New food think tank launches
Annie Reece | 17 January 2013

A new think tank with a focus on changing the global food system ‘for the better’ has been launched in the US.

Food Tank: The Food Think Tank launchedon 10 January with the aim of ‘fixing’ the ‘broken food system’ through ‘creating a network of connections and information… to consume and share’.

Set up by food and agriculture ‘experts’ Ellen Gustafson andDanielle Nierenberg, the think tank hopes to bring together funding donors and ‘farmers and producers, policy makers, scientists, academics and journalists… to collaborate on providing sustainable solutions for [the] most pressing environmental and social problems’.

(L-R) Food Tank founders Ellen Gustafson and Danielle Nierenberg

Writing on the think tank’s website on the day of their launch, the founders said: ‘There’s no doubt that the food system is broken. More than one billion people are obese, nearly one billion people go to bed hungry every night, and at least two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. We need solutions – from schools and hospitals to fields and forests and from boardrooms to parliaments.

‘Food Tank: The Food Think Tank… is a bold new voice in bringing attention to these crucial issues…[and] will help propel change by fostering the growing community of voices on food issues.

‘If we start now, there is an opportunity to develop a better vision for the global food system. Fixing the system requires changing the conversation and finding ways that make food production – and consumption – more economically, environmentally, and socially just and sustainable.’

The founders go on to say that they hope the think tank will help ‘bridge the domestic and global food issues by highlighting how hunger, obesity, climate change, unemployment, and other problems can be solved by more research and investment in agriculture’.

As well as suggesting resolutions to ‘change the food system in 2013’, Food Tank also hopes to establish ‘an online clearinghouse of the best research from across the world around food and agriculture’ by 1 March and hold a ‘Change the Food System’ summit, ‘highlighting road maps for sustainable agricultural systems, and building an innovations database’.

The group also hopes to find ways to tackle the growing amounts of food waste produced globally.

Those interested in Food Tank are asked to sign up to become members, for a fee of $50 per annum.

Read more about Food Tank: The Food Think Tank.

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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?

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There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.