Climate resilience: Food industry experts respond to supply chain vulnerability warnings
In early April, a group of anonymous food industry executives published a whistleblower memo warning of critical vulnerabilities in the UK’s food system. EIT Food’s experts offer practical solutions to the challenges ahead.
A whistleblower memo published by The Grocer in April 2025 has sent shockwaves through the UK food industry. Written by Inside Track x Food, a group of approximately 20 senior executives from major food manufacturers and retailers, the memo warns that the sector faces an “economic disaster bigger than the pandemic” due to climate-related threats. The document claims that current risk mitigation strategies are “simply not commensurate with the level of risk” and accuses companies of providing “false reassurances” to investors about their climate resilience preparations.
In response to these serious concerns, Food Engineering & Ingredients spoke with experts from EIT Food – the world’s largest food innovation community – to explore practical solutions for building genuine resilience into food systems. Ilario Ingravallo, Mission Lead for Reducing Risk for a Fair and Resilient Food System, and Fran Proscia, Interim Head of Public Affairs, discuss specific measures that could help the industry move beyond what the whistleblowers described as “wishful thinking” towards meaningful action.
Fran Proscia, Interim Head of Public Affairs, EIT Foods
Ilario Ingravallo, Mission Lead for Reducing Risk for a Fair and Resilient Food System, EIT Foods
Food Engineering & Ingredients: The whistleblower memo suggests that current risk mitigation strategies in the food industry are “simply not commensurate with the level of risk.” What specific climate resilience measures would you recommend food businesses prioritise over the next 3-5 years?
The memo underscores a critical gap between the scale of climate risk and the level of preparedness within the food industry. To meaningfully address this, food businesses must begin embedding resilience at every stage of the supply chain, with a focus on solutions that tackle the root causes of vulnerability rather than short-term symptoms.
Adopting regenerative agriculture is an effective long-term strategy that can improve climate resilience. By rebuilding soil health, increasing biodiversity and optimising water use, regenerative practices can significantly reduce exposure to climate-induced shocks while also contributing to decarbonisation goals.
Equally, businesses must invest in diversifying their supply networks to reduce over-reliance on climate vulnerable regions and ingredients and make supply chains as short as possible. This includes exploring alternative proteins and climate-resilient crops to create more localised supply chains, as well as embracing emerging technologies to respond to disruptions with greater speed and precision.
Critically, risk management processes must evolve to account for climate volatility. Resilience can no longer be treated as a future-facing ambition but must be an immediate strategic priority embedded in how food businesses operate and plan for the years ahead. To be better structurally prepared for disruptions includes performing risk assessments and vulnerabilities analysis, and accordingly developing adaptive strategies that strengthen infrastructure and systems, build capacity and engage the community.
FEI: Reliance on imported produce, particularly fruits and vegetables (up to 78% according to some studies), creates significant vulnerability. What innovations in domestic production could help reduce this dependency without compromising nutritional diversity?
Innovation is key to building resilience in food production, with a range of startups already working to accelerate and scale solutions that help to guard against vulnerability across the food system.
For instance, EIT Food supports the UK-based startup DryGro, which is focusing on sustainable protein production through water lentils (lemna), also known as duckweed. DryGro’s technology cultivates lemna in controlled environments using 99% less water than traditional agriculture. This provides a highly sustainable protein source for both human consumption and animal feed, reducing dependency on imported protein-rich products like soybeans. By scaling up production of such alternatives, startups like DryGro can help to diversify the UK’s food sources, reduce its climate impact, and strengthen domestic supply chains.
Another example of successful technology that improves responsiveness to changing conditions is Deep Planet, a startup which harnesses AI and emerging technologies to support domestic food production. Using satellite imagery and machine learning, the platform offers detailed insight into key factors such as soil carbon, moisture levels, and crop maturity. These data-driven insights enable farmers to make smarter, more sustainable decisions, boosting soil resilience and maximising the efficiency of inputs like water and fertilisers.
Another approach is product reformulation, where new, sustainable and easy-to-source ingredients are coupled with consumer engagement and communication on the choices made and resulting changes to product characteristics.
Reducing food waste is a strong asset to help build resilience. The revalorisation of ingredients coming from side- and waste streams is at the centre of a EIT Food funded programme Waste to plate that brings revalorised ingredients in food products to consumers.
FEI: Additionally, several related research documents highlight the vulnerability of fruit and vegetable supply chains to extreme weather events in Europe and North Africa (regions from where the UK has substantial imports), as evidenced by recent shortages. How might UK retailers and suppliers diversify procurement strategies whilst maintaining sustainability credentials?
Diversifying procurement is an important first step, but it must be done responsibly and in a sustainable manner. That means working with suppliers who are committed to sustainable farming practices and ensuring that shifts in procurement do not come at the expense of environmental or social standards.
To strengthen supply chains, retailers and manufacturers can support growers through targeted investment – particularly by facilitating the transition to regenerative agriculture. Sourcing more produce locally and seasonally, where possible, can reduce dependence on climate vulnerable regions while lowering carbon footprints.
Finally, building collaborative, long-term relationships between suppliers, businesses and eventually competitors can improve transparency, create shared incentives for sustainable and best practice, and pave the way to a joint EU purchasing mechanism for critical ingredients and produce, ultimately helping both retailers and producers weather future disruptions.
About EIT Food
EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all.
Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, EIT Food invests in projects, organisations and individuals that share goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. EIT Food unlocks innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. EIT Food equips entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.
EIT Food is one of nine innovation communities established by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.
