The problem: can we cure the blindness in global supply chains?

Food moves across the globe through supply chains that are mostly blind. Purchasers often have scant visibility into who grows our food, the practices they use, or the communities they support.

To deliver the benefits of a more agrobiodiverse food system, we must gain and retain the trust of all those involved in the cultivation, distribution, processing, marketing and consumption of food. Developing frameworks that support greater traceability and transparency in supply chains can help companies meet their agrobiodiversity objectives, allow consumers to better align their food purchases with their values, reward farmers who adopt more diverse, regenerative farming practices, and offer profoundly positive environmental impacts.

Welcome to the Connected Market: your purchasing decisions matter.

Over half the world’s agricultural production comes from only three crops: rice, maize, and wheat. This lack of agricultural biodiversity negatively impacts human health, culture, and the environment, but when food purchasers can make conscious, thoughtful sourcing decisions and can envision who grows their food, an ingredient transforms from a commodity into a highly valued, mutually beneficial resource.

In a connected market, producers are empowered to deliver high quality goods at a fair price that support both their communities and the marketplace. By becoming a partner in this relationship, food purchasers can source ingredients that champion a food system aligned with their values – even when they're halfway around the world.

To participate in a connected market requires not just being educated but becoming involved; tools that help food purchasers and consumers learn more about the ingredients they source and the right questions to ask can bring greater agrobiodiversity to supply chains, benefitting both people and the planet.

A connected market is a mindful market.

- Douglas Gayeton, Co-Founder, The Lexicon

About the Connected Market Tool

This open source, free-to-use tool addresses challenges food companies face in sourcing crops and ingredients to enhance biodiversity. It facilitates dialogue between supply chain decision makers, supports the equitable treatment of farmers, identifies ways to diversify systems across the agrifood sector, and improves the sharing of benefits in the supply chain.

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Team

The FACT (Food, Agrobiodiversity, Clarity, Transparency) activator is a multi-stakeholder group of NGOs, agronomists, scientists, farmers, and food companies both large and small.

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