Griffith Foods emphasizing the importance of trust, openness, and lasting collaborations in the realm of regenerative agricultural practices.
Griffith Foods, a US-based food manufacturer known for producing ingredients for major food companies, has taken a significant step towards sustainable farming practices. The company is collaborating with farmers and other organizations to implement regenerative agriculture, a farming system designed to improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and reduce the environmental impact of food production.
At the heart of Griffith Foods' regenerative agriculture initiatives is a direct partnership with farmers. The company works closely with them, co-investing in sustainable farming practices tailored to the unique conditions of each farm. This approach supports improvements in soil health and enhances the long-term resilience of farm ecosystems.
Griffith Foods' commitment to regenerative agriculture extends beyond individual farms. The company has engaged in projects such as the regenerative wheat initiative in Ontario, Canada, in partnership with the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), Canadian agribusiness Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H), and the Sustainable Food Lab. This project promotes key regenerative practices including cover cropping and split nitrogen application to improve soil quality and sustainability.
Following the initial success of the Ontario project, Griffith Foods expanded it to cover an additional 10,000 acres, demonstrating their commitment to wider adoption of regenerative methods in partnership with local and regional organizations.
Operating in the mid-supply chain gives Griffith Foods strategic advantages to encourage and support regenerative agriculture practices. This enables collaboration with both upstream farmers and downstream food companies, fostering systemic change in food production.
Griffith Foods also partners across sectors with other companies and institutions, including involvement with sustainability-focused groups like the Upcycled Food Association. This collaboration contributes to advancing circular economy principles and regenerative agriculture indirectly through shared knowledge and innovation.
Being in the middle of the food supply chain allows Griffith Foods to connect people, particularly between farmers and CPGs. The company commits to purchasing crops from farmers interested in selling to them, taking on some risk to help farmers make changes that benefit soil and productivity, increase biodiversity, and improve their livelihoods.
Griffith Foods values farmer input and regularly visits farms to build relationships and gather recommendations for partnerships. The company is growing its regenerative agriculture activities, including projects in Colombia (on coriander), the UK (on parsley), Brazil (on corn), and Thailand (on cassava).
In Colombia, Griffith Foods runs a composting project at a food processing location. The company strives to build trust, transparency, and long-term partnerships with farmers, with the goal of collaborating to reduce costs and achieve environmental and economic efficiencies over time.
Griffith Foods has set climate targets with the Science Based Targets initiative, aiming to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50% by FY2030 and reduce scope 3 GHG emissions 23% per tonne of product produced by FY2030.
Farmers love to learn from each other, and Griffith Foods intentionally adds farmer panels to events to facilitate knowledge sharing among farmers who may not have implemented regenerative practices before. The idea of monitoring and evaluation for pilot projects has been crucial for Griffith Foods, with the company seeking feedback from program partners to improve its approach.
In summary, Griffith Foods' regenerative agriculture collaborations involve direct farmer engagement, co-investment in sustainable farming practices, project partnerships with agribusinesses and non-profits, scaling successful pilots, and cross-industry cooperation to foster systemic change in food production. With roots in food innovation dating back to the early twentieth century, Griffith Foods operates across 30 countries and works with some of the largest CPGs and meat-processing groups in the world.
- Griffith Foods, a prominent player in the food industry, collaborates with farmers directly, co-investing in sustainable farming practices that are tailored to each farm's unique conditions, promoting improvements in soil health and long-term resilience of farm ecosystems.
- Griffith Foods' commitment to sustainable farming practices extends beyond individual farms, as seen in projects like the regenerative wheat initiative in Ontario, Canada, in partnership with the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), Canadian agribusiness Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H), and the Sustainable Food Lab, promoting regenerative practices such as cover cropping and split nitrogen application.
- Recognizing the strategic advantages of operating in the mid-supply chain, Griffith Foods encourages and supports regenerative agriculture practices by collaborating with both upstream farmers and downstream food companies, striving to foster systemic change in food production.
- Griffith Foods also engages with other companies and institutions, contributing to advancing circular economy principles and regenerative agriculture indirectly through shared knowledge and innovation, as demonstrated by their involvement with sustainability-focused groups like the Upcycled Food Association.
- Aside from farmer engagement, Griffith Foods values education and self-development, incorporating farmer panels into events to facilitate knowledge sharing among farmers and emphasizing the importance of monitoring and evaluation for pilot projects to improve their approach towards sustainable living and technology-driven change in the food industry.
