Food Solutions Summit
This event has now past, but a recording of the Food Solutions Summit is live.
9:00 – 9:15 AM ET
Welcome & Keynote
Food and agriculture sit at the intersection of climate, health, biodiversity, rural resilience, economic transition, and public trust. We’ll open by examining what the industrial food system has displaced and asking what becomes possible when food systems are designed to regenerate rather than extract.
Urvashi Rangan, PhD — Chief Science Advisor, GRACE Communications Foundation, urvashi@gracelinks.org
Opening Plenary:
Sean Sherman — Founder & CEO, The Sioux Chef and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), sean@natifs.org
9:15 – 9:50 AM ET
Opening Panel
What Are We Scaling — and at What Cost?
The industrial food system has achieved enormous scale, but many of its costs are borne by farmers, workers, communities, animals, public health, and the environment. This conversation examines the trade-offs embedded in the current model and asks what kinds of food systems are actually worth growing, investing in, and replicating.
Moderator:
Lisa Held — Journalist, Civil Eats, lisa@civileats.com
Panelists:
David Montgomery, PhD— Geomorphologist, University of Washington, kingofish@gmail.com
Delphine Lévi Alvarès — Global Petrochemicals Campaign Manager, Center for International Environmental Law, dlevialvares@ciel.org
Niaz Dorry — Coordinating Director, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, niaz@namanet.org
Megan Srinivas, MD — Iowa State Representative & Chief Medical Officer, Primary Health Care, Inc., megan.srinivas@legis.iowa.gov
Patty Lovera — Policy Advisor, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, plovera@gracelinks.org
9:50 – 9:55 AM ET
False Solution Spotlight
The Efficiency Myth
Industrial agriculture is often presented as the most efficient way to feed the world. This spotlight asks what conventional measures of “efficiency” leave out — from impacts on soil and water to farmers, workers, animals, public health, and rural communities.
Tim Gibbons — Executive Director, National Family Farm Coalition, tim@nffc.net
9:55 – 10:30 AM ET
Possibility Panel
How Regeneration Spreads: Replication, Adaptation, Evidence & Integrity
What does it look like to move from an extractive food system toward regenerative, agroecological, regional, healthy and community-rooted alternatives? This conversation explores how successful models can spread through principles, evidence, adaptation to place, community leadership, and healthier production models — without reproducing the uniformity and consolidation of the industrial system.
Moderator:
Anna Lappé — Executive Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food, anna@futureoffood.org
Panelists:
Michelle Hughes — Executive Director, National Young Farmers Coalition, hughes@youngfarmers.org
Jonathan Lundgren PhD — Director, Ecdysis Foundation, jonathan.lundgren@ecdysis.bio
Steven Chen, MD — Chief Medical Officer, Recipe4Health, Alameda County Public Health Department , Steven.Chen@acgov.org
10:30 – 10:35 AM ET
False Solution Spotlight
The Linear Myth
Food systems are often judged by how much food they can produce on the least amount of land. This spotlight broadens the equation to include biodiversity, soil health, water, resilience, nutrition, long-term fertility, and the ecological functions that healthy working lands can provide.
Rebecca Nelson, PhD — Professor, Cornell University
10:35 – 10:50 AM ET
Break
10:50 – 11:25 AM ET
Innovation & Action at Market Scale
What It Takes to Transition: Knowledge, Finance, Infrastructure & Markets
Regenerative transition requires more than better farming practices or promising individual businesses. Through real-world examples, this session explores the ecosystem of knowledge, finance, infrastructure, buyers, markets, and policy needed to make transition viable — without asking farmers, fishers, ranchers, and regional businesses to carry the risk alone.
Moderator:
Jennifer O’Connor — Executive Director, Funders for Regenerative Agriculture (FORA), joconnor@forainitiative.org
Speakers:
Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin — Director of Strategic Innovation, Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, regi@regenagalliance.org
Luis Barbieri — Executive Director, Folio, luis.barbieri@folio.agr.br
Steph Wiley — Owner, Brooklyn Packers, Steph@brooklynpackers.com
Lauren Manning — Executive Director, Food System 6, lauren@foodsystem6.org
11:25 – 11:30 AM ET
False Solution Spotlight
The Livestock Myth
Livestock are often treated as either inherently harmful or inherently regenerative. This spotlight moves beyond blanket narratives to examine how outcomes depend on the type of animal system, where and how it operates, and its impacts across climate, land, water, biodiversity, animal welfare, livelihoods, and regional resilience.
Amy Price Neff, MD — Physician & Owner, Mindstream Integrative Medicine, apriceneff@gmail.com
11:30 – 11:55 AM ET
Consumers, Trust & Narrative
What People Want From Food — and What They Need to Trust
What do people actually want from their food — and what makes environmental, health, animal welfare, and regenerative claims credible? Grounded in new consumer insights, this conversation explores how trustworthy standards, accountability, journalism, and public storytelling can connect food systems change to the values people already hold.
Moderator:
Jennifer Shecter — Vice President of Content, Consumer Reports, jen.shecter@consumer.org
Speakers:
Emily Moose — Executive Director, A Greener World, emily@agreenerworld.org
Tom Philpott — Author of Perilous Bounty & Senior Research Associate, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, tphilpottnc@gmail.com
11:55 AM – 12:30 PM ET
Closing Conversation
Grounded Solutions for Funders, Investors & Climate Leaders
Food systems are not a niche issue: they are where climate, health, biodiversity, livelihoods, animal welfare, community resilience, and economic transition meet. This closing conversation brings the day back to people and place — exploring how funders, investors, policymakers, and climate leaders can shift power and invest in the conditions that allow community-led solutions to thrive.
Moderator:
Tonya Allen — President, McKnight Foundation, communications@mcknight.org
Speaker:
Karen Washington — Farmer, Food Justice Activist & Community Leader; Co-owner and Farmer, Rise & Root Farm, karen@karenthefarmer.com