Sustainability/Analysis/ Green Glossary: Farm to fork Who launched the initiative? How does it help slash emissions? And which startups are connected to it? We give you the lowdown. By Connor Bilboe 10 February 2022 Vertical farming uses LEDs to grow crops. Credit: INFARM Vertical farming uses LEDs to grow crops. Credit: INFARM \Sustainability Tevva raises $51m as the electric truck race revs up By Freya Pratty 22 June 2022 Sustainability/Analysis/ Green Glossary: Farm to fork Who launched the initiative? How does it help slash emissions? And which startups are connected to it? We give you the lowdown. By Connor Bilboe 10 February 2022 The Green Glossary features in Sifted’s weekly Sustain newsletter. We take a sustainability term or phrase and give a brief explanation on what it means, and how startups are connected to it. Something to do with farming and food? Correct. Farm to fork is all about making Europe’s food systems more environmentally and socially friendly. The EU Commission launched an official farm to fork strategy last year to combat the not-so-green food production sector, which emits a whopping 37% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. How is it bringing those pesky emissions down? The EU initiative is yet to reach legally binding status — though it is getting there — but notable targets it’s laid out to reach by 2030 includes halving the use of hazardous and chemical pesticides, making 25% of farmland organic and halving nutrient losses. And what about startups? Like most sectors, startups have been working to disrupt and revolutionise food systems in line with farm to fork. These include Belarus-based OneSoil, which uses satellite imagery to monitor crop development and help farmers make better decisions, Berlin-based startup Infarm, which grows crops on stacked trays indoors and is 90-95% more efficient than outdoor farming, and Slovakian startup Nitroterra, which has developed sustainable fertiliser. Where can I read more? The EU Commission has a bunch of extra resources surrounding Farm to Fork, including a factsheet and an FAQ page. The European Policy Centre outlines the pros and cons of Farm to Fork. Connor Bilboe is Sifted’s editorial assistant. He tweets from @connorbilboe and is the coauthor of our sustainability-focused newsletter, Sustain. You can sign up here. Related Articles Europe’s top sustainability deals 2021 By Connor Bilboe Click here to read more Startups are grappling with the cost of carbon footprinting By Sarah Drumm Click here to read more In numbers: Germany dominates European climate tech By Isabella Pojuner and Freya Pratty Click here to read more How can startups implement the Triple Top Line? By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Most Read 1 \Startup Life Where are Europe’s top digital nomad villages? 2 \Public & Academic UCL and Oxford are Europe’s ‘worst universities for spinouts’ 3 \Venture Capital The top early-stage investors in the Netherlands 4 \Fintech Payment flows API startup Formance raises $3.1m pre-seed 5 \Venture Capital Top early-stage investors in the Nordics Join the conversation Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments
In numbers: Germany dominates European climate tech By Isabella Pojuner and Freya Pratty Click here to read more