<aside> 💡 Fresh aims to build ventures that address a systemic challenge by addressing key barriers or building critical capacities. For the first few years, Fresh will focus on production-centric solutions that accelerate the transition of the cultivation side of the food chain: regenerative agriculture and farming systems.
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While most of the impact is to be found upstream, currently the majority of investments of time and money flows to downstream problems. Fresh focuses on the effects upstream close to the production side and natural ecosystems (soil, ecosystems, farmers, producers). However, we take a systemic approach; to deliver change upstream we need to tackle challenges throughout the whole value chain and broader industry.
🌎 The Global Food System
While Fresh focuses primarily on the European food system, we cannot ignore the larger system we operate within — the Global Food System. The European food system imports food and nutrients from all around the world and creates significant dynamics through its exports, development aid, and the remnants of its colonial past.
Whether our priority is biodiversity, climate mitigation, food security, or human well-being, as we design and implement a new food system for Europe, we must keep in mind the effects we have — positive and negative — on the global food system.
🪱 European terrestrial system
When we talk about food systems, most people rightly think of terrestrial or land-based food production. Land-based production constitutes about 80% of global food production — a number that’s even higher within Europe, where up to 90% of all food is produced on land.
Most of the rising demand for food and feed will have to be produced on land, so Fresh looks at land as a key leverage point and focus of impact. We look at both regenerative agriculture (agriculture that structurally regenerates soils, increases biodiversity, and stores carbon) and at methods that take pressure off land-based systems.
<aside> 💡 These are the impact areas where we want to make a deep and lasting impact. That said, the problem you choose to work on will come from your expertise and interest and can stretch beyond the below.
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❤️🩹 Health, food & soil connection
How can we improve the link between healthcare, food systems, and our soils?
🌳 Complex agroforestry & agro-ecological land use
How might we enable more complex farming systems which work in harmony with nature?
🌱 Regenerative inputs & seed sovereignty
How can we use innovation to make farmers less dependent on inputs and increase (seed) sovereignty?
🚜 On-farm hardware & mechanization
Which innovation can reduce labor intensity and make a regenerative model more achievable?|
🖥️ Data & software innovation
How can we use innovation to ensure fair distribution and access to data, and put them into action for the regenerative transition?
🧱 Farmer transition support & business model diversification
How might we best help farmers in a hands-on manner during their transition and what role can enterprise stacking play?