Food production that is good for the planet is the vision of founder Eva Keretic.
It could become reality in Hafen City
May 30, 2023
Translated from the article in Hamburg News Online ( Economic News from the Metropolitan Region) Yvonne Scheller
"Regenerative food, i.e. the production of food according to regenerative agriculture criteria, is not only a far-sighted response to the threats posed by climate change, but also ensures diversification of the plant species we consume and thus more variety on our plates," states the Food Report 2023 of the Future Institute, which sees regenerative food as one of the three most important food trends.
Eva Keretic takes the approach of regenerative food production a little further and wants to create a sustainable closed-loop system with the Future Food Campus. For this, meat, fish, dairy products but also plant-based foods are to be produced in vertical farming and through precision fermentation as well as in bioreactors without the use of pesticides or antibiotics.
"The call for climate-friendly food is not new; on the contrary, Germany is late to the game," Keretic emphasizes. Even if the development of promising products and innovative production methods is still in its infancy, she says, the course should be set now for a goal-oriented nutritional turnaround. "In order to increase acceptance for food production that is good for our planet, we are already starting to educate people - in parallel with further innovations and the establishment of the Future Food Campus," says the committed climate activist and advocate of a food reform that is closely aligned with the climate, explaining her approach.
A virtual 3D exhibition on the topic of Future Food will offer a first impression starting in September, the founder announces. "As an avatar, visitors can then find out about innovative food and the future Future Food Campus simply via mobile device and experience what we are developing for Hamburg and the world." To make the vision a reality, the company is currently looking for a location in Hamburg. "We could imagine an area in HafenCity, for example in the Grasbrook or Billebogen area. Our goal is to get up and running in a timely manner."
Keretic receives support for her plans from Foodcluster Hamburg. "I'm a member of the Chamber of Commerce's Committee for Innovation, and Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank is also already one of our supporters." In addition, the U.S. native is well connected internationally and maintains contacts with, for example, the Climate Reality Project, an NGO founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, as well as various companies in the food industry. "It's important that we get all the relevant players in the industry on board - from startups to the big players. That's why I'm also glad that we were able to recruit Jürgen Leisse, former 'President Central Europe' at the US food company Mondelez International, for our team. And Simone Poppe, experienced manager from the food industry or marketing expert Hendrik Flügge are also part of it."
Keretic is all about moving from wanting to act. While many are aware of how damaging conventional agriculture is to the climate and that, in the face of a growing world population, the traditional approach cannot produce enough food for everyone, she said. "But we must now start to implement concrete overarching solutions as well," Keretic stresses, citing the manure issue as an example. "Manure is a valuable fertilizer, but we have too much of it and disposal is becoming a problem." At the Future Food Campus, the waste product from agriculture will be part of the green energy concept. On the one hand, energy consumption will be minimized through the intelligent use of waste heat, renewable power generation and biodynamic cooling. "On the other hand, we are relying on the waste-to-energy process, among other things, to generate energy - and will thus turn a problem into a solution."