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Image: Representatives of food companies, Israel's Ministry of Health, academia, and physicians discuss food and health issues at the annual international conference held by Maala.

This article series is sponsored by Maala and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Israel, with its long tradition of embracing the Mediterranean diet, has its sights set on being a model of health and nutrition for the rest of the world. The Ministry of Health in Israel is actively promoting the Mediterranean diet, calling on food manufacturers to follow suit and help consumers achieve a healthier lifestyle.

The country is already off to a good start. Dinner tables featuring hummus, tomato-cucumber salad and extra-virgin olive oil—all staples of the Mediterranean diet—no doubt helped propel Israel to the top spot on a recent ranking of countries with the lowest rate of diet-related deaths worldwide. 

While Israelis don’t have perfect diets—processed, fried and sugary foods are consumed widely there, too—the Ministry of Health is determined to improve the health of its citizens even further by making the Mediterranean diet part of its new nutritional guidelines. 

Still, convincing people to change their habits won’t be easy—and the food industry must step up to play a role. At the annual international conference held by Maala—Israel’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards-setting organization—representatives of food companies, the Ministry of Health, academia and physicians sat together to discuss solutions. These key stakeholders are still actively involved in charting the way forward to better health in Israel—and setting an example for the rest of the world.

Mediterranean diet—and sustainability—drive updated nutrition guidelines

“For the first time, we are looking at the whole picture of a healthy diet—the whole food, the whole meal, how it got on the plate, and how it is being consumed,” said Carmit Safra, a nutritionist with the Israeli Ministry of Health, told TriplePundit. “Now, the sustainability of food consumption is an integral part of our nutritional guidelines.”

The new guidelines reflect the health, economic, social and environmental aspects of food, Safra explained. The Mediterranean diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish and olive oil, and low in red meat, sugar and processed foods—reflects each of these components, she told us. 

Labels encourage healthier choices

The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest and most well-studied diets in the world. Studies have shown it can prevent cardiovascular disease, improve memory and cognition in older adults, ward off specific types of cancer and protect against type 2 diabetes.

With all of that going for it, the Israeli government wants to ensure that the diet is the primary one for its citizens. To that end, it is shining a light on the danger of processed foods—especially so-called “ultra-processed foods,” which are made with limited unprocessed ingredients and consist mainly of sugars, oils, fat, salt and additives.

Recognizing that what people see at the store can influence their purchasing decisions, the Ministry is looking to design the grocery experience “in a way that will help people make the healthy choice,” Safra said. Starting in 2020, the government will require food products to bear a red label if they are too high in sodium, saturated fat or sugar, while healthier foods will be stamped with a green label.

Calling for food industry innovation

The coming regulations “already have manufacturers reformulating products with less sodium and sugar, because they don’t want a red label,” Safra said—and this is exactly the kind of response the Ministry hoped to see. “We see it as our role to help guide the market in the right direction,” she told us. “The industry can’t ignore this.” Furthermore, consumers are increasingly demanding this change from food companies, she added. 

Tivall brand responds to consumer preferences

Osem, a major Israeli food manufacturer that Nestlé acquired three years ago, is one company responding to these trends. Osem’s Tivall brand focuses on prepared, plant-based food products that are “nutritious, made from high-quality raw materials and with no preservatives due to our fast-freeze technology,” said Adi Kabir Kohali, CEO of Tivall. 

Founded in 1985 on a kibbutz, Tivall launched with a focus to offer meat alternatives that would appeal to vegetarians and omnivores alike. As in many other countries, the vegetarian and vegan population has grown in Israel. And at nearly 4 percent, Israel now has the highest per-capita vegan population in the world (8 percent vegetarian), the Times of Israel reports.   

“When Tivall started, the vegetarian population wasn’t as large as it is now,” Kohali recalled. Even with plant-based food products on the rise, Tivall estimates that sales to vegans and vegetarians represent only around 30 percent of its overall revenue. “We have a wide range of products which are not meat analog but vegetable-based, such as falafel, corn schnitzel and patties,” Kohali explained. “The Mediterranean diet offers a wide variety of vegetable-based products, and this is part of the Israeli diet.”

Many of Tivall’s products are fortified with protein, iron and B12, “in order to support our consumers that want to decrease their meat consumption but still want to keep a balanced diet,” Kohali told us. 

Still, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Tivall. In the early 2000s, the company received criticism for a lack of nutritional value in its products— which at the time were made mostly from soy—leading to a decline in public trust. 

“In the last few years, many changes have been made in the products to support consumer needs” and align with Nestle’s standards for health and nutrition, Kohali said. “This also impacted the trust level. Consumers see the ‘new Tivall’ as healthier and tastier.”

Healthier food is here to stay

Companies across Israel’s food sector are embracing this type of change. And industry sees the pull toward healthier food as a long-term shift, rather than a passing trend, said Galia Sagy, executive director of the Food Industries Union at the Manufacturers Association of Israel.

“Food manufactures in Israel are working to reduce sugar and sodium levels, as well as improving the fats that are used in food production,” Sagy told TriplePundit. “Food companies have and still are investing vast amounts of time and money in both improving existing products and developing new, innovative and healthy food products.”

The focus on health “brings many opportunities for innovation,” she said. For example, through the Food Industries Union, several Israeli companies recently committed to advertise food more responsibly to children. Namely, these food companies have pledged not to target children under 12 when advertising products marked with the

Ministry of Health’s red label. The Israeli Marketing Association and the country’s Chamber of Commerce have since signed on to the commitment, Sagy told us, indicating it may soon be the standard nationwide. 

Stakeholder engagement is essential

Still, it remains challenging to get industry and academia to collaborate effectively around health and nutrition, Sagy noted. “Cross-sectoral collaboration is essential in promoting a healthier lifestyle, including government, civil society, food industry, academia, regulators [and] startup companies,” she said. “The issue of food and health is of national interest and requires a nationwide movement.”

Image credit: Netanel Tobias

This article series is sponsored by DXC Technology and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

An estimated 500,000 teens on the autism spectrum will age out of school-based services and enter the U.S. job market over the next decade, reports the nonprofit Autism Speaks. But another study—conducted by Identifor, a game-based career assessment tool designed to help people with autism uncover their underlying strengths—found that 84 percent to 93 percent of this group will be either unemployed or underemployed.

Meanwhile, a number of industries are having trouble filling vacant positions due to a lack of skilled workers. For example, KPMG recently surveyed more than 3,000 technology leaders, and 65 percent of them said that hiring challenges are hurting the tech sector.

As such, more companies are beginning to pay attention to neurodiversity and the benefits of creating inclusive cultures that support everyone. For those unfamiliar with the term, neurodiversity refers to recognizing neurological differences such as autism, attention deficit disorder and dyslexia in the same way we recognize other differences like race, gender or sexual orientation.

A history of neurodiversity in tech

As we’ve covered before in this series, matching untapped labor pools—such as people with neurological differences—with existing talent gaps presents a promising opportunity. Embracing neurodiversity could be especially lucrative in industries like tech, as many people with neurological differences such as autism possess special skills including pattern recognition, memory and mathematics.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that tech companies like SAP and DXC Technology are leading the way when it comes to hiring neurodiverse talent. And their case studies offer insight for companies looking to do the same.

SAP’s Autism at Work program launched in 2013. When the company started intentionally recruiting people on the spectrum, it quickly discovered talent that was previously overlooked.

“SAP quickly came across many candidates who held advanced degrees and even patents, but [had] little to no job history,” Tatiana Arthur, a human capital management solutions consultant with SAP SuccessFactors, wrote on the company’s blog. “Our experience confirmed research showing that talent is often missed because of over-reliance on the interview process or lack of flexibility by the companies.”

DXC Technology—which started its own neurodiversity initiative, the Dandelion Program, in 2014—further confirmed SAP's findings. In response, the company partnered with La Trobe University to develop better screening processes for incoming employees on the autism spectrum, which it applied to face-to-face interviews.

The efforts paid off, as one Dandelion Program participant detailed in a recent report: “The interview for the program was an observation and analysis of our capabilities in problem-solving while we worked on a robotics project, and I was able to demonstrate my thoroughness and thinking through action rather than only words.”

Through its journey, DXC realized that programs like Dandelion are not just about providing jobs—they’re about giving individuals the tools, skills and work experience necessary to build a career. As Michael Fieldhouse, DXC Dandelion Program executive, told TriplePundit earlier in this series: “We wanted to create a program that allowed neurodiverse people to have careers, not just a job.” That means creating space for people to develop themselves, he said, “and the organization has to be prepared and willing to support that development.”

The benefits of neurodiversity—in the tech sector and beyond

Innovation in the workplace: Companies must innovate and adapt in order to survive. To do that, they need diverse voices at the table—and that certainly includes neurodiverse people. When it comes to neurodiversity hiring, "The big incentive that we have seen is that a lot of the time, these individuals think very differently,” said Dr. Lawrence Fung, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project. “In this way, they really increase the level of innovation in companies.”

Utilizing the entire workforce: Not only is creating space for neurodiverse talent good for business, but it’s also good for the economy. Dr. Fung, who also founded the Special Interest Group for Neurodiversity at Stanford, reminds us that it's important to consider how much autism is costing society overall while also considering the benefits companies can gain from hiring people on the spectrum.

"By equipping people with autism and other neurodiverse capabilities with the resources and opportunities to support themselves and their families through meaningful work, the business community could help to reduce the amount that we as a country are spending, while also increasing the productivity of society,” Dr. Fung explained.

Providing for meaningful work: Hiring neurodiverse talent creates an opportunity for meaningful employment for a segment of our population that is too often forgotten. Steve Keisman, senior vice president at Identifor, believes that a purpose-filled life is key for those with different abilities. "I work with many families” who care for children with different abilities, Keisman told us. When he asks what they need, “meaningful employment is always top of the list,” he explained.

Practical ways to embrace neurodiversity in your organization

If you're interested in bringing the neurodiversity conversation to your company, case studies from early adopters like DXC and SAP can help chart the way forward.

First and most importantly, you must create a support system for those with different abilities. “What we’ve learned in our work with DXC and others who are employing people with autism is that success is about the environment and the person’s fit, making sure the person with autism is supported in the workplace, so that any issues that come up can be addressed quickly and on the spot,” Cheryl Dissanayake, founding director of La Trobe University’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, told us earlier in our series. Both DXC and SAP involve employee volunteers from multiple departments in their neurodiversity programs, fostering understanding and relationships among teams of all backgrounds.

Next, redesign your human resources process so that your recruiters know how to work with candidates with different abilities. “One of our big challenges was getting HR engaged,” said Fieldhouse of DXC. Along with changing up the interview process, the company also did away with job descriptions for open positions, replacing them with “narratives which are stories about the job function,” Fieldhouse said.

Redesigning HR processes to be more inclusive—while training HR professionals on how to recruit and interview neurodiverse candidates—opens the door for talent you may have otherwise missed.

Lastly, it's important to collaborate. Both DXC and SAP engage academic partners in their neurodiversity programs, creating space for knowledge-sharing between universities and the private sector. And Dr. Fung and his colleagues make it a point to invite other organizations who are working on similar programs to their meetings. By sharing resources and identifying synergy, we can truly move the conversation forward. With that in mind, click here to read the rest of our series and glean insights from other experts in this space.

Image credit: Daria Nepriakhina and Arif Riyanto via Unsplash 

During the Donald Trump administration, tech companies and their employees have been quick to protest the president’s policies on immigration. So far, those outcries have resulted in little concrete action. Now, employees at the Boston-based furnishing company Wayfair have brought renewed attention to the issue of migrant rights, especially when it comes to children.

Corporate leadership can be helpful, but not all corporations are helping

Corporate leaders have been changing the conversation on key issues of broad social concern, like immigrant rights, gun control and the climate crisis. They are both responding to and shaping the public consensus. That includes addressing the concerns of their own employees.

In some cases, employee concerns play a direct role in shaping corporate policy.

Levi Strauss & Co, for example, stepped up its long running support for common sense gun safety after a customer accidentally shot himself in a store. The incident prompted a firm response from CEO Chip Bergh, who cited concerns for employee safety along with the security of all customers.

Accenture provides another type of example. While respectful of host countries in its global operations, Accenture backs up its diversity policy with support for LGBTQ employees who are visible and active in their communities.   

Some companies are harder to convince than others. For example, Amazon employees are demanding that their employer act more aggressively on climate change, with limited success. Employees at Google are also protesting their company on several issues, including censorship and sexual harassment, though they don’t seem to have gained much traction so far.

Wayfair employees pick up where tech workers left off

One of the first examples of employee activism in the tech sector occurred in the runup to the 2016 presidential election, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to respond to employee concerns over board of directors member Peter Thiel’s position on immigration and his support for the Trump campaign.

So far, those concerns have not resulted in any material response from the company, and Thiel is still on the Facebook board.

However, this week’s action by Wayfair’s employees may embolden Facebook and other tech workers to take a stronger stand.

On Tuesday, CNBC reported that Wayfair employees were organizing a walkout protest at the company’s headquarters in Boston, aimed at drawing attention to the treatment of migrant children at border facilities and elsewhere. They have also taken their cause to social media with the Twitter account @WayfairWalkout.

An open letter circulating among employees at the company had already gathered more than 500 signatures as of Tuesday, CNBC reported. The letter places responsibility for the “detention and mistreatment of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in our country” squarely on the shoulders of contractors as well as the U.S. government.

As stated in the letter, the purpose of the walkout is to help ensure that “Wayfair has no part in enabling, supporting, or profiting from this practice.”

Words matter: Holding companies to account for the treatment of migrant children

Plans for the walkout were set in motion after reports surfaced that Wayfair had sold hundreds of mattresses and bunk beds for use at a “detention camp” holding migrant children in Texas.

As CNBC and other media outlets reported, Wayfair responded by asserting its responsibility to employees, investors and customers by filling all orders, regardless of the “opinions or actions of the groups or individuals who purchase from us.”

That position undercuts the company’s own statements relating to the welfare of children.

Wayfair's public statement on charitable giving reads, “We believe that a secure home is not only a basic human need but also the foundation for well-being.” Wayfair also emphasizes that “our mission is to make home a reality for more of the many people in need of safe shelter> and basic household items that help make a home.”

Taking a stronger stand on customer relations would be a risky move for companies like Wayfair, but as the immigration crisis continues to unfold, companies are beginning to take that risk.

For inspiration, Wayfair can look to Ravelry, another Boston-based company that has taken a strong stand on migrant rights and human dignity.

Image credits: Wayfair; RAICES/Facebook

We are all aware of our national and global food waste epidemic. Within the United States alone, according to ReFED, Americans waste 63 million tons of food, which costs consumers, farmers and manufacturers $218 billion, or 1.5 percent of the total GDP. Meanwhile, as many as 1 in 7 Americans is vulnerable to food insecurity. Amidst this bleak reality, an entrepreneurial movement is afoot to reduce food waste and its greenhouse gas emissions from the production and disposal of food. 

Diverting food waste through selling upcycled food products

These entrepreneurs are creating and selling food products, described as upcycled food, which are made from edible byproducts, unwanted food scraps or tarnished vegetables. Not only are these products loaded with taste and nutrition, but they can also remove a chunk out of the total amount of food headed to the landfill. These products also create new revenue streams for farmers, suppliers and restaurants, while creating unique stories that can help differentiate their products in order to appeal to consumers.

A 2017 Drexel Lab food study shows that consumers favor the modifier “upcycled” to the point at which their willingness to pay increases when they see 'upcycled' on a product’s packaging. Why? Consumers view products labeled as upcycled as more likely to provide more value related to health benefits than both organic and conventional products. 

Smart logistics is essential when scaling an upcycled food company

To divert what could be as much as 1.3 billion tons of food waste globally per year, the upcycled entrepreneurial movement needs to scale up and do so quickly.

Companies such as Toast Ale—a United Kingdom-born brewer that creates beer out of day-old bread—and The Real Dill—a Colorado company that says its most popular product is made from its reused cucumber solution—acknowledge the challenges involved in scaling up any upcycled food product. The challenges include smart reverse logistics as well as having willing suppliers and partners with an understanding of the long-term financial and environmental benefits.

Right now, Toast Ale is working to strengthen the reliability and consistency of its operations in the U.S. There are many players in Toast’s U.S. supply chain, which at times can lead to quality control issues, such as missed deliveries due to the flux of retailers’ delivery schedules. There is also the chance that unwanted loaves of bread don't meet Toast Ale's sourcing criteria, which detail that the bread Toast Ale receives should be sliced and surplus.

Collaboration is key to scaling up the upcycled food movement

However, the complexity of scaling Toast’s supply chain offers an opportunity to persuade more bread producers to rethink their linear supply chains. Errors in logistics have led to conversations with bakeries that weren’t sure how to waste less and soon become the most eager of Toast’s suppliers.

“Scaling the upcycled [food] movement is collaborative,” Janet Viader, head of sales and operations for Toast Ale, told TriplePundit. “There are constant discussions about whether pick-up [of the toast heels] is our labor or their labor. It is still a work in process to find the systems.”   

Collaboration is also a key ingredient in the success of The Real Dill’s Bloody Mary Mix. After the founders’ experiment of upcycling the cucumber solution from their pickling process proved successful, The Real Dill developed relationships with various businesses in order to grow a product that furthers its zero-waste mission. 

“If a company’s interested in eliminating food waste, look outside your door to find that one person or organization that is already doing this,” suggested Lindsey Hornstein, The Real Dill’s marketing manager.

What other steps are needed to scale the upcycled food movement? 

The Real Dill and Toast Ale are not the only companies tackling food waste through upcycling food for profit. Barnana, a company that creates banana chips out of fruit deemed unfit for the grocery shelves; Renewal Mill, which makes a high-protein flour out of tofu byproducts; and Coffee Cherry Company, another flour company that makes its products out of discarded coffee fruit, are only a few examples of companies that grasp business opportunities from the abundance of wasted food. And baby carrots? They are often chopped up from carrots that consumers would not buy—and could otherwise end up in landfills.

More tactics such as creating an upcycled food coalition and expanding the resources available to willing entrepreneurs to address supply chain challenges can also help grow the upcycled food movement. What other steps can companies take to bring the upcycled food movement to scale?

Image credit: Toast Ale/Facebook

If governments and the private sector are going to work together in order to hedge their bets against future droughts, water storage is one place to start.

Water scarcity is one of this century’s greatest challenges as it determines whether the world can adapt to both climate change and a rising population. One region that stands out is one of the more vital breadbaskets in the U.S. Long, drawn-out periods of drought have long affected the San Joaquin Valley and its economic capital, Fresno. Struggles with drought are among the challenges this city of half a million has been facing.

Not that any sort of adversity is new to Fresno. The state’s fifth-largest city, also the 33rd largest in the U.S., hasn’t commanded much respect over the years. The city has long been endlessly mocked, including with a 1980s CBS miniseries starring Carol Burnett that poked fun at the raisin capital of the world. Rampant development, which can be seen in the strip malls and McMansion developments that have expanded the city’s reach at the expense of its historic downtown core, doesn’t do much to boost the city’s image.

Plus, with all that development, one would never guess that the city only receives a tad more than a foot of rainfall annually—homes, office complexes and shopping centers are green only because reminders of water conservation are generally given lip service here. To the visitor, sidewalk watering comes across as a favorite pastime.

But there are some things Fresno is getting right as the region grapples with water scarcity—including water storage. Drive around the city, and you’ll swing by what look like fenced-off ponds. Comprising a groundwater recharge program that has been around since the 1970s, these basins have been successful at trapping winter rains and allowing them to seep back into groundwater supplies. Only one of these recharge stations, located near the city’s airport, operates year-round; the rest are on lands leased by the local irrigation district to capture rainwater. When considering this year’s generous amount of rainfall, these recharge stations are also crucial to prevent flooding, as the city’s soil, which alternates between sandy loam and hardpan, can often transform the city’s streets into Venice-like canals after what seems like a trickle of rain.

There’s another reason why water storage is critical in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley—or anywhere, for that matter: The valley is sinking. Countless years of drought also pushed farmers to invest in the harvesting of groundwater. If you were smart enough to launch a well-drilling business this century, most likely you’ve done quite well financially. But as a result, the region’s aquifers are becoming depleted, causing many areas to sink a few inches a year—or, in some areas, as much as two inches a month. If these aquifers collapse, say goodbye to the region’s crops that are coveted worldwide—including stone fruit, pistachios, pomegranates and almonds (shown above, blossoming during spring).

These water storage facilities stand out for another reason: Studies, including this one from Stanford University, have suggested that they are often cheaper to build and maintain than reservoirs and, of course, desalination plants. Another study by University of Texas researchers concluded over 60 percent of water resulting from river flooding in the Lone Star state could have been stored—which not only would have reduced damage from disasters like Hurricane Harvey but would have been on hand when Texas suffers another drought.

With all the talk over infrastructure investment in the U.S., one type of private sector-government cooperation needed is more investment in water storage. As proven across Fresno, these water storage sites are cost-effective, can become a seamless part of a city’s landscape—and even open up recreational opportunities. In the case of this one Fresno city park, private donations allowed this water storage facility to serve as a park – offering a template of how engineering and construction companies can work with government in order to boost their community engagement chops.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

Mercy Corps, the global humanitarian aid nonprofit, recently announced its partnership with various organizations on the development of the digital currency Libra.

Libra has generated countless headlines since June 19, when Facebook formally announced its plans for an early 2020 launch of this cryptocurrency. One doesn’t need too scrutinizing of an eye to see the motives behind Libra. On one hand, backers of this currency say Libra could help boost financial inclusion worldwide. On the other, if Libra succeeds, transactions occurring across Facebook’s various platforms—Whatsapp, Instagram and Messenger—could cement the company’s presence in billions of people’s daily lives. We’ll delve into the potential effects of Libra on some of the poorest people in the world and discuss whether or not this currency could work.

A step forward for financial inclusion

Mercy Corps has a compelling track record with its worldwide humanitarian aid projects, and has partnered with leading companies including Cisco. The NGO has a long history of leveraging its expertise on the challenges faced by the world’s poorest communities, so working on the development of Libra appears to be a natural fit for this Portland, Oregon-based organization.

Citizens long overlooked by financial firms could have the opportunity to become more integrated in the global economy if Libra can succeed on the financial inclusion front. To that end, Mercy Corps has identified five areas in which Libra would redefine the global economy.

Low volatility: People susceptible to periods of high deflation or inflation in their home country’s currency could have the option of resorting to Libra as a more stable currency. Libra is currently backed by assets from partners within the Libra Association, including Uber, Lyft, Spotify and Mastercard. The currency’s value will be pegged to the value of these assets—of course, one risk is that some of these companies, including Lyft and Uber, have yet to make a profit. Assuming this structure will yield a more stable cryptocurrency than other digital currencies, Libra has an opportunity to be the default currency for people living in economies where the current currency of choice is vulnerable to devaluation or volatility.

Lower transaction costs: Today, money sent abroad is often subjected to fees up to 7 percent, or a total of $50 billion annually charged to citizens who send remittances. One vision for Libra is that it will be able to improve the finances of more citizens by lowering the costs to remit money and convert currencies. It’s tempting to liken Libra to Bitcoin, which has attracted attention for high transaction fees that compensate the parties that help facilitate transactions. Libra’s backers say that it can reduce such costs with its structure as a peer-to-peer platform, similar to PayPal and its suite of mobile payment services.  

User identification: In communities where birth certificates aren’t necessarily issued, citizens without traditional means of identifying themselves are frequently cut off from financial services. Libra’s blockchain structure provides a solution by identifying users based on their past transactions. All transactions will be recorded in the blockchain as a cryptically secured public ledger, which could then be used for identification and lending decisions at financial firms.

Open platform: Any developer can build on Libra by coding in the blockchain-friendly language “Move.”  Mercy Corps views this as an open opportunity for outside players to introduce new ways of extending financial inclusion.

Efficiency and transparency: If Libra can achieve its goals of becoming a global stable currency, this platform could transform how monetary aid is sent around the world. Mercy Corps sees the potential for efficient and transparent transactions, and more participation in the global financial system, through speedy blockchain technology. 

Libra: More than meets the eye?

Libra has the potential to address the shortfalls of traditional currencies and payment systems by expanding financial inclusion. There’s more to this picture, though. The biggest question floating around is one to do with regulation: Who will keep an eye on this global cryptocurrency, and how?

Two main concerns in regulation are competition and privacy. While new entrants typically increase competition, the same cannot be said for big tech companies entering financial services. Facebook and other global digital platforms can leverage their wide user base as customers for their products, establishing their presence as a formidable competitor.

As for privacy, one critical standpoint on Libra speculates on Facebook’s spotty reputation on protecting user data. The company says it plans to develop Calibra, a digital wallet designed to process Libra transactions through its own standalone app and Facebook’s other apps. Facebook claims that transaction data stored in Calibra will not be used for targeted advertising on its social platforms, but politicians in the U.S. and Europe have their doubts based on the company’s history. The big question is: Can we trust Facebook—or any company—to have a stake in the financial lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people?

Image credit: Niels Steeman/Unsplash

With many grocery stores already leveraging the “low hanging fruit” by eliminating single-use plastic grocery bags, some are now moving further up the fruit (and vegetable) “tree” in their plastic reduction efforts.

This month, Aldi U.K. became the latest supermarket chain to announce that it will remove plastic packaging from its fresh vegetable lines in 230 stores in the North East and South East of England. This follows the success of a six-week trial in Scotland. If the expanded pilot proves successful, Aldi says it will roll out the plastic-free produce lines to all stores before the end of the year, which it predicts will avoid the use of more than 100 tons of plastic annually.

Other European retailers get on board

A study by Coleman Parkes Research of 7,000 shoppers across Europe found that that 92 percent would prefer to buy a plastic-free unit of their favorite product than one in plastic, with more than one-third having already begun boycotting certain brands over packaging sustainability concerns. This rises to more than one-half (56 percent) among millennials.

A similar survey of 5,000 consumers found that 80 percent of them would endorse a supermarket’s move to go plastic-free, while 91 percent would be more likely to encourage friends and family to shop there.

Retailers are taking note. The Dutch grocery chain Ahold Delhaize is piloting an initiative in Belgium to reduce “unnecessary” packaging on organic fruits and vegetables using a new process called "natural branding" that applies a label directly to the peel of fruits and vegetables using a laser.  The company says the process won’t affect the taste, smell or shelf life of the produce and will reduce waste by 13 tons per year.

Sainsbury’s -- the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom – has committed to eliminate “problematic or unnecessary” single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models by 2025. It recently eliminated plastic bags holding cauliflowers, tomatoes and avocados, and has pledged to eliminate plastic bags from organic bananas and cabbage by the end of the year. Together, the store says, this will eliminate 181 tons of plastic waste.

The Welsh supermarket chain Iceland piloted a similar effort earlier this year in Liverpool where it gauged customer acceptance to purchase loose produce or produce in  plastic-free packaging alternatives, such as recyclable paper pulp boxes (or “punnets,” as they are known by U.K. shoppers) for soft fruits and cotton nets for onions.

To encourage shoppers to opt for loose produce, Iceland reduced the prices of all loose product lines verses their pre-packaged equivalents. If the pilot is successful, the company plans to roll out the program nationwide. No word yet on the results, but Iceland’s leadership is encouraging.

“The retail industry can no longer ignore the plastics tidal wave which is coming our way," Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker said in an interview with the U.K. sustainability news site Edie. “The onus is on retailers, as leading contributors to plastic packaging pollution and waste, to take a stand and deliver meaningful change.”

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is also experimenting with loose fruit and vegetables completely free of plastic packaging and has removed “best before” date labels from fresh fruit and vegetables as part of the trial. M&S will track changes in the store’s plastic and food waste outputs and carry out consumer surveys to gauge public attitudes toward produce without plastic packaging or “best-before” dates. This data will help the company develop a new approach to waste, which, it says, will be implemented across its 1,000-plus stores. This, it says, could save 580 tons of plastic waste over two years.

“We know our customers want to play their part in cutting out plastic, while as a business our goal is to become zero-waste by 2025,” said Louise Nicholls, Head of Food Sustainability, for M&S.

It's bananas in South East Asia

Asian grocers are also nixing single-use plastic bags, using Mother Nature’s own packaging. Earlier this year, some supermarkets in Asia started using banana leaves instead of plastic to package produce. The practice started with Rimping Supermarket in Thailand and spread to Lotte Market, Saigon Co.Op. and Big C grocers in Vietnam.

“When I see vegetables wrapped in those beautiful banana leaves I’m willing to buy larger quantities,” said a Vietnamese customer named Hoa to the news site NextShark while shopping at Lotte Mart in Ho Chi Minh City. “I think this initiative will help locals be more aware of protecting the environment.”

It’s a smart move -- not only to respond to customer demand, but also because Thailand and Vietnam rank amongst the highest in the world for the amount of single-use plastic waste dumped into the ocean, according to Ocean Conservancy.

In the U.S., Trader Joe’s begins to step up

There are fewer examples of removing plastic packaging from the produce aisle in the United States, but hopefully this will change as more and more examples spring up across the globe.

One company that is taking positive steps is California-based Trader Joe’s. The company, which prides itself on its environmental sustainability in its 488 U.S. stores, says it has replaced plastic produce bags with biodegradable and compostable produce bags. And it has pledged to further reduce the number of items sold in plastic packages in its produce section, including apple, pear and potato bags.

One would expect (and hope) to see similar moves in other U.S. grocery chains, notably Whole Foods, Wegmans and Kroger, in the months ahead.

Image credit: William Felker/Unsplash

This article series is sponsored by General Mills and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Across the U.S., millions of people face penetrating physical, mental and emotional diminishment caused by systemic hunger. But why are people waging an existential battle with hunger in the richest and among the most agriculturally productive countries in the world?

The causes and correlations are complex and varied, of course, but the underlying issue is food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a lack of of consistent access to food for an active, healthy life.” As such, food insecurity reaches beyond the personal discomfort of hunger and encompasses the spectrum of sociological, economic, and political inputs that lead a daily hunt or want of food. 

As of 2017, estimations indicate that 1 in 8 Americans suffer from food insecurity—some 40 million people, including 12 million children. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the population of food insecure people has declined in the United States. Food insecurity is off from its peak during the Great Recession of 2008 and continues to decline. Nonetheless, the decline hasn’t reached the pre-recession level, and work remains to address hunger and food security in America.

Fresh is best

For better insight, we turned to Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco/Marin Food Bank, who spoke with TriplePundit about what is and isn’t working in our efforts to maintain the downward trend in food insecurity. 

Ash has led the SF/Marin Food Bank for nearly 30 years. Over that time, the organization has expanded its outreach and impact significantly—increasing the amount of food it distributes from 3 million pounds to 48 million pounds annually. “A lot of our success is that we've tried to distribute food in the same way that we as a species have evolved,” Ash says. “We want to get our food close to home, we want to choose the food we get to eat, and we want to eat a variety of food.”

Ash and his team run a network of 250 pantries, distributing food every week “as close as possible to clients,” Ash says. “The food is distributed farmer's market style, so people get to choose the type of food they eat. We've worked really hard to get a variety of foods.” Thanks to the Mediterranean climate of coastal Northern California, pantries can make “eight or 10 different kinds of fresh produce available for people,” even in the dead of winter, Ash says. Pantries also supply grains, proteins like eggs and chicken, and packaged foods.

Taking it to the streets: Local action against hunger

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for improving food security. Every food bank faces local challenges, Ash explains. “The staples of food distribution throughout the country are traditionally local churches and schools, principle centers of community activities,” he tells us. “What may vary from one food bank to the next is the supply chain: getting the food from food bank, to pantry, to people.”

In a more traditional model, churches and community groups establish “little food stores” or “food closets” available for people in the neighborhood to come and pick up food, usually pre-bagged or pre-packaged, Ash says. These organizations pick up their supplies from the local food bank on a daily basis. It’s a system that has worked well for many years.

By contrast, the SF/Marin food bank delivers food directly to its network of 250 pantries every week where, instead of a standardized bag to take home, people have a choice of food. Make no mistake, there is nothing wrong with providing or receiving pre-bagged food, but simply offering a choice can make a big difference—especially among pantry clients, for whom the psychological toll of living with food insecurity “is a big issue,” Ash says. “We struggle sometimes to address that, because we’re providing food in what we think is a dignified way.”

Still, a challenge in the Bay Area is its overheated economy with high costs of living and drastic income disparity. Paying market rates for housing in San Francisco requires an annual income approaching $117,000. Where the Bay Area enjoys the beneficence of a mild climate, the stark economics push a new demographic into food insecurity, and the high cost of living means local food banks now serve more people with jobs. “We're trying to provide services and encourage people to participate who are thinking, ‘I should be able to take care of myself. Why am I running out of money?’” Ash explains. 

Relief at scale: The private sector steps up where the public sector falters

At the national level, government support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) is eroding, and public assistance infrastructure is feeling the pinch. “We’re under siege,” Ash says of faltering federal support for SNAP and California’s state equivalent, the Calfresh program. 

By gumming up the machinery with added rules and regulations, the federal government is “creating a general frustration for people trying to get the benefit,” Ash says. As citizens and taxpayers, when we “decide we’re going to give someone a benefit, we ought to darn well make it easy and efficient for them to get it,” he asserts.   

Fortunately, while the public sector continues to falter, the private sector has stepped up. Food and agriculture companies, such as General Mills, have “traditionally been good partners to food banks,” Ash explains. As the business environment changes, more companies now follow suit, embracing their responsibility to their communities and driving innovative solutions to improve food security. 

One such example is the MealConnect food recovery program. A kind of Uber for food donation, MealConnect is a technology platform designed by the nonprofit Feeding America to reduce food waste and improve food security. By connecting businesses that have wholesome food to donate with their local Feeding America food bank, food that would otherwise go to waste is efficiently picked up and distributed to people who need it. Tracking and data is available for each step of the process, and the program’s flexibility of scale helps meet the varied requirements of food banks and businesses across the country.

In the case of the SF/Marin food bank, which must devote much of its resources to “picking up truckloads of food,” MealConnect allows a means to aggregate collection of smaller amounts of food through partnerships with local food retailers, Ash says. For example, every night drivers visit Starbucks locations to collect leftover packaged food. The MealConnect platform records data directly in the food banks’ account systems in real time, allowing them to know that fresh food is available. “It saves a lot of steps,” Ash explains.

We all play a part

Food insecurity in the U.S. is declining, but with 40 million Americans still living with it, it’s not happening fast enough. And even as stakeholders in both the public and private sectors pursue solutions around food waste, the U.S. still wastes around 40 percent of its food supply each year. With all of the work that’s left to do, each of us must recognize the role we have to play. As Ash says, it comes down to dignity. Treating others with dignity is arguably the core component of a functioning society. In the U.S., we can—and must—do better. 

Image credits: U.S. Department of Agriculture, SF Marin Food Bank via Facebook and Markus Spiske

Social media sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have been wrestling with online hate speech and the rise of white supremacy activism, both online and offline. Now Ravelry, the social networking site for those interested in fiber arts such as knitting, crochet and weaving, has taken on both issues. In the process, it has provided other social media companies with another clear demonstration that sometimes, brands must take stands.

Taking a social media stand

Ravelry is little known outside of the worlds of knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, designing and dyeing. However, the site — founded in 2007 by Casey and Jessica Forbes — does command a significant following, with a reported 8 million users.

That explains why news organizations across the U.S., from Gizmodo to USA Today took note almost immediately when Ravelry posted its new policy on hate speech on Sunday morning, June 23.

The key element that Ravelry draws out is a common sense one: there is a sharp distinction between normal political discourse and hate speech.

Ravelry sums it up, stating that “hate groups and intolerance are different from other types of political positions.”

The new policy is blunt, beginning with the first sentence:

“We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry.”

The announcement continues:

“We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy.”

That includes both comments on the site’s forum, as well as visual messaging expressed in projects and designs.

Ravelry emphasizes that the new policy is not an endorsement for Democrats. It does not ban Republicans or conservative politics from the site, and it does not ban Trump supporters from participating. It simply bans them from expressing support on Ravelry.

The focus is clearing the site of hate speech, not banning users who support Trump. For that reason, the new policy also strictly warns that the ban also covers any user who baits or entices anyone else to break the rules.

Taking a stand: inclusion does not include white supremacy

Ravelry credits the gamer website RPGnet with developing a boilerplate for its new policy.

Founded in 1996 by Emma Antunes and now owned by the online game company Skotos Tech, RPGnet describes itself as ”the oldest and largest independent roleplaying site on the Internet.”

Last October, RPGnet announced its new policy banning users from supporting President Trump and white supremacy.

Based on a months-long discussion within its moderation team, RPGnet explained that it cannot be both welcoming to “persons of every ethnicity” while also enabling “open support for white supremacy.”

As with the Ravelry announcement, RPGnet made it clear that the new policy is not up for debate:

"We have fully considered the downsides and ultimately decided we have to stay true to our values. We will not pretend that evil isn’t evil, or that it becomes a legitimate difference of political opinion if you put a suit and tie on it.”

Ravelry, brand reputation and social media

When RPGnet announced the new policy, it included a list of 12 citations linking the President to white nationalism and hate speech. 

That list concluded with a link to a July 2018 NBC report on the condition of migrant children at detention centers.

In the year since NBC published its report, other news organizations have been taking note of the treatment of migrant children by the Trump administration.

A tipping point appears to have been reached within the past week, when both new stories and images of seriously ill and abused children surfaced.

Brands seeking a reputation for diversity and inclusion have already taken a stand against hate speech, often by criticizing social media and withdrawing advertising dollars form social media sites. They are also pulling advertising from Fox News over hate speech.

The difference is that Ravelry and RPGnet have taken the additional step of calling out the president, by name, over hate speech and white supremacy.

RPGnet summed it up as a simple matter of brand protection:

“We have a community here that we’ve built carefully over time, and support for elected hate groups aren’t welcome here. We can't save the world, but we can protect and care for the small patch that is this board.”

The ball is now in the court of Facebook, YouTube and other major social media sites.

In particular, it will be interesting to see if Facebook responds to the media attention touched off by Ravelry. After all, its board of directors includes at least one active supporter of President Trump - and that ally of the White House is known for his views on immigration and white supremacy.

Image credit: Mabel Amber/Pixabay

At this year’s Academy Awards, celebrities such as BlacKkKlansman’s Laura Harrier donned sustainable Louis Vuitton gowns as they walked the red carpet. It was all part of the Red-Carpet Green Dress Initiative, a 10-year project pushing for more sustainable practices in fashion.

But you don’t have to be a celebrity to be sustainable. A growing number of retailers are betting on sustainable fashion as the newest way to differentiate themselves among more environmentally and socially conscious shoppers. This includes younger millennials, who according to market research firm Mintel, are looking for more eco-friendly clothing when they hit the mall.

“Normalizing sustainable and circular fashion will be essential to brand longevity and customer engagement,” said Edward K. Brenninkmeijer, CEO of C&A, the Swiss-based clothing retailer.

Sustainable fashion can be affordable

With stores in 18 countries, C&A is one of a growing number of apparel companies including H&M, Levi’s and Eileen Fisher that seek to provide shoppers with “fashion with a positive impact.” Consumers, according to C&A, should be able to “look and feel good every day, while supporting a good quality of life for those who make our clothes and a healthy planet.”

The company’s #WearTheChange campaign, launched last year, empowers consumers to “shop for clothes without feeling guilty.” To date, the company says it has brought almost 4 million pieces of Cradle to Cradle-certified apparel to market for men, women and kids.

In 2017, the company launched the world’s first Gold-level Cradle to Cradle-certified t-shirts made of 100 percent organic cotton with safe materials and chemicals. One year later, C&A was the first retailer to introduce Gold-level Cradle to Cradle-certified jeans. The company says it is striving to make its sustainable line available at reasonable prices: In Europe, C&A sustainable jeans are 36 Euro ($41), a Cradle to Cradle Certified t-shirt for toddlers is only 5 euros ($6), and a vest made out of 100 percent recycled plastic bottles is 19 euros ($21).

A responsible and sustainable apparel supply chain

And lest you are concerned that the clothing is being made on the backs of low-paid workers in its supply chain, C&A was one of the founding members of ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation), which works to ensure living wages for garment workers.

The company is also working to source more sustainable materials locally, such as in Brazil, where 80 percent of what C&A sells in its local stores there is produced within the country. “Being able to produce certified apparel domestically supports local growers and producers, and prevents overburdening a small number of overseas suppliers,” the company says on its website.

Rounding out its WearTheChange campaign is the company’s in-store and online take-back program,  part of its vision for restorative circular fashion, “where nothing is wasted in the creation or disposal of our clothing.”

In its latest sustainability report, the company says that its global sustainable materials strategy has helped the company avoid 116,000 tons of CO2 emissions (mtCO2e), equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions of over 70,000 passenger cars, and  1 billion m3 of water – the equivalent of 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Sharing C&A’s roadmap  

C&A says it wants to make environmentally and socially responsible fashion the industry norm. To help others in the industry, it worked with Fashion for Good to develop a comprehensive toolkit for developing Cradle to Cradle-certified apparel. It covers all the elements of the Cradle to Cradle program, from chemicals to social fairness. Fashion for Good also offers a self-assessment tool for suppliers.

How are your brands doing?

Want to know if your favorite brand is sustainable? Check out the app Good on You. It ranks brands by their impact on workers in their supply chain; their resource use and disposal, energy use and carbon emissions; impacts on water, including chemical use and disposal; and their use of animal products.

Image credits: C&A/Facebook