who will participate in the fourth edition of the Summit. Working together, we can help limit hunger in the world and transform the global food system in a sustainable way. "
The program
As in years previous, the impressive roster of speakers come from a range of fields and diverse backgrounds to discuss the challenges and solutions in the global food system. Among the honored keynote speakers are John Kerry, the 68th US Secretary of State and Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman of Starbucks. Other prestigious guests include Nathan Myhrvold, ex-CTO of Microsoft, co-Founder of Intellectual Ventures and co-author of the Modernist Cuisine; Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights; Sam Kass, chef advisor to former US President Barack Obama and architect of the healthy eating revolution in the White House; Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer of Mars Incorporated and one of the most influential minds in the food revolution; Shazi Visram, founder of Happy Family Organics and named by President Obama as one of the most influential people in the world in the field of healthy baby food; Seth Goldman, Executive President of Beyond Meat, one of the largest and most important producers of plant based protein; Sarah Toumi, Founder of Acacias for All, which has planted one million Moringa trees, bringing this highly prized superfood to countless people; Phil Lempert, the well known face on NBC TV in the US known as The Supermarket Guru; Danielle Nierenberg, Founder of the Food Tank; Nicolas Jammet, one of the Presidential Delegates invited by Michelle Obama to EXPO 2015 and co-founder of Sweetgreen, one of the most innovative fast food concepts in the world; Robert Opp, Director of Innovation & Change Management Division of the World Food Programme. These are but a few of the many speakers and influential actors that will be in attendance.
Corporations and Startups
This year a number of startups, companies, and incubators from all over the world will bring their products to display and will discuss how technological innovation is the keystone for defining a sustainable and accessible food universe. Some of the most interesting startups in the world of food innovation will be present such as Ambrosus Technologies GmbH, an open source blockchain ecosystem from Switzerland that guarantees quality and safety for food and pharmaceutical products; Algama, a French company that produces micro algae, one of the superfoods of the future; Desolenator, water purifier through an innovative distillation process, from the Netherlands; LeanPath, the leading global provider of integrated hardware and software solutions for culinary institutions, from the US; Beyond Meat, maker of a revolutionary burger made of vegetable proteins that perfectly mimics meat; Apeel Sciences, a technological and environmental leader in the agricultural sector; Dishq, an Indian company which uses food science and data to understand and predict taste preference; Italian company Tannico, the largest online wine store; Taste Srl - Vinhood, another Italian startup dedicated to wine; and Robonica, producer of smart greenhouses with a fully automated home-grown hydroponics system. In total, over 100 startups and companies will be exhibiting their latest innovations.
Seeds&Chips has always paid particular attention to the part that young people have to play in the future of food, and each session will have at least one speaker under 30 years old. In addition, each session will be opened with remarks from a Teenovator, a young person between 13 and 19 years old who is particularly engaged in food innovation and plays a leading role in the food revolution through their actions.
This year, there will be a number of innovative formats at The Global Food Innovation Summit, such as GiveMe5! Where young innovators will have the opportunity for 5 minutes of one-to-one time with a global leader where they can present their projects, ask questions, or gain inspiration for their future. Among the leaders giving their 5 minutes this year are: Howard Schultz, John F. Kerry, Nathan Myhrvold, Kerry Kennedy, Sam Kass, and Adrian Percy, Head of Research & Development at Bayer Crop Science.
The Summit also organizes the Big Brother Innovation Program, a format dedicated to “scouting” innovative startup projects by leading companies in the food industry. The Big Brother Innovation Program gives innovators as well as large companies the chance to meet and discuss ideas, as an important opportunity to advance CSR.
Finally, on May 10th, the Seeds&Chips Awards will be presented to the most innovative projects present during the course of the Summit.
A number of expert scientific advisors will also be present at the Summit to support the many startups in attendance, including representatives from the National Agency for New Technology, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), and the National Research Council (CNR)
This year’s edition of the Summit is also under the patronage of the European Commission, the Ministry of Environment and Protection of Territory and Sea, Lombardy Region, the City of Milano, Ismea, and the World Food Program (WFP) Italia. WFP will also be promoting ShareTheMeal, its mobile-first fundraising app that allows users to donate a meal to a child in need with a simple tap on their smartphones. Part of the revenue from ticket sales to the Summit will be donated to support WFP’s emergency food assistance programmes in Northeast Nigeria.
Tetra Pak is an official partner of Seeds&Chips, and as part of their participation will release a limited edition of sustainable water bottles during the Summit. The bottles, branded with key messages linked to water consumption, greener consumption, sustainability, and circular economy, with be equipped with a QR code allowing visitors to access even more information and background about the challenge of clean water.
In an effort to promote economic relations between Italy and Germany, the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce (AHK Italien) will organize "FReSH: The 4.0 Food Economy", an event dedicated to food innovation that will take place on May 9th within Seeds&Chips - The Global Food Innovation Summit. The objective of the meeting is to give further visibility to companies that have implemented best practices in the food sector. AHK Italien will also manage an exhibition space in partnership with Seeds & Chips, dedicated to German brands looking to champion innovation in fields both within and beyond the global food sector.
Seeds&Chips, The Global Food Innovation Summit, founded by entrepreneur Marco Gualtieri, is the largest Food Innovation event in the world and a reference point for food and ag technology. The Summit is a showcase entirely dedicated to promoting innovative food solutions and talent from around the world, with an exhibition hall for innovators to present their work. Together, actors from all points in the global food chain discuss the themes and projects that are changing the way in which food is produced, transformed, distributed, consumed, and recycled. At the 3rd edition of the Global Food Innovation Summit, President Barack Obama made his first post-presidency appearance as a Keynote speaker, taking his place among 300 speakers and 240 exhibitors from around the world. In four days, the Summit recorded 15,800 visitors and 131 million social media impressions. The fourth edition of The Seeds&Chips Global Food Innovation Summit takes place at MiCo, Milano Congressi, from May 7-10, 2018. Among the speakers scheduled to appear are Former US Secretary of State John Kerry and Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman of Starbucks.