When it comes to Manitoba’s Green Advantage, we need not look further than the quintessential prairie vista: golden fields of wheat, flax, canola and fava beans. The food and beverage processing industry is the largest manufacturing sector in Manitoba, accounting for 7.3 billion in sales in 2022, employing 16,000 people and helping feed the world with products as diverse as pork, potato chips and honey dill sauce.
While it provides your table with delicious food for your family, the process and scale doesn’t come without an environmental cost. From the carbon and greenhouse gas emissions generated on farm and in the processing plants to the packaging that keeps the products safe, the environmental impact of our food system is complex and needs to be understood and mitigated as economies around the world look to decarbonize. As a sector, food and beverage represents a full third of Manitoba’s GHG emissions and is also one of the most vulnerable to drought, flood and extreme weather. The good news: we can have our cake and eat it too — it just might need to be made of cricket powder and upcycled potato starch. Food & Beverage Manitoba, a nonprofit association dedicated to the elevation of the food processing industry, is at the forefront of addressing these challenges, helping its members pave the way toward greener practices and the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
“Manitoba has an opportunity to emerge as a global leader in low carbon food products,” says Michael Mikulak, executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba. “But it will take collaboration and innovation at all levels of business, government and civil society. But we already have a good base. Many farmers have already adopted practices like no or zero till and manufacturers are reducing food waste and looking for opportunities to upcycle.” Mikulak says that a big part of what FABMb does is ensure that members receive the information, upskilling and training they need to meet complex and changing regulatory environments. Through a comprehensive array of resources, training, connections and tools specifically tailored to assist members in addressing various environmental challenges, food safety an economic development, FABMb works with companies of all sizes at different stages of development.
“Many of our processors are still struggling after the pandemic, with ongoing supply chain disruptions, inflation and input costs going up, it can be difficult to look beyond the next six months, let alone the next decade. As an association, we want to help our members with the day to day but also to prepare them for the future.” A big part of this preparation comes in the form organizing Cultivate, a conference dedicated to digging deep into the roots of topics such as plastics, upcycling, regenerative agriculture and how to calculate your greenhouse gas emissions. By bringing together thought leaders and pioneers in the industry such as Sobeys, Maple Leaf, Manitoba Starch Products and LOOP mission, Cultivate has become the event where industry, government, academics and non-profits connect and collaborate around sustainable food system transformation.
At this year’s Cultivate Sustainability Conference, Eli Brown, Sobeys’ director of corporate sustainability, emphasized the importance of initiating sustainability efforts regardless of scale. Alongside Rachel Stolberg, who leads Product Stability, they are developing a practical toolkit with FABMb. This toolkit aims to simplify sustainability adoption by offering various strategies to improve operational efficiency and environmental stewardship.
According to Brown, “It’s intimidating to get started. There’s such a huge learning curve, so you must take it one change at a time. It’s a journey. We would like to see local businesses begin setting targets. It’s important that they look at the process as taking one step at a time.”
Stolberg added that the journey is a constant process of discovery. “We’ve found that it’s always a learning process. The idea is to talk and figure it out together. That’s really important because we can’t sit back anymore,” she says. “We need to have these conversations and break it up into digestible chunks. What does the path forward look like? No one knows for sure, so we all have to do this together.” On the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing, FABMb demonstrates this with its ongoing partnership with TheoryMesh, which specializes in software for a sustainable agri-food system.
“There’s an urgent need to think about sustainability in the food processing industry,” said Chris Bunio, the co-founder and CEO of TheoryMesh. “However, there’s a lot of noise in the industry that makes it hard to understand. That’s frustrating for businesses, as they want to understand so they can do the right thing.” Their software solutions simplify the implementation of sustainable practices, such as optimizing supply chains, sourcing ingredients locally and making compliance with reporting requirements from financial institutions, which will come into effect in 2025, easier and verifiable.
“We are at a turning point when it comes to the emergence of a green economy. The easy path is business as usual, but we need to challenge ourselves as a province and as a country. We already have a lot of the ingredients in Manitoba: a green electricity grid, educated workforce, raw ingredients and a central location,” Bunio says. “But many of the companies FabMB works with are small family-owned operations with razor-thin margins. We need programs and policies that support these companies. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment: it also involves social factors such as affordability, health and the financial viability and jobs we all rely on.” Food & Beverage Manitoba’s commitment to supporting its members marks a pivotal step towards a sustainable future. By addressing issues like sustainable packaging and emissions, and by facilitating industry-wide collaboration, FABMb not only advocates for change but actively contributes to a greener, more sustainable industry. With continued effort and collective action, the goal of net zero can shift from aspiration to reality, setting an industry standard for sustainability. ■
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In line with our mandate to make Manitoba the best place to live and work, we’ve joined forces with The Free Press to publish an exciting bi-annual magazine showcasing our province’s inspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. MBiz also shines the spotlight on community and regional Chambers of Commerce throughout Manitoba and their vital role in fostering economic development, making MBiz a recognized and compelling business tool.
