FT Global Food Systems

Description

Speakers

José Graziano da Silva

José Graziano da Silva has worked on food security, rural development, and agriculture issues for over 30 years, most notably as the architect of Brazil’s Zero Hunger (Fome Zero) programme and now as the Director-General of FAO.

Graziano da Silva led the team that designed the Zero Hunger programme, and, in 2003, was charged by then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to implement the programme as Special Minister of Food Security and the Fight against Hunger.

He headed the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean from 2006 to 2011. Elected Director-General of FAO, he took up office on 1 January 2012. After his first term from 1 January 2012 to 31 July 2015, Graziano da Silva was re-elected for a second 4 year-term (1 August 2015 to 31 July 2019) with the votes of 177 countries during FAO's 39th Conference.

At the helm of FAO, Graziano da Silva has sharpened the Organization’s strategic focus; and is strengthening its field presence. He is also working to instil a best value-for-money culture. At the international level, he is working to build consensus on food security-related issues.

He has also encouraged closer cooperation with development partners, supports South-South cooperation, and has increased collaboration with civil society and private sector entities, including farmer organizations and cooperatives for smallholder producers.

Graziano da Silva holds a Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy and a Master's Degree in Rural Economics and Sociology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). He also has post-Doctorate Degrees in Latin American Studies (University College of London) and Environmental Studies (University of California, Santa Cruz).

A Brazilian and Italian by nationality, he is married to Paola Ligasacchi and has two children and four grandchildren.

Heather Mills

In August 1993 Heather Mills was hit by a police motorcycle, suffering the loss of her left leg below the knee, a crushed pelvis and punctured lung. To save her amputated leg from constant infection Heather had to go on a plant-based diet. Because of this Heather created the pioneering plant based multi-award winning ethical international Vegan food company, VBites, which now exports to 24 countries, has over 104 plant-based products in its range and has won an incredible 80 awards.

Heather not only owns 4 purely plant-based manufacturing factories, but is also the owner of VBites Ventures, a company which invests in brilliant plant-business concepts, helping entrepreneurs with plant-based ideas and vision to transform those ideas into fully-fledged businesses.

As well as being an entrepreneur, renowned public and motivational speaker, she has worked tirelessly to aid survivors of war and landmine explosions. She has helped raise funds of 18m to clear over 21million sq meters of mine filled land and assisted in excess of 400,000 amputees.

Heather is also a Gold medal winning Para-athlete in ski racing, a World Record holder in 4 winter sports and the fastest disabled female speed skier in the world at 166.84km/ph.

Caleb Harper

Caleb Harper leads a group of engineers, architects, urban planners, economists and plant scientists in the exploration and development of high performance urban agricultural systems.​ ​He is the principal investigator and ​D​irector of the Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenA​g​) at the MIT Media Lab. Under his guidance, a diverse group of engineers, architects, urbanists, economists and plant scientists (what he calls an “anti-disciplinary group”) are developing an open-source agricultural hardware, software and data common aiming to create a more agile, transparent and collaborative food system​.

Mehmood Khan

Dr. Khan, M.D., is PepsiCo’s Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development. In its global portfolio of food and beverage brands, PepsiCo has 22 different brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. With net revenues of over $63 billion, PepsiCo’s businesses make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are respected household names around the world.

In his role, Dr. Khan oversees the PepsiCo global Performance with Purpose sustainability initiatives, inspired by the fundamental belief that business success is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world we share. He also leads PepsiCo’s research and development (R&D) efforts, creating breakthrough innovations in food, beverages and nutrition—as well as delivery, packaging and production technology—to capture competitive advantage and drive PepsiCo’s businesses forward.

With a strong emphasis on broadening the company’s portfolio of offerings, Dr. Khan sets the priorities for innovation, discovery and development at PepsiCo. He consistently pushes the envelope by introducing new technologies and innovative solutions across the development and production processes—and even the entire crops spectrum. As Chair of PepsiCo’s Sustainability Council, Dr. Khan is driving the transformation of our business guided by three core priorities: Helping to improve health and well-being through the products we sell; protecting our planet; and empowering people around the world. Under Dr. Khan’s stewardship, PepsiCo’s Food For Good (an enterprise within the company that utilizes PepsiCo’s delivery vehicles, warehouse facilities and management skills to make nutrition accessible for low-income families in the U.S.) continues to make a difference in the fight against hunger.

Howard Shapiro

Chief Agricultural Officer
Mars

Gharry Eccles

Vice President UK & Oceania
Cereal Partners Worldwide

Vikas Garg

From 2015 to May 2017, Vikas Garg was a Managing Director at Dymon Asia Capital, where his team was responsible for managing the firm's Asia-focused Multi-Strategy hedge fund. Mr Garg served on the Risk Committee for several of Dymon's equity long/short and global macro hedge funds, and he was responsible for the firm's product innovation and strategic investments, including expansion across Asian markets and asset classes. Prior to Dymon Asia, Mr Garg was a Portfolio Manager at the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest pension fund in the US. Based in Sacramento, Mr Garg was the Deputy Head for a $7 billion portfolio with exposure to hedge funds, managed accounts and multi-asset class strategies. He was also responsible for strategic deals and M&A for CalPERS' alternatives team. Prior to joining CalPERS, Mr Garg spent eight years at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), mainly in the Emerging Markets Group, responsible for the firm's proprietary equity stakes in emerging markets-based asset managers, as well as co-founding and managing several funds for CSFB and its clients. Mr Garg started his career in 2002 as an Analyst at 1/0 Capital, an emerging markets venture fund, where he was responsible for early-stage investments in technology, media and telecom companies in India. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Emory University, US.

Luca Alinovi

Luca Alinovi, Chief Prosperity Officer and Co-founder of PP Sherpas Ltd (People Prosperity Solutions), is currently addressing two major bottlenecks in global food systems. Farmshine (farmshine.io) is fixing broken value-chains between small-scale farmers and large end-buyers. Aflazero is eliminating aflatoxins from the food chain. Dr. Luca Alinovi has 25 years of experience in developing agricultural solutions in the development, humanitarian and private sectors. Prior to founding Farmshine, he was the Executive Director of the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), a private-public partnership funded by Rockefeller Foundation, USAID, SIDA and Zurich Insurance, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously Luca served in senior positions in UN-FAO, including as the FAO Country Representative in Kenya and Somalia, where he led the development of several innovative initiatives. Prior to FAO, Luca has worked for Italian Development Cooperation as well as managerial positions at several technology companies.

Karim Bitar

CEO
Genus

James Rogers

James Rogers is Founder and CEO of Apeel Sciences, a company fighting the global food waste crisis by utilizing advances in materials science to prevent waste in the first place—a sustainable approach to the world’s growing food demands. Dr. Rogers leads corporate strategy and Apeel’s team of award-winning scientists in developing plant-derived technologies that naturally keep fruits and vegetables fresh longer so less is wasted. Dr. Rogers received dual undergraduate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Materials Science & Engineering and Biomedical Engineering and his PhD in Materials from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Rogers was the 2012 recipient of the Frank J. Padden Jr. Award in polymer physics, the premier polymer physics prize in the United States.

Philip Lymbery

Philip Lymbery is CEO of the leading international farm animal welfare organisation, Compassion in World Farming, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester and Vice-President of Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels. He is an award winning author, ornithologist, photographer, naturalist and self-confessed animal advocate. For 25 years Philip has worked extensively on animal welfare issues, wildlife and the environment. He is a recognised thought leader, travelling the world to lecture and commentate in the media.
Philip has played leading roles in major animal welfare reforms, including Europe-wide bans on veal crates for calves and barren battery cages for laying hens. Described as one of the food industry's most influential people, he spearheaded Compassion's engagement work with over 800 food companies worldwide, leading to real improvements in the lives of over a billion farm animals every year.
Philip's book Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat was the first to show a mainstream audience that factory farming is the biggest cause of animal cruelty. One of The Times Writers' Books of 2014, it was cited by the Mail on Sunday as a compelling 'game changer'. This was followed by the publication of 'Farmageddon in Pictures: The True Cost of Cheap Meat - in bite-sized pieces. His second book Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were published in 2017, has been the first book to show how factory farming is a major driver of wildlife declines. Described by the Daily Mail as a ‘Must Read’ and by New Statesman as 'Highly informed, utterly compelling. No author can do more'. All proceeds go towardsCompassion in World Farming.
Awards during his tenure as CEO at CIWF include: The Observer Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year, BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming award for Best Campaigner and Educator, Recipient of the 'outstanding campaigning' award by Brussels based Eurogroup for Animals and The 2015 'International Golden Dove' peace prize in Rome.

Gunhild Stordalen

Gunhild A. Stordalen is the founder and executive chair of EAT. She is a driving force in linking climate, health and sustainability issues across sectors to transform the global food system.

Together with her husband Petter A. Stordalen, Gunhild established the Stordalen Foundation in 2011, under which she later founded the EAT Initiative together with Professor Johan Rockström and the Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC). In 2014, they gathered 400 leaders from 28 countries for the inaugural EAT Stockholm Food Forum. In 2016, the Wellcome Trust joined the SRC and the Stordalen Foundation as core partner of EAT and helped grow the initiative to become a global multistakeholder platform for transforming the world’s food system.

Gunhild sits on several boards and councils including the United Nation´s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Stewardship Board on Food Systems and the WEF Global Future Council on Food Security and Agriculture, the British Telecom Group´s Committee for Sustainable and Responsible Business, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Partnership Council, and the international advisory board of the SRC. She is a published scientist and a renowned public speaker with a distinct, personal voice and a passionate commitment to her work. WWF Sweden named her Environmental Hero of the Year in 2014 and in 2015 she was appointed a Young Global Leader by WEF. She has been ranked among the 150 most influential business communicators in Sweden by the news magazine Resumé and among the 100 most powerful women in Norway by the financial magazine Kapital. Gunhild is a medical doctor from the University of Oslo and holds a PhD in pathology/orthopedic surgery. She is a Norwegian national.

Guy Smith

Guy farms a mixed and diversified family farm in north-east Essex.

He served for eight years on the NFU Council as the Essex delegate. Other NFU positions include four years as a member of the Governance Board and six years as Chair of the NFU Communications Group.

In the past, Guy has served on the boards of FACE (Farming and Countryside Education), HGCA (Home Grown Cereals Authority) and Landskills New Entrants Committee. He is a founder of the Essex Schools Food and Farming Day.

Guy is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society and recipient of an Honorary Doctorate for services to Agriculture from Essex University.

Forbes Elworthy

Forbes founded Craigmore Sustainables in 2010 and has since built it into New Zealand’s third largest farming business, responsible for 45 farm and forestry enterprises in NZ.

He worked as a shepherd in the early part of his career. He studied Agricultural Economics in NZ, PPE in the UK and an MBA in the US graduating in 1992. Forbes then worked in finance for 15 years. First as a trader and then as a software entrepreneur.

Forbes returned full time to farming in 2005 to live on and manage Craigmore Station. The Elworthy family have owned and farmed this South Island sheep, beef and deer property since 1864. Forbes’ late father, Peter, led Federated Farmers of New Zealand for two terms in the 1980’s – the years when NZ farmers agreed to give up their subsidies in return for market reforms.

Craigmore has spun off a farm data management company called Map of Ag which now assists 70,000 farms across 3 continents to capture their farm enterprise data. Map of Ag provides software and farm data integration systems to over 80 AgBusinesses, including Centre for Dairy Excellence in New Zealand and McDonalds Restaurants in the UK. Map of Ag specializes in modelling economic, environmental and ethical impacts of different food systems.

Clive Cookson

Clive Cookson is science editor at the Financial Times. He joined the newspaper in 1988 as technology editor and has also written about the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Previously, he was the science and medical correspondent for BBC Radio. He also spent four years in Washington DC as American Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement. He has won several science journalism awards and is an honorary member of the British Science Association and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Clive graduated from Oxford University with a first class honours degree in chemistry.

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