3 Better Ways

Phil: So Sally, what's the plan for a better food system? 

Sally: Well, Phil, the population is growing. The food system is stressed for a variety of reasons, but Kellogg's senior vice president of global research and development and innovation. Dr. Nigel Hughes has some really great perspectives on how food companies can position themselves to be a part of the sustainable and equitable food system. 

Phil: Yeah. And what's interesting, you know, Kellogg always has been a leader Kellogg doesn't get, in my opinion, the credit that they deserve. Sure. They've got a lot of sugar coated cereals but in this article he also points out that it's 116 year old company and they've developed over a thousand plant-based foods over 180 countries. What I, what I like about this article is, you know, some of the quotes and they're all credited to him to transform our food system and its impact on climate. We must bring farmers, suppliers, consumers, policymakers, and NGOs to the table, and create a shared vision with a shared responsibility to benefit all. They've made a commitment to support 1 million farmers and workers in particular women and small stakeholders by 2030. And they're building partnerships tailored to their individual and communities needs. So far Kellogg has supported 440,000 farmers since 2015. 

Phil: The other thing that I found that I didn't know, and there's a lot that I don't know about agriculture but that rice production accounts for an estimated 12% of total global methane emissions, that, that to me, you know, we always talk about cows and, you know, the, the impact on methane. I had no idea about the rice. And also from a Kellogg standpoint, uh, they have some examples that he shares 75% of the potatoes that are used in Pringles are consider rejected. And would've gone to landfill or used for non-human consumption. And I'm assuming that that's, you know, because of bruises and, you know, colors and stuff like that, the fruit filling in their neutral grain bars comes entirely from unsalable misshape and fruit. And the company is also teamed up with UK based Salford brewery to turn less than perfect rice crispies and cocoa pops into beer. I mean, they're doing some considerable things, kudos to Kelloggs and, you know, let's give 'em a shout out for really doing things and sharing these kinds of things. I wish more companies would do this. 

Sally: I agree. And with respect to the rice, I really like that example in this article about how they are implementing a $2 million five year climate positive agriculture program for the rice farmers that are in the lower Mississippi river basin. So if they're, if they're working on greenhouse gas emissions reductions, then they get to be a part of this program.