Our Mission
Change has to start now
The Sustainable Food Initiative wants to use the full potential of all agricultural produce to create a new generation of products that are sustainable, safe, nutritious and of course delicious. We want to create these products while reducing the total footprint to zero by 2050. To achieve our ambitions, we need to create a better system in producing and processing food.
Why change?
The world population is growing, but only producing more food is not the answer. The planet is threatened and getting exhausted. The food sector is responsible for 22% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. No need to repeat what the consequences are when we remain our current lifestyle.
We need to reduce our ecological footprint by changing how and what we eat and the way we produce our food (less waste and total use). We need to start changing now to meet future demands for sustainable, healthy and safe food for all 10 billion people who will live on this planet in 2050.
What is the Sustainable Food Initiative?
The Sustainable Food Initiative is a community that wants to make that change happen through combining the forces of companies, knowledge institutions, governments and society.
The SFI is a circle in the sand, where partners share data, facilities and information, align their agendas, and keep each other sharp in thinking from the common goal and not from the institutions (means).
Our Mission
We combine fundamental research with fast innovation by creating a community of industrials, scientists, entrepreneurs, students, experts and consumers. Together we want to find better solutions for:
- Reducing the footprint of food processing
- Preserving the inherent goodness of agricultural raw materials
- Reducing waste of agricultural raw materials
- Ensure full circularity of packaging materials
- Supporting consumers in making healthy and sustainable choices
Industry led Valorisation
Field labs Consumer
Living labs
A new way of working
'Collaboration is Key'
No goals will be reached without working together. The SFI community is organized in three collaborative pillars. To achieve our goals, work in all pillars needs to take place parallel, leading to non-linear, non-sequential innovation.
Connecting the three pillars creates a continuous platform for exchange of questions and ideas. It promotes new or existing technologies and creates interaction between experts from different technology readiness levels (TRL). The multi-dimensional approach from the three pillars will lead faster to greater diversity of solutions.
R&D
Non-competitive R&D collaboration between companies and institutions on SFI topics to drive the research agenda. The research is done in projects by SFI partners together with external parties. Most of the time supported by grants of governments. The research agenda is defined by 6 themes:
- clean label, authentic & healthy foods
- total use, no waste
- protein transition
- circular packaging
- internet of food
- innovating how we work
FieldLabs
FieldLabs are practical environments where companies and institutions cooperate to develop, validate, tests and implement new technologies and processes. They are non-profit, however business driven. In a FieldLab professionals also learn to apply new technologies on existing or new products.
LivingLab
A LivingLab is an environment where consumer behaviour can be analysed and where the use of products and services can be tested in a natural environment. It acts as an ecosystem for permanent debate, and stimulates collaboration, trust and business development.
Are you interested to join the SFI community? Don’t hesitate to contact us