Subscribe Feed (RSS)The First Pro Food Product?
July 8th, 2009 by Fredo Martin | Filed under Agriculture, Food System, ProFood.What will be the first deliverable of Pro Food? Will it be the publication of a Pro Food Manual for each step in the food system, from seed to plate? How does one author such a manual? Beside research, conversations, surveys and interviews, one most probably would need to further learn, gather and analyze each and every current practice of the food system, in the field, to determine and define the paths to sustainability for each level.
One of my former Silicon Valley employers used a process, called a “contextual inquiry”, which required shadowing a target employee, for a couple of days, at one of our customers’ site. From that exercise, we derived product ideas based on identified “broken” processes that jumped at us. The site surveyor took copious notes (almost ad nauseam) on everything he or she could observe, even minute details such as where the user’s computer was situated in relation to the employee’s family pictures, telephone, stapler and sticky notepad, and write down descriptions of the employee’s phone conversations, frequency of calls, topics discussed, etc.
Once all that information was gathered, and, usually the next day, the surveyor read through his or her notes to a group of people, each dedicated to one aspect of the inquiry: computer process, telephone process, human interactions, etc. and would ask questions to the surveyor as the information of the shadowing experience was still fresh. The next step required each of us to map the described experience to the company’s processes and inject potential solutions to items we identified as requiring improvements (from minor to critical), go back to the site to validate the information with the customer and suggest some of our ideas for improvement, usually focused on streamlining their work.
Could this be the first Pro Food business? For each step of the food system, gather, analyze, validate, suggest, then verify and inject the feasibility of a sustainable alternative to current practices?
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In some ways this business already exists. For more than 10 years Food Alliance has developed evaluation criteria and inspection tools for certification of food products produced by farms, ranches, and companies practicing social and environmental responsibility. We certify at various points in the supply chain – both on the production side (farms and ranches), and on the handling side (packing, processing, and distribution.
Food Alliance Certified has set a high bar – and because we are committed to transparency, many companies use the freely available Food Alliance criteria to develop, guide and inform their own sustainability efforts.
Improved practices in Food Alliance Certified agricultural operations and food handling facilities have led to better conditions for thousands of workers, more humane treatment of hundreds of thousands of animals, reduced use of toxic and hazardous materials, and healthier soils, cleaner water, and enhanced wildlife habitat on millions of acres of range and farmland.
Food Alliance Certified processing and distribution facilities provide safe and fair working conditions, reduce use of toxic and hazardous materials, reduce and recycle waste, conserve energy and water, ensure quality control and food handling safety, use Food Alliance Certified ingredients, and continuously improve practices.
Food Alliance Certified farms and ranches provide safe and fair working conditions, ensure humane animal treatment, reduce pesticide use and toxicity, conserve soil and water resources, protect wildlife habitat, and continuously improve practices.
Food Alliance Certified foods and Food Alliance Certified ingredients in food come from farms, ranches and food processors that have met meaningful standards for social and environmental responsibility, as determined through an independent third-party audit. Food Alliance does not certify genetically modified crops or livestock. Meat or dairy products come from animals that are not treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. Food Alliance Certified foods never contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
As you suggest above, Food Alliance even suggests “sustainable alternatives to current practices” by requiring continual improvement and making recomendations to meet that requirement of the certification program.
To learn more visit: foodalliance.org
Twitter: foodalliance
Facebook.com/foodalliance
Thank you for your comment. I am aware that Rob Smart has contacted you and hope to see cooperation in the future between your organization and Pro Food. Please feel free to post your success stories on this blog. We want to spread the word as widely as possible.
Although the certification process is indeed a component of the concept I presented in the original article, I would venture to state that the product itself is not certification, but rather a customized approach to evaluate and reshape existing processes towards injecting a workable set of sustainable practices into our customers’ current operations.