GreenTech webinar: Safe and secure food systems

GreenTech will host for the first time a webinar on Thursday 7 May. The webinar talk focuses on 'How COVID-19 accelerates change in safe and secure food systems', and is part of a series. The webinar is for horticulture professionals worldwide who want to get inspired about a sustainable future.

The webinar talk is hosted by Tom Freyberg (creative content director, Atlantean Media) on 7 May from 16.00 - 17.00 hrs (GMT +2). Four sector specialists discuss the impact, and inevitable changes the current COVID-19 pandemic will have in the horticulture industries. The growth, and the emergence of new, big megacities ask for a highly efficient, safe and reliable food system. Knowledge sharing and innovation are essential to prepare for these changes. Discussions about a sustainable future, but also topics like water- and energy efficiency, healthy and sustainable food systems, scarcity of labor, decentralized and shorter supply chain, are on the agenda. The experts also will answer questions of the attendees.

The sector specialists are:

• Mike Zelkind (cofounder and CEO, 80 Acres Farms): “More nutrient food should be available worldwide. This means growing more locally with better taste, grow more sustainable while providing local jobs and a shorter food supply as a result.”
• Rob Baan (owner, Koppert Cress): “Fresh food and varied eating is the key to increasing everyone's resistance and health, especially in the time of COVID-19. But our current food chain is not sufficient, resulting in the flattening of our fresh fruit and vegetable assortment.”
• Meiny Prins (CEO, Priva): “It takes a different way of entrepreneurship to embrace our new world of technology. What characteristics should these farmers of the future possess? And will the current growers be able to adapt their business models?”
• Mariska Dreschler (director Horticulture GreenTech): “There is not just one ultimate production system. I believe in the synergy of systems. The open field farming (for grains, maize), the greenhouse production (vegetables/fruits) and vertical farming (lettuce, herbs). We all need these to provide enough food for the growing world population and keep each other healthy. Important and underlined even more now in this COVID-19 crisis.”

Free registration
Horticulture professionals or other interested parties can register for free at www.greentech.nl/webinar.

GreenTech Amsterdam
GreenTech Amsterdam will be held Tuesday 20 – Thursday 22 October 2020. The exhibition is a global meeting place for all horticultural technology professionals. GreenTech focuses on the early stages of the horticultural chain and the current issues growers face. All Dutch front runners, greenhouse builders and suppliers are present. Last year a total of 12,489 professionals from 114 countries visited GreenTech Amsterdam.