People depend on food, and diet is a small thing that happens every day in life. However, as countries around the world attach importance to the issue of net-zero carbon emissions and track the sources of global greenhouse gas emissions, up to one-third of emissions come from the dietary system. The influence of the environment cannot be underestimated. As the global population continues to grow, high population numbers mean the need to produce more food. If the current food system is not changed in a sustainable direction, it may exacerbate the problem of climate change.

The Plastics Center held a TOP 100+ trend forum on 3/25 to discuss sustainable eating systems. The links of the food system include agricultural production, processing, packaging, transportation, sales, consumption and disposal. To truly develop a sustainable food system, we need to work together from farm to table to completely redesign the food system. The forum was led by former Professor Qiu Xiantang of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and was discussed by experts in various fields, including Director-General Huang Jingjian of the Wufeng District Farmers Association, Professor Wang Juncheng of Tsinghua University, General Manager of Qiaofu Materials Lai Junji, and Special Assistant to Chairman Wu Dongyang of Taiju Group , Chairman of Jiquan Plastic Zhan Jingzhong, Deputy General Manager of Jinyuanfu Packaging Guo Zhehong, Plastic Center Project Manager Xu Huimin and Team Leader Chen Wanling, etc., discussed with participating industries from important aspects such as sustainable agriculture, friendly materials, vegetable and fruit preservation, circular packaging, service innovation, etc. Share and communicate.

The TOP 100+ trend forum invites experts and scholars to discuss the key to the development of a sustainable food system. Plastic Center / Provided

In terms of the development of friendly agriculture, Huang Jingjian, Director-General of the Wufeng District Farmers' Association, mentioned that the Wufeng District Farmers' Association adheres to the spirit of "sustainable agriculture, ecological Wufeng" and creates an industrial value chain of sustainable agriculture, such as through The friendly farming rice area maintains local biodiversity, the branding of fragrant rice and Chuwu sake agricultural specialty products, and the Puli Gonghao Mall guides small farmers to refine themselves, and builds an ecological environment with carbon reduction benefits from economic, social, environmental and other aspects. , moving towards creating the next 100 years of the Wufeng Farmers’ Association. Lai Junji, general manager of Qiaofu Material Technology, shared that traditional agricultural films often used in agriculture in the past have potential threats to the environment and soil. Furthermore, after long-term use, the material of agricultural films becomes hardened and broken, resulting in wasteful recycling work. In order to develop agricultural films with more environmental benefits, Qiaofu Materials added plant fibers made from wheat meal agricultural waste to the development of agricultural films, and added heat-resistant Bacillus to promote the decomposition of agricultural films, reduce environmental pollution and optimize soil. Chen Wanling, leader of the Plastics Center, said that according to a research report in the journal Nature Food, more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions in the food system come from agricultural production and land use in the previous stage. In order to effectively assist farmers in reducing the carbon footprint of production, brands and related Suppliers should assist farmers in making necessary investments. The key to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions is to break away from the traditional linear economic principles of producing, using and discarding items. Plastic materials companies can innovate along the food value chain, establish a sustainable supply chain, and incorporate the protection of natural capital into corporate decisions. .

In addition, fruits and vegetables often face damage challenges during the distribution and storage process. Taiju Group Chairman Wu Dongyang’s special assistant mentioned that common menopausal fruits on the market, such as apples, bananas, custard apples, etc., will still be damaged after harvesting. Continuous maturation due to the influence of ethylene. In order to extend the freshness period of fruits and vegetables, Taiju’s solution is to develop high-efficiency fresh-locking bags that can absorb plant aging hormones to delay the yellowing and decay of fruits and vegetables, and meet the needs of the channel end for the preservation of fruits and vegetables. Currently, this product is sold in major channels such as Carrefour, Dinghao, Quanlian, etc. When sharing, Professor Wang Juncheng of Tsinghua University also reminded the industry that as the times change, the demand and supply scenarios are gradually changing. In the past, people went to fresh food supermarkets to buy goods, but now food delivery companies deliver them directly to their homes. The role of food packaging in the future should be based on commodity-led thinking. Shift to service-oriented thinking and use services to surpass product value.

Industry participants discussed issues such as sustainable agriculture, friendly materials, vegetable and fruit preservation, recycling packaging, service innovation, etc. Plastic Center/Providing

Jiquan Plastic Chairman Zhan Jingzhong said that circular economy has become a global trend, and the plastic industry has the responsibility to discover more environmentally friendly plastic materials for consumers. Jiquan promotes new green fashion on the dining table to "serve food" Liangpin's safe foodware allows the public to use plastics with greater peace of mind and creates a "closed recycling system". It uses 100% recyclable materials in product design and establishes a good end-of-life recycling mechanism that can be 100% recycled into non-food packaging. Produce goods and play the role of “reshaping” in reducing carbon emissions. From the perspective of a food container manufacturer, Deputy General Manager Guo Zhehong of Jinyuanfu Packaging shared how the company is committed to the goal of plastic recycling on the product side when facing the international trend of plastic sustainable packaging, and achieves the goal of "from box to box". The closed cycle allows packaging containers to be recycled into the same type of products. In addition, Jin Yuanfu also announced that it will join the international renewable energy initiative RE100 in 2021, and its mission is to become a long-term and trustworthy sustainable packaging design and production capacity provider for the global packaging industry, demonstrating the company's strong ambition for sustainable development. Packaging should be seen as a solution for food preservation rather than causing environmental problems. With circular packaging becoming a global consensus, Project Manager Xu Huimin of the Plastics Center also reminded the industry that it will be increasingly difficult to obtain recycled plastics in the future, and recycled plastics should be planned in advance. Obtain a plan and recommend a project assessment of the safety impact of recycled plastics on existing manufacturing processes and food contact applications.

Participants will jointly develop industrial solutions. Plastic Center/The issue of providing

sustainable food is closely related to the daily lives of the public and has a significant influence on the economy, society, and environment. In this expert sharing, we will learn about the progress of the government, enterprises, and society in moving towards cleanliness. Zero transformation has invested more and more efforts. This forum has also allowed many industry professionals to further discuss solutions for plastic materials to sustainably benefit human society under the promotion of sustainable food systems. We look forward to working together from the structural foundation in the future. Change the entire industry and ecology.

If you want to know more about TOP 100+ information, you can go to TOP Plastic Trend Network https://top.pidc.org.tw/ .

Source: Economic Daily