Logistics and regulatory frameworks are the main barriers to food redistribution. Supply chain uncertainty and undefined standards for redistribution cause inefficiencies in food waste reduction efforts. There are novel processing technologies that can help overcome these challenges.
It has been estimated that each year, more than 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States. That equates to more than $160 billion worth of food thrown away each year. At the same time, in many parts of the United States, there is a crisis caused by people having limited access to healthy & affordable food options. The waste of food is not only a waste of money and bad for the environment, but it is also making vulnerable populations even more vulnerable.
Authority Magazine started a new series called “How Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Supermarkets, Hospitality Companies and Food Companies Are Helping To Eliminate Food Waste.” In this interview series, we are talking to leaders and principals of Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Supermarkets, Hospitality Companies, Food Companies, and any business or nonprofit that is helping to eliminate food waste, about the initiatives they are taking to eliminate or reduce food waste.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anne Greven.
Anne Greven is the Global Head of Food and Agribusiness Innovation and the FoodBytes! platform at Rabobank. FoodBytes! is Rabobank’s food and agriculture innovation platform, which drives collaboration between startups, corporate leaders and investors to develop solutions to food system challenges. Under Anne’s leadership, the platform has become a key driver for many of the bank’s sustainability goals and strategies. Through the platform, Anne has prioritized developing relationships with the best and brightest startups and entrepreneurs from around the world to bring innovative and actionable ideas to major F&A companies.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
“My dad always wanted me to be a banker. He believed it was a path that would lead me to success. Yet, as a young woman starting out in a male-dominated industry in the late 80’s, my first interviews were wrought with sexism. I had to persevere and find strength within myself to overcome these challenges — proving to myself, and others, that I was worthy and capable. Luckily, I found incredible learning opportunities at Dun & Bradstreet, where I landed my first job as an assistant to the treasurer.”
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company or organization?
“I was very fortunate to move to Rabobank following my time at Morgan Stanley. From the very beginning, I always felt that I had a voice, and I was lucky enough that senior people within the organization were listening. I was outspoken and tenacious, but I was able to navigate within the organization and found opportunities to prove my thinking. I felt believed in and Rabobank invested in me. In 2016, Rabobank wanted to find a way to build relationships with future clients. We believe those clients were going to be the startups and entrepreneurs who were solving the unsolvable problems in the food and ag space. I thought the companies we were getting to know were far away from becoming clients, but they were of great interest to our existing commercial clients who need to evolve and innovate. Over the last two years, the team has worked to build a platform of connection, which is what FoodBytes! is at its core.”
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
“The funniest mistake I made when starting out in banking was less funny, but more of a lesson learned. I had my first opportunity to go on a business trip and meet a client. I checked in at the airport with plenty of time. When I walked by the gate and saw there was still ten minutes before boarding, I decided to run to the restroom and pick up some water before heading back. When I returned, the gate was closed. The gate agent had advised everyone that they finished boarding and were taking off early. After a few tears, and some convincing, they allowed me to board. Thankfully! As the junior member of the team carrying all the pitchbooks, I could not miss that plane. I learned an invaluable lesson that day — always give yourself extra time. Not only at the airport, but I applied it to all client meetings. There’s no stress when you show up early and prepared.”
How do you define “Leadership ”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
“I’m currently reading ‘Leadership in Turbulent Times’ by Doris Goodwin Kearns. It’s a fantastic read — looking at how four presidents led the country through great change. A major takeaway for me, while I read and through my own life experience, is that one of the major attributes of a great leader is being humble and that difficult decision have to be made. The more experience that I have in my career, the more I realize the value in knowing what I don’t know — leaning into the strength and knowledge within my team creates a learning environment that allows us all to grow and for me to become a better leader by propping up others where they shine the most. While making hard decisions is never the most popular, the lack of making decisions is even worse. You can’t be afraid of taking action.”
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“‘Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.’ — Michelle Obama
This is a quote that I’ve recently discovered that has truly resonated with me. Early in my career, I was very concerned about what I *should* be doing and I was very afraid of making mistakes. Once I realized that fear was controlling me, I worked hard to let it go. Mistakes are part of learning. Once I learned to stop asking for permission and started becoming the leader and person I wanted to be, the easier it became to trust my gut and believe that I could make a difference.
As a mother of two teenage boys, I realized that I could not raise resilient children if I lived life in fear. And I’ve learned so much of how to let that go through them.”
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page. What exactly are we talking about when we refer to food waste?
“In its most simplistic sense, food waste, or loss, is food that is not used or eaten. As an issue that has been plaguing the industry for some time, it’s only within recent years that we’re starting to see a shift. Innovators are coming to the table with problem-solving ideas that are revolutionizing the way we mitigate waste. Seventy-five percent of food waste happens at the production, post-harvest handling, and storage stages (Source), so it’s important that we’re combating the issue at every level across the food system.”
Can you help articulate a few of the main causes of food waste?
“While there are many, some of the most common sources of food waste are consumers (aka in your home), ingredient byproduct disposal, and inefficiencies throughout the supply chain, such as loss due to crop pests and incompetent harvesting, mold and bacteria infestations, faulty equipment, culling of produce, and over-ordering (Source). These are all areas across food consumption that inevitably lead to food waste.”
What are a few of the obstacles that companies and organizations face when it comes to distributing extra or excess food? What can be done to overcome those barriers?
“Logistics and regulatory frameworks are the main barriers to food redistribution. Supply chain uncertainty and undefined standards for redistribution cause inefficiencies in food waste reduction efforts. There are novel processing technologies that can help overcome these challenges — those that create standardized ingredients from excess food waste, while retaining nutritional value, as well as more precise data tracking that can help predict food waste (Source).”
Can you describe a few of the ways that you or your organization are helping to reduce food waste?
“FoodBytes! plays a unique role in this process — we’re a food and agriculture innovation platform that drives collaboration between startups at the forefront of innovative thinking and corporate leaders, and investors, who are looking to implement new solutions to food system challenges, such as how to reduce food waste.
Every year, we carefully, and thoughtfully, evaluate prospective startups to participate in FoodBytes! Pitch — where these startups are given an opportunity to pitch their businesses to a qualified panel of judges, corporate members, and investors. Since FoodBytes!’ inception in 2015, we have seen several startups come through our platform that are specifically addressing food waste issues, like Pulp Pantry (upcycled ingredients to create CPG products), Winnow (technology to help the foodservice industry with waste reduction), and Agricycle (smallholder farmer model to cut down on supply chain inefficiencies).”
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help address the root of this problem?
“Absolutely. Consumer demand can help determine industry standards. The more enlightened your average consumer is, and the more they demand companies to do better, the more we’ll see a growing interest in change.
In fact, several recent studies have found that consumers are more likely to support brands that they know are purpose-driven — so, if you have a brand that stands for something, like cutting waste or finding solutions to better the environment, you’re more likely to appeal to a conscious consumer.”
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Enjoy what you do.
- Work with people you respect and can learn from.
- Have a plan. Your plan can change, but be sure to have one.
- Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable. That is when you learn and grow the most.
- Constantly challenge and ask more from yourself.
Are there other leaders or organizations who have done good work to address food waste? Can you tell us what they have done? What specifically impresses you about their work? Perhaps we can reach out to them to include them in this series.
“Because of the unique position FoodBytes! by Rabobank holds, we’ve been fortunate enough to have many startups come through our platform that were truly revolutionizing the industry when it comes to reevaluating waste. For example, Agua Bonita, a brand that is bringing a diverse product to market while focusing on health and using upcycled ingredients, and Outcast Foods, who is creating a full platform for upcycled ingredients that can be used B2B, as well as sold as superfood supplements.”
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
“Very in line with what we’re discussing, my advice would be to consume less! In the developed world we just consume too much. I think we could all benefit from reevaluating our own consumption footprint and how we can do better.”
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
“Someone with an inherent ability to help build community and connection to help solve the problems of the world, someone like the Dalai Lama.”
How can our readers further follow your work online?
“We are already actively pursuing membership enrollment and scouting for startups for FoodBytes! Pitch 2022. If you’re a corporate, or an investor, who is interested in learning how innovation can boost your bottom line, or a startup looking to get involved in our community, please email FoodBytes@rabobank.com today to start a conversation.
Otherwise, if you’d like to be kept in the loop on all things FoodBytes!, sign up for our newsletter at www.foodbytesworld.com.”
This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.
Reducing Food Waste: Anne Greven Of Rabobank On How They Are Helping To Eliminate Food Waste was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.