Category: Research & Publications

Refresh Report: From Soil to Supper

2/11/2019

A new report from Refresh on technology, sustainability, and food production:

"Emerging technologies are transforming every part of our nation’s complex food system. From food production and distribution, to the safety of our food supply and the management of industrial food waste, these advances are already changing the ways we respond to hunger, soil erosion, pollution, and over-development. But the way we talk about these innovations— and the way the public understands them—could use a refresh."

See the full report here

The Alpha in Impact

1/17/2019

Foodshed Investors friend Amy Bell co-authored this report, which "offers a new way of thinking about the relationship between financial returns and social and environmental impact. Instead of debating whether impact objectives detract from the financial performance of a fund, it identifies the ways in which impact objectives enhance financial performance, based on transactions in the portfolios of market-rate investment managers. This concept is known as “impact alpha".

Read the full report here.

Capital Evolving: Alternative Investment Strategies to Drive Inclusive Innovation

1/16/2019

2018 report from Village Capital details gaps in equity and geographical distribution of innovation capital, with suggested solutions including Revenue Share Structures, Place-Based Multi-Asset-Class Funds, and Peer-Based Decision Making.

Says author and VilCap President Ross Baird: "Our current capital structures – particularly the most well-publicized options of venture capital and bank loans – reward the few and leave the many on the sidelines. Billion-dollar tech “unicorns” distort our view of a successful startup economy. Most startup capital goes to just a few people, in a few places, and a few industries. Half of the world’s venture capital goes to just three US states...

Food Justice & Sustainable Business

1/15/2019

Do community-based grassroots approaches and economically sustainable business models have to be mutually exclusive?

Garret Broad answers: "I think that social justice movements in general don’t engage enough with market ideas... If we don’t engage actively and think critically about how we can make capitalism work, or new kinds of capitalism work, there are other people and institutions that are going to do a much better job of it without the kind of social and political commitments that we have."

New Study: What About Local Food Production?

1/13/2019

A new study from the Austin Texas-based Capital Area Council of Governments, "Selling Food is Good Business in the Capital Area - But What About Local Food Production?" asks “... how much of the dollars being spent on food are staying in the local economy, as opposed to going to food producers elsewhere?”

19 Food Films to Inform and Inspire

1/13/2019

FoodTank has assembled a list of 19 films about the food system and food and ag to "inspire, educate, and give viewers some food for thought.

Here's the list, with links to previews and ways to watch the flix.

Dr. John Ikerd Keynote Address at FARFA 2016

9/27/2016

Jarred & Curt of AFI were honored to attend (and even get to speak) at FARFA's 10th Annual Farm & Food Leadership Conference in Bastrop this past September 25-27. We heard this rousing keynote from Dr. John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Organic Farms Increase Sales / Decrease Numbers

10/21/2015

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition reported on the US Department of Agriculture's 2014 Organic Production Survey, the first such survey since 2008. And there was good news - there was a 72% increase in organic sales over the last five years.

Small Biz , Sustainable Urban Food, & City Planning

10/20/2015

The RUAF Foundation, of The Netherlands, specializes in Urban Agriculture and City Region Food Strategies. Supurbfood, another Dutch non-profit in the urban food space, has collaborated with RUAF on two new papers...

Book: Cities & Agriculture

10/19/2015

"Cities and Agriculture: Developing Resilient Urban Food Systems", Edited by Hen de Zeeuw of the RUAF Foundation, provides urban planners, local policy makers and urban development practitioners with an overview of crucial aspects of urban food systems based on an up to date review of research results and practical experiences in both developed and developing countries.

Why 85% of New CPG Products Fail Within 2 Years

9/21/2015

Food Navigator reported that even the "big guns" that release new packaged foods don't often have a winning formula for long-term success. It seems the secret lies in starting small and tapping into new consumer trends.

The Local Economy Solution

9/7/2015

Economist Michael Shuman's third book on local economies focuses on "polinators": organizations such as AFI that pursue regional economic development functions. Kirkus reviews the book, which starts with a critique of mainstream economic development.

Click the image to order from BookPeople.

Austin "State of the Food System Report"

6/15/2015

We're embarrassed to only be posting this now, an excellent overview of Austin's food system by (relatively) new City of Austin Food Policy Manager Edwin Marty and team, which came out in April.

Foundations Increase Impact Investing

5/4/2015

Hazel Bradford writes for Pensions & Investments magazine about the upswing in interest in impact investing from philanthropic foundations.

Sustainable Sourcing Guide

5/1/2015

The Sustainable Sourcing of Agricultural Raw Materials: A Practitioner's Guide is intended to help practitioners in companies that are seeking to source their agricultural raw materials sustainably, by asking and answering crucial questions in the following eight chapters:

The Transformation of American Agriculture

4/7/2015

From Amazon: "The Transformation of American Agriculture exposes and illuminates the two momentous and radically different transformations currently underway in American agriculture, which may ultimately leave us with two utterly disconnected food systems. Kathy O. Brozek’s meticulously researched and highly engaging book highlights key milestones in these transformations—including the advent of genetically modified crops and hyper-industrialization." Published 1/15/14.

The Soil Will Save Us

6/5/2014

Kristin Ohlson's book "The Soil Will Save Us" explains how holistic forms of land management can restore our relationship with the land. See the book review at Civil Eats.

Risk, Return and Impact: Understanding Diversification and Performance Within an Impact Investing Portfolio

8/4/2011

Jed Emerson of Impact Assets discusses capital allocation, "finance first" vs. "impact first", and various vectors of risk... including "conformance risk", that is, having portfolio assets that are outside what might be typically held. Then, on the flip side of the coin, Emerson addresses returns, including this: