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Key Factors in the Sustainability of Global Food Production

By Eugenio Marin - Fundación México-Estados Unidos para la Ciencia-FUMEC
CEO

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By Eugenio MarÍn | CEO - Wed, 10/19/2022 - 12:00

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Sustainability from the perspective of best practices in food production is directly related to the ESG criteria: environmental, social and governance, which are  converging among the main groups of interest in the business world, from the financial sector to the regulatory agents of production systems, and with profound influence on the current perception of the market and consumers.

Given its relevance, groups of interest evaluate affinity with a company in different areas to decide on whether to establish a relationship or not. These groups seek business relationships that generate positive impacts on society, the environment and on companies’ good governance, allowing them to expand their impacts in terms of sustainability by establishing alliances with these companies.

The latter leads companies to adopt a new business management system, establishing new processes and policies throughout their value chains, and in this way, influencing habits  directly and indirectly with the purpose of maximizing the impacts of these three pillars.

Corporations, beyond the commercial terms with their supplier companies, establish cultural programs to transfer their values ​​and business purpose with the philosophy of mitigating and preserving regional ecosystems, mainly where their production facilities are located, so that SMEs and local entrepreneurs continue to have favorable conditions for their development so that these new companies can serve future generations.

The United States-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC), since its creation, has fostered the development of regional ecosystems in collaboration with leading companies, implementing projects in regions where its productive assets are located.

The intervention process comprises the participation of other companies, mainly local suppliers, as well as business organizations, financial institutions, government, academia and nonprofit organizations, which allows close collaboration with the main stakeholders of this fivefold helix, forming, through a strategic agenda and the design and validation of collective projects, alliances that allow solutions to problems identified in ecosystems with the use of relevant indicators for economic, social and environmental impacts.

From a global perspective, ecosystem planning agendas are integrating at a key moment, marked by the growing need to seek convergence and alliances for sustainability in the agri-food sector.Since 2000, different international organizations have marked the course toward sustainability.

The financial sector has established the ESG criteria for the selection of investment projects.In 2015, all member states of the United Nations approved 17 Goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and without doubt after the COVID-19 health crisis in 2022, consumers have generated a much more consciousness lifestyle in their purchasing decisions, where companies must respond immediately to the scrutiny of a society that desires their compliance on  sustainable food production i that feeds households every day.

As an agent of change, FUMEC is a great promoter of scientific and technological advances, which are a great ally for the agri-food sector and how they manage to impact sustainability issues.

For each project that must be implemented, technological surveillance is developed, intending to obtain continuous information on technologies and foreseeable trends, with a systematic analysis of strategic information that facilitates decision-making. In this way, investment portfolios are profiled to invest in assets that meet the sustainability criteria in the sector.

Sustainable technologies allow us to effectively manage the waste generated, helping to mitigate the impacts on the environment through reuse, renewal, recycling and saving of natural resources.In this way, we promote the circular economy in business, government, and society.

Unquestionably, the participation of society is essential, and education as a source of knowledge generation and the cultural change required for sustainable consumption are the great core of this evolution to circular production systems. Brands and consumers will increasingly be more involved and there will be no intermediaries when deciding the purchase; “from the farm to the table” is the great marketing slogan of the sector in the coming years, except that today, consumers will require the industry to make this promise tangible with the possibility of accessing the entire supply chain.

In follow-up articles, we will expand information on the advantages of Blockchain technology, which is defined in this sector as the leading trust-generating tool, and with which the impacts on sustainable issues can be measured, since it will allow a better planning of food production worldwide, intelligent logistics for food distribution, promoting the reduction of food waste as well as guaranteeing and minimizing the impact on consumers’ health and stopping the counterfeiting of products, among other great advantages.

We will also talk about the circular economy in the sector, which promotes the development of organic inputs that are used for food production, and the development and innovation of new products that use organic waste, promoting the circular economy and directly impacting environmental issues.     

(In collaboration with Lizadeth Sato Quintero)

Photo by:   Eugenio Marin

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