Start | Non-GMO Summit 2023

This was the

GMO-free requires dialogue and cooperation along the entire value chain

Consumers want food that is produced without genetic engineering and deforestation. There is sufficient Non-GMO, deforestation-free feed (made from Non-GM soy) available for the European market, but equitable supply relationships and long-term contracts are necessary to ensure the supply security. These were the key conclusions from the International Non-GMO Summit, which took place in Frankfurt on 10 May 2023.

The approximately 200 industry representatives from 19 countries and four continents - from soy cultivation to processing to food retailing - jointly declared their support for Non-GMO and deforestation-free food.

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The Summit in Pictures

Moderation

Tanja Busse

Author and Moderator

Dr. Tanja Busse studied journalism and philosophy in Dortmund, Bochum and Pisa, moderates conferences and writes books on agriculture, nutrition and biodiversity. She is a fellow at the DFG Research School "Futures of Sustainability" at the University of Hamburg.

Web: www.tanjabusse.de

Speakers

(In alphabetical order)

Cristina da Silva Joaquim REWE Group Head of Sustainability As Head of Sustainability Cristina da Silva Joaquim is responsible for developing strategies and implementing actions in the supply chains of mainly products of animal origin for all REWE Group private label goods in Germany.	Johnny Drescher J Drescher Consulting Johnny Drescher is a Brazilian grain and oilseed broker. He is very knowledgeable about the market for non-GMO soybean meal in Europe, but also very familiar with the supplier market in Brazil. He started his career in the commodity trading business at COAMO, the largest cooperative across Latin America, had been a trader at what was then the largest non-GMO soybean crusher in the world, IMCOPA. More recently, he worked for several years as chief buyer at MEGA.	Florian Faber ARGE Gentechnik-frei Managing Director In the year 1997, Florian Faber has co-founded ARGE Gentechnik-frei, Europe’s first labelling system for Non-GMO food and feed products. As a specialist for strategic communications and CSR, he has managed to establish non-GMO labelling as one of the most credible and respected quality assets on the Austrian food market. In addition, he is Chairman of the European Non-GMO Industry Association ENGA.
Susanne Fromwald Donau Soja Organisation Senior Advisor and Project Manager Susanne Fromwald has worked for DONAU SOJA since the very beginning in 2012 in various roles, now as Senior Advisor and Project Manager for the Protein Partnership Programme. Additionally, she is a board member of the Collaborative Soy Initiative (CSI), the European Non-GMO Association (ENGA), Donau Soja representative in the European National Soy initiatives (ENSI) and in the steering group of Fields of Europe (FOE).	Alexander Hissting VLOG – Association Food without Genetic Engineering Managing Director Farmer and agricultural engineer by profession. Has been promoting GMO-free agriculture, feed and food processing for 30 years in various positions. Committed to preserving transparency at the supermarket shelf and freedom of choice for consumers and businesses.	Joeri Hollink OJAH BV Head of Product Development Food Design & Innovation engineer with a culinary background - Joeri Hollink started his career as a product developer when Ojah was in its early start-up phase. With just 4 employees in 2010, the foundation was laid for the largest High Moisture Extrusion production site in the world. Joeri and his team develop and produce highest quality meat alternatives, disrupting the protein market and enforcing brands and industry to accelerate the protein transition.
Fritz Konz tegut... gute Lebensmittel GmbH & Co. KG Head of Quality and Sustainability Trained cook and certified ecotrophologist. Passionate for over 20 years in the food industry in various positions. Since 2019, Head of Quality and Sustainability at tegut... gute Lebensmittel GmbH.	Andreas Lidauer HOFER KG Director Corporate Responsibility As the Director of Corporate Responsibility at HOFER KG Austria, Andreas Lidauer is leading the sustainability activities within the HOFER South East group, including Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy.	Emese van Maanen ProTerra Foundation Managing Director Emese van Maanen is the managing director of the ProTerra Foundation. She has a strong background in the international agricultural sector, having developed and led raw material procurement, CSR and sustainability for large agricultural cooperatives. Emese is an agricultural engineer with additional university degrees in science and economics.
Rene van der Poel ADM Straubing General Manager "The demand for GMO-free food and feed is growing constantly. That is why we are expanding our oil mill in Mainz in 2023 to be able to process Non-GMO soybeans there", says René, General Manager at ADM, one of the world's largest nutrition companies. He has worked in the oil mill industry for over 40 years and was involved in certifying GMO-free, sustainable, European feed from the very beginning. He will speak on strengthening Non-GMO supply on a long-term basis.	Leif Kjetil Skjæveland Skretting Norway Manager of Sustainability and Public Affairs Leif Kjetil Skjæveland is Skretting Norway’s manager for sustainability and public affairs. A focus area lately has been the work to ensure a 100 % deforestation free supply chain in Brazil. Skjæveland has a background as a scientific writer and editor plus from journalism, branding and software development.	Ingo Stryck PHW Group Managing Director Marketing The ecotrophologist has been responsible for the PHW Group's marketing since October 2000. He works on the group's scientific advisory board and is a member of the PHW Group's sustainability council. At the association level, he has been head of the communication working group (Informationsgemeinschaft Deutsches Geflügel, IDEG) since 2009.
Vitaly Kushnir ATK Group Managing Director Vitaly Kushnir is Commercial Director and a partner with ATK, and is responsible for the group’s commercial activities across all the markets where it operates. Vitaly has been with ATK for ten years, having previously worked as an entrepreneur in the Ukrainian agribusiness sector.	Marcus Erich Thieme Caramuru Alimentos S.A. Director/ESG areas Marcus Thieme holds a degree in economics from Universidade Mackenzie, Brazil (1995), a specialization in applied economics from FIPE/FEA USP (1998) and an MBA (except dissertation) from SMU, Canada (1999-2001). Throughout his career, he held positions related to capital markets. Since 2021, he leads the Investor Relation Director/ESG areas at Caramuru Alimentos S.A..	Lukas Wiesmüller SPAR Austria Head of Sustainability Lukas Wiesmüller is Head of Sustainability at SPAR Austria, Austria's largest food retailer. SPAR Austria has been committed to safe and transparent GMO-free food production for decades. Lukas Wiesmüller is a board member of ARGE Gentechnik-frei and the Donau Soja Association.