Dr. Temple Grandin in Seattle, June 18 for Food Alliance Event
Register now for the Friday, June 18 Food Alliance event at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle with Dr. Temple Grandin. This is a unique opportunity to meet Dr. Grandin and leaders in sustainable food and animal welfare. The event benefits Food Alliance, where I serve on the board. It’s the first Food Alliance event in Seattle.
By way of background, Dr. Grandin was recently named one of the most influential people of 2010 by Time magazine. She has authored more than 400 articles on animal welfare, livestock handling and facility design. Her books, Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human, were both on the New York Times best seller list. To learn more about Dr. Grandin and her work, click here.
This event includes:
• Lecture and book signing by Dr. Temple Grandin
• Hors d'oeuvres reception featuring local Food Alliance Certified ingredients
• Panel presentation with farmers, ranchers and food businesses committed to greater sustainability in animal agriculture and the food system
• Special showing of the HBO film, Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, David Strathairn and Catherine O'Hara
Proceeds from this event will help ensure continual improvement of Food Alliance certification standards for healthy and humane treatment of livestock.
Take-Aways from November 3 Webinar: Making Good Marketing Claims: Product Labeling Pitfalls, Third-Party Certification and "Green Washing"
Tuesday, November 3, we held our second webinar in a three-part series on bringing sustainable food products to market. Thanks again to our presenters and attendees. The recorded webcast was archived and is accessible at this link. Click here to access a PDF copy of the presentation slides.
Take-aways from the second webinar include:
• With the exception of the FDA’s policy on “natural” claims, it has been silent on “green claims.”
• “Natural” could be hottest claim on the market but is becoming controversial. Food companies should continually monitor the marketplace to see which claims are drawing challenges.
• Food companies should pay attention to consumers union findings regarding eco-label credibility.
• While third-party certification may not help every food business, certification is a tool that supports your brand and your marketing/sales strategy.
• Retail leaders in sustainability, such as Burgerville, aspire for continuity of sustainability in each link in its supply chain.
• To understand the FTC green guidelines companies need to appreciate three key points: substantiation, specificity and qualification.
• To avoid “green washing” issues, food companies need to understand the complex matrix of federal, state, local and foreign statutes, regulations and guidelines governing “green” advertising.
I hope you can join me, Steve Marinkovich from Propel Insurance, my colleague at Stoel Rives, Anne Glazer, and Peter Truitt from Truitt Bros., Inc. on November 17, at 9 am PST, noon EST, (live Twitter feed at #sustainlaw) for the last webinar in the series as we discuss the following:
• Preventing and Dealing with Consumer Fraud, Unfair Trade and False Advertising Claims from Consumers and Competitors
• Real-Life Businesses Approaches to Sustainability, Product Labeling and Marketing
• Coping with Increased Risks of Food-Borne Illness from Local or Small Farm Products
• Insurance Coverage You Need, Think You May Have but Don’t Have or Think You May Want but Shouldn’t Get
Learn About Who Is Setting Sustainability Standards and How to Make Good Sustainability Claims: Register for the 11/3 Sustainable Foods Webinar
If you haven’t already, register here for the second in a three-part webinar series on environmentally friendly sustainable food products, to be held at 9 am PT, Tuesday, November 3. This installment of the series will focus on sustainability standards, third-party certification and avoidance of “green-washing.”
The webinar will feature:
- FDA regulatory lawyer Ricardo Carvajal from Hyman, Phelps & McNamara;
- Roberta Anderson from Food Alliance, the nation’s leader in setting third-party sustainability standards for food production;
- Alison Dennis from Burgerville, a traditional quick-service restaurant on the cutting edge of sustainability; and
- Advertising lawyer Jere Webb from Stoel Rives.
The webinar is interactive, and those listening live will be able to submit questions. We will strive to answer all questions either during the broadcast or off-line directly with listeners.
If you missed the first installment, you can read about the take-aways and replay the webinar on demand here. The slide deck can be downloaded here.
Environmentally Sustainable Foods: Dispelling Fear and Understanding That Sustainability Must Be Good for Business
Stoel Rives is proud to sponsor an upcoming webinar series on legal and business aspects of bringing sustainable food products to market. Industry representatives will talk among other things about what sustainable food products are, help dispel the fears of traditional food companies, discuss strategies for minimizing business and litigation risks, and underscore the importance of sustainable foods as a profit-making enterprise.
.jpg)
The first session, October 20, will discuss what an environmentally sustainable food product is, how a company may need to rethink research and development and supply chain issues, and financing. Participants include Steve Rowe, Sr. V.P. and General Counsel from Darigold, Inc. and its parent Northwest Dairy Association, food supply chain consultant Monica Gelinas from Karp Resources, and business lawyers Joel Dahlgren and Duff Bryant from Stoel Rives.
The second session, November 3, will look at what the FDA and USDA may do to define sustainability, third-party certification issues and green washing. Participants include Alison Dennis, Director of Supply Chain from Burgerville, Roberta Anderson from third party certifier Food Alliance, FDA lawyer Ricardo Carvajal from Hyman Phelps and trademark lawyer Jere Webb from Stoel Rives.
The third session, November 17, will look at increased risks presented by sustainable food products and strategies to mitigate those risks. This panel will include Peter Truitt, CEO of Truitt Brothers; Steve Marinovich, insurance broker at Propel Insurance; advertising lawyer Anne Glazer from Stoel Rives and me.
Each session will be 60 minutes and feature an interactive, "rapid fire" roundtable format. The panels will also respond in real time to questions submitted by listeners. Registration is free. Contact me if you would like further information.
Sustainability and Consumer Confidence in Food Safety
For food sellers interested in promoting a “sustainable” brand and inspiring food safety confidence in their consumers, meet Food Alliance. Food Alliance “is a nonprofit organization that certifies farms, ranches and food handlers for sustainable agricultural and facility management practices.” It bills itself as “the most comprehensive certification program for sustainably produced food in North America.”
I’ve recently joined the Food Alliance Board of Directors (in fact, I’m headed to Portland today for a board meeting). My hope is to assist Food Alliance in becoming more widely accepted and mainstream. Credible third-party certification, such as Food Alliance provides, offers a transparent pathway to sustainability of our food supply and consumer confidence in food safety.
Food Alliance takes a holistic approach that is broader and more dynamic than organic certification, which does nothing to address food contamination from pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria (in fact, many experts believe that organically grown food may be more likely to be contaminated by these pathogens). By way of example, Food Alliance certification standards, among other things, address “soil and water quality,” “ensure the health and humane treatment of animals,” “conserve energy and water,” and “ensure quality control and food handling safety.”
For more on why a holistic, independent third-party certification correlates with food safety (and accompanying consumer confidence), I’d suggest reading this op-ed piece co-authored by Food Alliance Executive Director Scott Exo, which was written earlier this year in the wake of the PCA peanut recall.
