The urgency of the transition is prompting us to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges, and to support creativity and solutions that break with what we know. “Nourrir l’Avenir” supports and accompanies initiatives with a strong social and/or environmental impact, addressing emerging issues and creating new knowledge, services or products for the benefit of as many people as possible. The Foundation encourages projects that open up new avenues, which may be risky and/or break with conventional solutions. These innovations can be organizational, economic, technological or conceptual. They can draw their inspiration from the history of forgotten practices, or from creativity and new opportunities.
Pour un Abattoir Paysan dans le Var (in French)
Abattoir Paysan de la Provence verte
PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D’AZUR
In the Var department of France, some forty livestock farmers have joined forces in an association to develop a local slaughter solution on a human scale. Virtuous from the point of view of animal welfare as well as social and ecological coherence, this innovative project embodies the vision of an agro-ecology rooted in the reality of its territory, in line with the concerns of a relocalized agriculture: producing meat for local consumption, while controlling the killing of our animals, an aspect too often forgotten in livestock farming. The aim is to create a small lamb and goat slaughtering unit, where the main workforce will be the farmers themselves, backed up by a processing workshop for direct sales and supplying canteens.
Sustainable food portal
Crisalim
FRANCE
The number of players involved in the agro-ecological and food transition is growing, as are their inventiveness. Crisalim is proposing to set up a web portal aggregating existing data on these players and their activities, to ensure that they are easier to read and more valuable for research, local authorities, funders and all those involved in the transition.
Res’Eau Sol Alsace
MSV Grand-Est
GRAND-EST
Today, the world of agriculture is at the forefront of many changes likely to represent both risks and opportunities for soil health, biodiversity and climate. The project partners aim to teach and empower farmers to analyze and understand their soils, through training courses and exchange days that will gradually move towards a peer-to-peer approach, as well as the possibility of self-building low-tech and low-cost analysis kits. The project also includes the development of a participatory laboratory and the capitalization of data collected through field analyses.
Upgrading whey to make artisanal pasta
PURPAN engineering school
OCCITANIE
Through its various research projects, PURPAN’s engineering school plays an active role in developing and supporting local dairy and cereal chains. Whey, a by-product of cheese-making, is not widely used in human nutrition by small-scale producers. The artisanal pasta sector is very active and booming, with the aim of valorizing old wheat cereals or other less-used cereals. The aim is to create new pasta products by replacing the water used in the manufacturing process with whey. The project aims to strengthen the link between the artisanal “milk” and “cereal” sectors, in order to make the most of local resources (whey), thereby limiting waste and environmental impact. The compounds of interest in whey would also enable the creation of nutritionally and technologically improved products.
Promotion of Normandy heritage varieties to future agricultural and catering professionals
1001 Vegetables Association
NORMANDIE
The 1001 légumes association is involved in a network promoting heritage vegetable and cereal varieties that have fallen into oblivion. With a view to raising the awareness of future players in the sector from the very start of their training, the association would like to promote Norman vegetable varieties to young people at agricultural and catering high schools. The aim of this project is to forge links between agriculture and gastronomy by arousing the interest of future producers and restaurateurs in local vegetable varieties and their advantages in the face of climate change. At the same time, the project aims to raise young people’s awareness of the issues of food sovereignty, producer autonomy and local supply chains, so that together they can build a more resilient and sustainable food system.
Algarium: Feeding fish with algae
Calypso
OCCITANIE
Agriculture accounts for 19% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, making it the second most polluting sector behind transport (31%). Livestock production accounts for more than half of these emissions, even though 63% of agricultural production is plant-based. With global warming already underway, there is an urgent need to act to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, it’s hard to convince some people to eat vegetarian. Finding a way to produce animal protein from our organic waste with reduced environmental impact could be a solution for the future. The Algarium project aims to show that it is possible to farm fish in a small space with few resources. It combines an aquaponics system with algae production using urine to feed the fish in the farm.
A common provision
Terre sauvage
NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE
Terre sauvage produces organic vegetables for 50 people on collective land in the Limousin mountains, with respect for living organisms and in response to climate change. The association’s aim is to set up a new cooperative economic model giving everyone access to healthy, local food: a “common provision” alternative to the market system, linking market gardeners, livestock farmers, herbalists, cereal growers, arboriculturists, beekeepers, bakers, lumberjacks, foresters, etc. All produce will be accessible to everyone at cost price. Land, knowledge and tools will be pooled to create an agriculture that nurtures solidarity. Terre sauvage wants to invent a living permaculture system that will federate hitherto isolated activities, and in which local residents will become the driving force behind a change in the agricultural and economic model, and players in the quality of their food.
Self-sufficiency and expansion of the market garden biodiversity sector
La maraîchine
NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE
Since 2019, the biodiversities maraîchines network has brought together 2 Biocoop stores, the LPO Vendée and the association la Maraîchine. The aim of this unprecedented partnership is to advance wild biodiversity on farms, in a spirit of shared skill-building, during farm visits bringing together naturalists, breeders and consumers.
This sector supplies meat not only to Biocoop stores, but also to restaurants and school canteens. The overall ecological transition is also questioned (mechanization, animal feed, etc.). The aim of the project is to create the conditions for the establishment of a fair and sustainable economic model, to better measure the gains in biodiversity achieved within the sector, and to ensure that the sector is opened up to other livestock farms (particularly those currently in the long chain).
Recovering food waste for soil quality and food crops
Terre et Humanisme
AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES
The project consists of transforming melon waste (10,000 tonnes discarded each year in the Gard region) by acid anaerobic fermentation (bokashi) and applying this liquid amendment to green waste compost and vegetable crops (roots and leaves). A reference biofertilizer – LIFOFER fermented forest litter – will be applied in the trials. The aim is to reduce carbon loss in compost by advancing ripening without oxidation, stimulate vegetable growth and nutritional quality, and increase shelf life during storage. This project will be followed up by measurements of vitality parameters such as pH-redox potential and conductivity in soil, compost and vegetables, as well as qualitative analyses.
Enhancing the nutritional value of invasive species in the Bagnas National Nature Reserve
La Capechade, Foodlab du Bassin de Thau
OCCITANIE
In view of the scale of the phenomenon and the impact of invasive species on the biodiversity of protected areas, and the questions raised by the management of these species in protected areas, the Thau Basin Third Nourishing Site and the Bagnas National Nature Reserve are proposing to carry out a study-action to enhance the value of these species in the local food supply. Protected area managers, scientists, consumers, people from the catering, fishing and hunting professions, local residents and local authorities will be involved in this innovative project, the results of which will have a national impact. At the level of national networks of protected areas, and in particular Réserves Naturelles de France, there is no national knowledge of the food value of these species.
FungiAgri, mushrooms for Martinique’s agro-ecology
PROVAE
MARTINIQUE
The Provaé association federates agricultural players in Martinique around the agroecological production of vanilla and spices, combined with food crops. The project aims to optimize the natural fertility potential of soils by applying very recent knowledge on the functioning of soil fungi: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Mushrooms of cultivated plants (AMM) and saprotrophic fungi from composts of agricultural and forestry by-products. The aim is to set up agroecological models including companion plants that are highly favorable to CMAs and also serve as shade plants, and making the most of “myco-composts” (organic matter seeded with cultivated mycelia derived from local fungi); scientific monitoring of these models to assess results; and wide dissemination of practices to agroecology stakeholders.
Investigation into tomorrow’s agricultural biotechnologies: solutions or dangers for the world’s food supply?
Inf’OGM
FRANCE
Since the arrival of the first GMOs 20 years ago, new genetic modification techniques have been developed. These techniques, coupled with digital technology and robotics, could profoundly change our agricultural and food systems. These three pillars, brought together under the highly fashionable concept of precision agriculture, represent a major change that does not say its name. However, it represents a new stage in the artificialization of the living world. Debates are increasingly remote from citizens. By 2023, national and European authorities hope to have radically changed the law so that these techniques can no longer be identified. Supporters of this agriculture 3.0 claim that it will help combat climate change and reduce world hunger. But what of these promises? Inf’OGM will be investigating the matter to fuel a real democratic debate.
QualiBioSols
ITAB
FRANCE
ITAB is an applied research organization dedicated to producing and sharing knowledge to improve organic production and processing. Organic agriculture (OA) contributes to the provision of healthy food that respects people and ecosystems, and is enjoying strong growth. Maintaining soil quality is key to the sustainability of organic field crop systems. Despite the generally very positive environmental externalities of organic farming, studies – which are still few and far between – call for vigilance with regard to the sometimes inadequate maintenance of soil fertility and soil structural and organic conditions in these systems. Faced with these challenges, the QualiBioSols project aims to characterize the quality of AB soils on a national scale, to provide farmers with operational tools to monitor changes, and to disseminate the results widely.
Abat’mobile 34
On-farm slaughtering Hérault
OCCITANIE
Short-distance livestock farming is facing the disappearance of local abattoirs. The “Abattage à la ferme Hérault” association, which brings together some forty livestock farmers in the department, has placed its “Abat’mobile 34” project within the regulatory framework of the Egalim law, to design a mobile slaughtering system that will enable them to regain control of the slaughtering stage and ensure the continuation of their farming activities. This project addresses ethical issues by reducing the stress on animals before slaughter, socio-economic issues by ensuring the viability of extensive livestock farming activities, and societal issues by providing access to quality food for as many people as possible, thanks to the many commercial outlets, including short distribution channels, in which the Group’s farmers are involved. To this end, the main actions of the project are to design the specifications of the tool specific to the species concerned, as well as the slaughtering procedures relating to the system.
Agricultural regeneration Optim’ism
BRITTANY
The “Régénération Agricole” project proposes a systemic and innovative approach to (re)inventing the farming profession of tomorrow, and helping it to overcome the many ecological, economic and social challenges it faces: global warming, depletion of natural resources, renewal of the farming generation, social inequalities and job deprivation… It is aimed at unemployed people who do not come from a farming background, and who have a project to set up a business that will contribute to the sustainability of local food systems. As part of a redesigned integration project, it offers technical support, access to training leading to a diploma based on practical experience, and security in the land, economic and collective aspects of setting up a farm. This approach will be formalized in a comprehensive methodology and support tools with a view to scaling up the project and supporting structures wishing to deploy it.