Building Resilient F&B Supply Chains in a Global Market

Description

Global food and beverage supply chains are operating in an increasingly volatile environment shaped by geopolitical tensions, climate variability, shifting trade policies, and evolving consumer demand. Recent disruptions, from pandemic related shutdowns to conflicts affecting key export corridors, have exposed structural vulnerabilities in how food moves from farm to market. Many systems that were optimized for cost efficiency and just in time delivery have proven less equipped to absorb shocks, resulting in price volatility, supply shortages, and uneven access to food. At the same time, rising input costs, labor constraints, and regulatory complexity are adding further pressure on producers, manufacturers, and distributors across the value chain. In response, companies and institutions are reexamining the foundations of supply chain design with a renewed focus on resilience. This includes diversifying sourcing strategies to reduce dependency on single regions, investing in digital tools that improve real time visibility and forecasting, and strengthening relationships across suppliers and partners. Technological innovation is playing a central role, enabling better demand sensing, risk monitoring, and traceability. However, resilience is not solely a technical or operational challenge. It also requires alignment across stakeholders, including governments, industry groups, and international organizations, to address systemic risks related to trade flows, food security, and environmental sustainability. Looking forward, the challenge is to build supply chains that are not only more robust in the face of disruption but also more sustainable and inclusive. This will require balancing competing priorities such as cost, efficiency, environmental impact, and equitable access to food. As the global food system continues to evolve, organizations must adopt more adaptive strategies that integrate long term planning with the flexibility to respond to immediate shocks. Strengthening resilience will depend on a combination of innovation, policy coordination, and cross sector collaboration, positioning the food and beverage industry to navigate uncertainty while supporting a stable and secure global food system.

Speakers

Eric Mittenthal

Chief Strategy Officer, Meat Institute

Richard J. Sexton

Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) Department, UC Davis

Erika Luna

Policy Analyst II , International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Nicky Quinn

VP of Marketing , Aleph Farms

Guided Questions

Eric Mittenthal

Given your leadership in advancing industry-wide sustainability initiatives such as Protein PACT, how is the meat industry balancing growing consumer expectations for transparency and sustainability with the operational realities of large-scale production?

Erika Luna

Given your work translating research into policy for more just and sustainable agricultural value chains, how can policymakers ensure that efforts to modernize global food systems do not exacerbate existing inequalities, particularly for smallholder farmers and marginalized communities?

Nicky Quinn

Given your extensive experience in branding across biotech, consumer goods, and hospitality, how can companies in emerging sectors like cellular agriculture effectively build consumer trust and shift perceptions around novel food technologies?

Richard J. Sexton

Given your decades of research in agricultural and resource economics and your work on market structure in food systems, how do you assess the role of consolidation in shaping both efficiency and vulnerability within global food supply chains?