Industry leaders announce ambitious plan to transform how our food is grown: 'We want to take our responsibility'

Global industry leaders are collaborating in an effort to cut pollution from wheat production, a staple food product that accounts for 20% of all plant-derived calories in the human diet. 

The Sustainable Wheat Initiative Europe is looking to provide a cohesive vision among the bakery industry, flour millers, and farmers with the goal of reducing wheat and flour emissions by 30% by 2030, according to Procurement Magazine.

"As a sector, we want to take our responsibility for helping our wheat farmers transition to sustainable agriculture," Jean-Manuel Lévêque, President of the International Association of Plant Bakers, said in the report. 

Wheat flour is a key ingredient for bakeries, and 80% of its planet-warming pollution stems from agricultural processes, which is a driving force for this change.

General Mills has developed its own comprehensive climate transition action plan, which aims to reduce planet-warming pollution across all segments of the supply chain, including improved soil management. 

The company has also been optimizing its supply chain management through the use of AI, helping to lower costs and drive environmental sustainability.

"As a food company, General Mills depends on the health and well-being of our planet, and we are investing in landscapes and ecosystems to build resilience for nature, climate, and communities," Jeffrey L. Harmening, Chairman and CEO at General Mills, told the outlet. 

Lantmännen Unibake, which spans 13 countries and is one of Europe's largest bakery groups, also supports the initiative.

"At Lantmännen Unibake, we've gained valuable experience through our Nordic Climate & Nature program, supported by 10 years of grain data and verified carbon footprint reductions of up to 45%," said Carsten Thomsen, President of Lantmännen Unibake.

"We know that sustainability starts in the field — with smarter cultivation methods, precision farming, fossil-free fertilizers and fuels, and other field-level innovations." 

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The company has acknowledged that around 60% of its pollution footprint originates from planting, irrigation, harvest, milling, and shipping of raw materials, with 40% coming from fertilizer use alone.

The results of a 10-year study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offer some guidance in improving those numbers. A three-year crop rotation plan with reduced tilling, which included wheat, saw improved nitrogen capacity in soil over less active rotations. 

Other research showed that by adding an ammonium-binding adsorbent to the soil, farmers could improve the soil's nitrogen retention and reduce ammonia pollution from crops.

Weetabix announced the results of a sustainable agriculture trial in the U.K. earlier this year, which recorded a 50% reduction in on-farm wheat emissions, according to an AgTechNavigator report.

Its effort involved reducing the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers by 20% while replacing that with natural alternatives such as cover crops, manures, and biological treatments.

"A shared vision is needed between bakeries, flour mills, and the agricultural sector, as well as the involvement of our downstream distribution channels, to move forward in a more efficient and coordinated way in a framework of mutual trust," Lévêque shared. 

"That's why the CEOs of the leading European industrial bakery companies joined forces in the Sustainable Wheat Initiative Europe. Our goal is to facilitate and accelerate the transition to low-carbon wheat flour."

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