Food ingredients Europe (FiE) 2021 is taking place in Frankfurt, Germany, from 30 November to 2 December.
The Carbon Underground is an international outcomes-based organisation focused on creating the tools, alliances and opportunities to achieve scale on efforts proven to draw down carbon and mitigate the climate crisis.
Take the time to make a difference
Its Adopt-a-Meter programme was inspired by a UN report that over two billion people are extremely concerned about climate change and want to do something, but feel powerless as individuals to make a difference.
The project enables anyone, anywhere in the world, the opportunity to adopt a square meter of degraded soil for just $5 (or local equivalent) and the funds used to promote regenerative practices. To date, grants have already restored tens of millions of metres.
At the upcoming Fi Europe 2021, EverGrain will be showcasing The Carbon Underground’s Adopt-A-Meter initiative and will fund the restoration of 1,000 metres of land on behalf of attendees. Visitors to EverGrain’s booth will be invited to participate in a short survey on sustainability, and, in turn, the upcycled barley startup restore one metre for their time.
“It’s our responsibility to set the food industry on the most sustainable path forward, and this is one of many commitments that we’re making to contribute to the change that our planet so desperately needs,” said Jacqueline Hochreiter, EverGrain’s global director of Strategy & Sustainability.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with The Carbon Underground and other organizations fighting climate change in 2022 and beyond.”
Setting a new benchmark
The Anheuser-Busch InBev-backed company is also sampling fortified cookies and bread made with new barley fibre and protein ingredients that were developed to enable a new benchmark for limited water use, emissions and land use.
EverGrain engaged Netherlands-based Blonk Consultants to independently validate its assertion that it can enable protein and fibre ingredients with materially lower greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use when compared to most other conventional ingredients. EverGrain will be sharing this evidence to support its bold claim with Fi Europe attendees.
“People are talking, and what they’re saying is that they want plant-based options that taste better, are more nutritious, and that truly have a positive impact on the planet,” EverGrain’s CEO Greg Belt said.
“This was the impetus for EverGrain where, through our ingredients, we have come up with solutions that can improve the taste, sustainability, and nutrition of beverages, bakery and multiple other applications.”
EverGrain’s initiative echoes FiE’s own commitment to encourage change toward a more sustainable future, which is no longer just a trendy movement and has implications far beyond just an environmental impact.
“At Fi Europe, sustainability is increasingly important to our attendees and exhibitors, as well as to the market as a whole,” said the organisers.
“Not only are we committed to running our event in an environmentally and socially responsible way, we also want to go further and inspire the sustainable development of the industry we serve.”
This year’s event is powered entirely by renewable energy.
Upcycling barley
FiE 2021 is EverGrain’s first major trade show appearance since its launch in January 2021, created to upcycle barley into novel protein and fibre ingredients.
“Pushing the food and beverage industry to a more sustainable future is a mission that we cannot achieve alone,” said Hochreiter.
“Consumers have amplified the global conversation around food waste, and it’s time our industry did its part. EverGrain’s work in the sustainability arena is just getting started, and we encourage anyone wanting to join the movement to visit our booth.”
