Past Events

Resilient Food

Friday 6 November 2020

  • Join us for a virtual coffee with a small group before we kick things off!

  • Sam Walsh | CONFERENCE CO-DIRECTOR

  • How are human health and happiness connected to environmental food sustainability? How can we make choices as individuals and leaders intentionally, keeping these connections in mind? Come hear wellness guru Joe Holder and urban farmer Tony Hillery talk about making a difference for people and the planet.

    Joe Holder | HEALTH & WELLNESS CONSULTANT, FOUNDER, The Ocho System

    Tony Hillery | FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, Harlem Grown

    Dayna Cunningham | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIT CoLab

  • According to the World Food Programme, 688 million people worldwide were chronically hungry in 2019. In the US, around 40 million people experience some sort of food insecurity. As these numbers are poised to increase with the COVID-19 pandemic, how can we leverage more resilient food distribution systems to fight food insecurity in the US and in the world?

    Katie Marchini | COO, Replate

    Regina Schmidt | HEAD OF INNOVATION PROJECTS, WFP Innovation Accelerator

    Jason Jay | SENIOR LECTURER AND DIRECTOR, SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, MIT Sloan School of Management

  • Upcycled foods "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment” (Upcycled Food Association). In this session, participants will hear pitches from five hot startups in the space, followed by the opportunity to work hands-on with one of these startups for the remainder of the session, workshopping through a current business problem the company is facing.

    Matt Olsofsky | COO & CO-FOUNDER, Take Two

    Sarah Pool | CEO & CO-FOUNDER, Take Two

    Melissa Martinelli | CEO & CO-FOUNDER, Superfrau

    Corjan Vandenberg | CEO & CO-FOUNDER, FUMI

    Caroline Cotto | COO & CO-FOUNDER, Renewal Mill

    Daniel Kurzrock | COO & CO-FOUNDER, ReGrained

    Hayley Hanes | CONTENT VP

  • Come hear from the heads of sustainability at Oatly and Apeel Sciences about the ins and outs of leading sustainability at some of the hottest food companies! If you’re interested in working in sustainability, this is a must attend! There will be plenty of time for Audience Q&A so come with questions.

    Ashley Allen | CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER , Oatly

    Jess Vieria | DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY , Apeel

    Shayna Harris | PRINCIPAL, Shayna Harris Consulting

  • Hear from four companies and their different approaches in how meat production and consumption can evolve into a more sustainable system. In this session including cell-based meat and companies reimaging traditional agriculture, we’ll focus on their meat production methods are better for the environment, animal welfare, and crisis resilience.

    Brian Spears | CEO & FOUNDER, New Age Meats

    Jill Gould | FOUNDER & OWNER, Butter Meat Co

    Charley Cummings | CEO & FOUNDER, Walden Local

    Cara Nicoletti | CEO & FOUNDER, Seemore Meats & Veggies

    Jennifer Leuzzi | HOST & PRODUCER, Tech Bites

  • Join Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, to learn about Gotham Greens’ mission to transform how and where fresh produce is grown and build more sustainable food systems across the United States. There will be time for Q&A at the end of Viraj’s presentation, so come with questions!

    Viraj Puri | CEO & CO-FOUNDER, Gotham Greens

  • Summit attendees will receive access to watch the documentary, "Food Chains," which tells the story of farmworkers in Florida who organized to create the Fair Food Program, a partnership between farms, farmworkers, and food companies to ensure humane wages and working conditions for farmworkers. Greg Asbed, a co-founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Fair Food Program, will speak with Sloan Professor Thomas Kochan about the successes of the Fair Food Program, the broader Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) model, and the work that lies ahead. There will be plenty of time for Q&A so come with questions!

    Greg Asbed | CO-FOUNDER, Coalition of Immokalee Workers

    Tom Kochan | GEORGE MAVERICK BUNKER PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, MIT Sloan School of Management

  • Join Pat Brown, CEO and Founder of Impossible Foods, and James Temple, Senior Energy Editor at the MIT Tech Review, to hear about the biggest problem facing the food system (and the world!) today, and what we can do to solve it. Pat holds an MD and PhD (in Biochemistry) from the University of Chicago, and is a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford University. He is also the co-founder of the Public Library of Science and an inventor of the DNA microarray. He founded Impossible in 2011, with a big mission: reverse global warming and halt catastrophic biodiversity collapse by eliminating the most destructive industry ever created -- the use of animals as a food production technology. Today, after spending years inventing a process for making delicious, nutritious, affordable meat from plants, the company's flagship product, Impossible Burger, is now available in more than 15,000 grocery stores and close to 30,000 restaurants globally. And Impossible is currently in the process of doubling its R&D team as it looks to expand to new categories of plant-based products like dairy, seafood, whole cuts and more.

    Pat Brown | CEO & FOUNDER, Impossible Foods

    James Temple | SENIOR EDITOR, Climate & Energy, MIT Technology Review

  • Sam Walsh | CONFERENCE CO-DIRECTOR