Dear Friends of the Global Food Summit,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The current economic conditions pose a major challenge for German start-ups. Support funds are not coming in as in previous years, cost increases and, above all, regulations and approval processes are the biggest barriers. In all conversations - whether at the IGW, the Bioeconomy Forum, or at the acatech conference on Food Systems in Munich - I got the same answer to the question:

Are you considering leaving Germany? 
It was "yes".

A reason then to look beyond the EU borders and focus on our Global Food Summit topic "India". India lies in the slipstream of European perception, while the country is booming - besides: the largest democracy in the world. India is largely self-sufficient in food - even if the Ukraine war has caused prices to rise. Around 2/3 of the Indian population is under 35 years old (compared to 14 percent in Germany), and the level of education is rising. India can boast around 16 percent of new degrees in mathematics and natural sciences. In comparison: Germany only around 8 percent (OECD 2022 figures).

India has had a Ministry of Biotechnology since 1986. The country is open to research and progress and does a lot to put research results into practice. There has been a lot of support for start-ups since the Start Up Action Plan of 2015: they are tax-exempt, and even employees do not have to pay taxes for five years. And there are funding programs that motivate young people to found a company. In eight years since 2016, around 121,726 start-ups have been founded. Over 1.5 million jobs have been created in the process. 

We can only dream of that here in Europe or Germany. The question is how high the economic pressure in Europe has to get before we start to try out new things with enthusiasm and curiosity and allow progress without fear. Let's not even talk about economic support like in India. 

With best regards

Prof. Dr. Justus Wesseler
Wageningen University & Research Centre

Q: What is meant by the "true costs" approach?
A: At its core, the "true cost" approach is about additional costs that are not yet included in the prices we find at the store counter. For example, we are talking about the impact that food production has on the environment, such as methane emissions or nitrogen inputs into the environment. And we try to assess these and assign them to the specific product.

Q: What are the advantages or disadvantages of this approach?
A: The advantage of this approach is that it can show us the extent to which certain products are associated with environmental problems. The disadvantage is that this is not always very easy and is very dependent on the calculation method. It should also be remembered that measurement specifications are very difficult to implement in this area. This means that if you look at "true costs" accounting, depending on the group or company or calculating institute, you will find different results that can differ greatly from one another.

Q: Can the "true costs" approach cause prices to rise exponentially?
A: You don't have to count on that. "True costs" accounting is mainly used to draw attention to certain environmental impacts and this then helps, for example, to implement certain environmental measures in a more targeted manner at a political level. Whether this results in higher costs always depends on how this implementation takes place.

Q: What is the scientific opinion of the "true costs" approach?
A: This approach is not uncontroversial in the scientific community. The point is that the costs of goods that arise from the production of food, for example, are often already absorbed in the prices, because we have a range of environmental measures and other political measures that are intended to ensure that the negative effects of emissions, for example, are priced into the decisions of individual decision-makers, such as environmental policy.
We have regulations on the use of nitrogenous substances and regulations on the use of pesticides. Then the question is to what extent the true costs do not introduce an additional distortion into the discussion.

Here to the video.

"We only define food by the way it is produced and no longer by the end product and its quality. That is a mistake." Strong words at the beginning of the lecture by Prof. Dr. Thomas Becker from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). At the "Food Systems" conference of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) on January 31 in Munich, he pleaded for more space to be given back to the texture, i.e. the bite, and then also the taste of food. According to Prof. Becker, this would also open the door to innovations in food, which are perhaps still viewed critically today because they originate from cell cultures, for example. Around 120 guests gathered at the Amerikahaus to follow the conference. Speakers included Dr. Mathias Wieman from dsm-firmenich, a company that produces feed additives for cows that help them emit up to 30 percent less methane, and Prof. Dr. Justus Wesseler from Wageningen University, who gave a presentation on the current topic of "True Costs". You can find the short version of what this is all about here.

The government initiative "Startup India" was launched on January 16, 2016. It is the Indian government's largest and most important startup program, initiated to make India a "land of employers", as the Indian government wrote at the time. 

In 2024, almost ten years later, it can be said that The programme is a success story: 121,726 recognized and blockchain-certified start-ups have emerged since then. And as Piyush Goyal, Minister for Industry and Commerce, stated in the daily newspaper "The Hindu": "The success rate for start-ups in India is higher than in any other country in the world."

While much has been written about the Chinese start-up scene in Europe, India has always remained in the blind spot of European attention, even though the Indian start-up scene is just as promising as the Chinese one, if not even more so.

Read more here.

The Middle East is leading the way in the transformation to vertical farming. The escalating global climate and food crisis makes events like the 5th Global Vertical Farming Show 2024 all the more urgent. To take stock of the situation and at the same time take steps for the necessary change.

Location: Le Méridien Dubai Hotel and Conference Centre, Dubai, UAE

Time: 10th and 11th September 2024

Read more here.

Under the motto "The Future of Food", the crowdfoods New Food Festival will take place from 28.02. - 01.03.2024 in the Liederhalle Stuttgart. With lectures and breakout sessions, including on 3D printing of food and panels on the future of agriculture, food, gastronomy and retail. Up to 100 exhibitors and more than 500 participants from start-ups and innovators from the food and agricultural industry, gastronomy and retail, investors and research are expected. Information is available at: https://newfoodfestival-stuttgart.de/

(Image source: crowdfoods.com – Food Innovatoren & Startup Verband )

Manuel Schinner is Head of Marketing and Public Relations at Münch Energie in Rugendorf. We talked to him about how the energy transition and agriculture can be integrated and functionally designed to create a sustainable energy future. The main challenges lie in regulating and standardizing the process. Click here to watch the video.

For questions please contact Elena Corrado

E elena.corrado@globalfoodsummit.com
M +49 30 21 96 05 20