Albert Einstein once said: "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence". As we enjoy the festive season and look ahead to the opportunities that await us in the coming year, let's channel our collective curiosity and commitment to progress. May our research lead to solutions, the holiday season inspire us, and the world find its peace to create positive change in the coming year.



We wish you a time of wonder and discovery.

With kind regards
INTERVIEW With Prof. Dr. Jan Wörner, President of acatech

Q: Food Systems is a term that encompasses the entire food chain. True Costs go beyond this, especially when the health consequences of poor nutrition are also included. How will the framework be set at the event? 

A: As usual in the themed conferences, we only set a rough framework and the individual contributions and questions are then addressed and discussed on the spot. "True costs" is undoubtedly an important aspect.
 
Q: acatech also wants to take part in the discussion on a sustainable and resilient food system with the Food Systems event in January. Which technical developments does acatech see as having potential for the food supply chain to benefit from research findings and technological innovations?

A: In general, the answer to the first question also applies here: as an academy of science and engineering, acatech is naturally focussed in particular on technical issues. We will incorporate impulses from various fields of research, such as biotechnology or engineering, into product development and production.  

Q: There is criticism that these cost factors are defined very subjectively. What is your view on this?

A: acatech stands precisely for the idea of "bringing together" different opinions and defining options. Of course, it is not always possible, nor is it always the objective, to end up with just one opinion. The issues are far too complicated for that. But the information about different arguments and their justifications is of great importance.
INVITATION TO ACATECH CONGRESS: FOOD SYSTEMS

"What could a sustainable and resilient food system in Europe look like without losing the global context out of sight?"

And what are the true costs of this system to society as a whole?

The German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) is organising a science conference on these questions on 31 January 2024 from 11 a.m. in Munich at the Amerikahaus, to which we as a partner kindly invite you.

More information and the registration link can be found here.
BIOECONOMY COUNCIL - SHAPING YES, CHANGING RATHER NOt
During its forum on 4 and 5 December, the Bioeconomy Council discussed a wide range of topics with more than 200 participants under the motto "Shaping change". 
Three federal ministers had the honour of welcoming the audience. 
Federal Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger opened the Bioeconomy Forum 2023, emphasising that the bioeconomy must also be applied in areas other than food. "Bio and biotechnology are not mutually exclusive".

Federal Minister Robert Habeck presented two good examples, such as tyres made from dandelions and insulation material made from mycelia, as groundbreaking. However, one should also consider the consequences, especially when it comes to scaling up. Subsidies should be available for up-scaling.

Federal Minister Cem Özdemir focused on the Food First principle, which is the main priority. A sustainable bioeconomy requires a circular economy; green washing must be ruled out. "We need smart solutions for the many demands". An important goal is to expand the use of biomass.

The two days offered insights into two areas of change. Firstly, sustainable agriculture. Photovoltaics and land utilisation were presented with very impressive practical examples. The topic of utilising biomass and biogas was also addressed several times. Critical questions about the Food First principle also arose during the discussion. For example, which key figures should be used to evaluate the use of biomass? The example of forestry and wood made this particularly clear, as it is not clear when key figures apply: When the trees are felled, when they are used for energy, e.g. as firewood, or in the long-term cascade use of wood. 
A second criticism was directed at the Bioeconomy Council's recommendations on which studies should be carried out now. Most of the studies have already been carried out in the last 20 years. Now it is a question of implementing the knowledge gained in projects. There is no clear support here on how to "shape change".


On the other hand, several speakers were invited on the topic of precision fermentation and cell-cultured proteins. The examples presented ranged from algae and cell-cultured fish to biotechnological and biochemical processes. In the discussion, the point "shaping change" was often linked to the comment that it was still too early to talk about these new technologies and whether there was any acceptance of them among the population. A survey of conference participants revealed that 54% would like to try out new products. Unfortunately, this was not recognised as a benchmark. From this, it might have been possible to deduce and discuss where the population stands. They believe that change is necessary and are willing to try many things. However, many regulations stand in the way of change. It would be nice if the Council could make recommendations on how the new "German speed" could also be implemented for the bio-economy.
Interview With Dr. Sebastian Rakers, CEO and Co-Founder of Bluu Seafood
We interviewed Dr Sebastian Rakers, co-founder and CEO of Bluu Seafood, as part of the Bioeconomy Forum 2023 organised by the German Federal Government's Bioeconomy Council. The financial incentives in the USA, Singapore and the Arab states are tempting, as the willingness to invest in implementing new technologies in Germany or Europe is time-consuming and very difficult to manage from an entrepreneurial perspective. Cell Cultured Production promises to fulfil many positive sustainability criteria. However, this can only be properly measured once production has been trialled on an industrial scale.

You can find the video in our video library.
AND SUDDENLY THERE'S WAR - HOW ISRAEL'S START-UPS ARE COPING WITH THE CRISIS
In no other country in the world are so many start-ups founded as in Israel. There are an estimated 9,000 in the technology sector alone, providing employment for around 500,000 people. 

No other country has experienced such a break in civilisation as Israel after the Second World War. On 7 October, the country was invaded by the Palestinian Hamas, which carried out a massacre of more than 1,400 civilians.  

Since then, Israel has been at war and has declared a general mobilisation - the largest the country has ever seen.

Around 360,000 mainly young people were called up. This means that start-ups are short of manpower. Many companies have switched to shift work, while others are prepared for emergencies. Larger start-ups have long had contingency plans in place that allow employees to take over their colleagues´work at any time.

Still, the current situation is not easy to manage. Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, estimates that a total of 15 per cent of start-up employees have been drafted into the army. 

At the same time, foreign investors are holding back and presentations abroad are hardly possible at the moment for security reasons. There is also a shortage of urgently needed service providers such as advertising agencies, marketing experts or simply patent lawyers. Smaller start-ups in particular are often unable to cope with the workload due to a lack of staff.

All economic experts are predicting a slump in the start-up economy. This is not without danger for the country, as these start-ups are Israel's most important economic sector. They account for about 18 per cent of value creation. According to Dror Bin, high-tech goods account for about 30 per cent of income tax and about 50 per cent of all Israeli exports. By comparison, the automotive industry, which is so important to Germany, accounts for less than five per cent of gross domestic product. Israeli technology companies are among the world leaders in areas such as cyber security and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Israeli state itself has quickly set up an aid fund for these companies, but help is also coming from abroad. More than 75 executives from multinational companies have pledged their support for Israel, as have around 500 venture capital and investment firms. They are all prepared to plan for the long term, even if it means a short-term loss of profits. Eynat Guez, co-founder and CEO of Papaya Global, a SaaS start-up specialising in payroll services, sums it up: "Everyone in the tech industry understands that the biggest win right now is to make sure that companies stay strong, that business continues as usual.
GFFA - THE LITTLE, INTERESTING SISTER OF IGW
(Almost) everyone knows the International Green Week in Berlin - but only a few people know about the GFFA (Global Forum for Food and Agriculture). Every year, the GFFA is the international prelude to the IGW, with expert panels and the World Agriculture Ministers' Conference. Next year's GFFA will take place from 17 to 20 January 2024. 

The GFFA Innovation Forum deserves a special look this year. 30 scientific institutes, companies and start-ups will present their innovations for four days. They include the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging, the Thai Embassy and Arla Foods. They are all contributing to this year's theme: "Food Systems for Our Future: Joining Forces for a Zero Hunger World". 

The 16 expert panels are correspondingly high-calibre, with the topic of an urban food system fortunately finally playing a role. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), for example, will address the topic of "Reducing food loss and waste of fruits and vegetables: The potential of urban(izing) food systems" on 18 January. Other panels will be organised by the World Bank, the FAO and the Thünen Institute. 

An overview of the expert panels can be found here: https://www.gffa-berlin.de/en/expert-forums/expert-panels/

And registration will open in a few days. My tip: GFFA is worthwhile, it is the smaller but actually more interesting sister of IGW.
FOODNOW: CHIRPING CRICKETS AND PASTA PARADISE
In our street survey, people's opinions varied between "This is the future" and "I'd rather not try this". We offered a selection to try: Falafel, burgers and sports bars made from sustainably produced insect protein. In the new FoodNow video, we introduce the start-up Zirp from Austria, their products and whether the whole thing tastes good at all.

Watch the video here on FoodNow.




But there's one thing nobody can resist: homemade Italian pasta. The choice of restaurants in Berlin is huge. The True Italian agency from Berlin offers a guide through Italian cuisine. With their events such as "Pasta Week", they want to popularise unknown recipes and preserve authentic Italian dishes in Germany with their large network of participating restaurants - all at an affordable tasting price.

Watch the Video here on FoodNow.
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