The circular food system and upcycled food
By Jenna Swalin
Upcycled foods are an important component of building a circular food system that can tackle climate change and increase biodiversity according to the recent report, The big food redesign: Regenerating nature with the circular economy, by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This report focuses specifically on the role that fast moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs) and food retailers can play in creating a circular food system.
Much of the food that is eaten today has been designed, this includes concepting, ingredient selection, sourcing and packaging. Circular design however, in contrast with the current extractive food systems, focuses on eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, and regenerating nature.
The report highlights four different opportunities that can help businesses apply circular design at scale by selecting improved ingredients.
Diverse ingredients that improve food supply resilience by increasing the genetic diversity.
Upcycled ingredients that turn by-products into high-value ingredients.
Lower impact ingredients that shift from conventionally produced animal products to alternatives.
Regeneratively produced ingredients where food is grown in a way that has a positive benefit for nature.
Increasing the use of upcycled ingredients is good for consumers, businesses, and the planet. The upcycled food market stands at 46 billion USD and is projected to grow at 5% annually. FMCGs and retailers can tap into the growing market opportunity by scaling new technological solutions to utilize more by-products of food production in order to maximize return on invested land, energy, and other inputs used to grow food.
For example, companies could use alternatives to sugar cane, sugar beets and corn:
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, The big food redesign: Regenerating nature with the circular economy (2021)
Today’s global food system is responsible for one third of greenhouse gas emissions and half of human-induced pressures on biodiversity. These impacts can be dramatically reduced with circular food systems!
FMCGs and food retailers are an influential part of this system; in the US and UK for example, the top 10 FMCGs and retailers influence 40% of agricultural land use. Committing to circular design for food is therefore a significant opportunity for these companies to contribute to development of nature-positive food systems.
