A group of diverse panellists from the farm to the consumer tackled the issue of food waste at a breakfast seminar organised by NorVicFoods in Shepparton.
The seminar heard about the systemic by-products produced in the quest for the supply of fresh, Australian-grown food.
Moderated by University of Melbourne business development director Greg Harper, the panel included well publicised ‘insect farmer’ Olympia Yarger, who reminded the seminar: “We should not talk about waste, but resources yet to find a home”.
Ms Yarger, Goterra’s founder and chief executive officer, developed a company in Canberra which uses waste food to farm insects, creating a sustainable food source for animals.
She has a global vision to decentralise food waste management with insect-powered, smart city infrastructure.
A founding director of the Insect Protein Association of Australia, Ms Yarger is an advocate and mentor for the emerging insect farming industry, women in STEM and promoting ag-tech as a career path for young people.
Ms Yarger’s observations on how to attract young employees hit a sympathetic note for the employers in the audience who were struggling to find and retain young staff.
Jim Castles from Sensand Technologies advocated for integrated software that would enable organisations in the agriculture and food sector to engage seamlessly.
The ‘home’ for some of the food waste is with organisations like Second Bite, which rescues and redistributes leftover food to more than 1400 community food programs for free.
Victorian Second Bite operations manager Nick Hilliard also spoke at the seminar.
The ‘Tackling Waste Pre and Post Farm Gate’ seminar was organised by NorVicFoods and held on Tuesday, July 26.
The organisation is dedicated to engaging with businesses in northern Victoria and drawing on University of Melbourne expertise to solve issues faced by agri-food businesses.