CEO of company focused on reducing food waste to headline OPS 2023

The CEO of a company focused on reducing food waste will be the keynote speaker at the 2023 Organic Produce Summit, to be held July 12-13 in Monterey, California.

Ryan Begin leads Divert, which offers solutions to maximize food freshness, recover edible food for communities in need and covert wasted food into renewable energy.

Founded in 2007, Divert works with more than 5,400 retail stores across the U.S., including Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons and Target, to decrease wasted food and reduce shrink while having a positive impact on the retailer’s bottom line.

“Food has become an undervalued resource in the U.S., with 40% of all food being thrown away, predominantly making its way to landfills,” Begin said in a news release. “More than ever before, we need to collectively educate and learn to value food at all points of its lifecycle — from how it was grown from a seed to the people and transportation that went into bringing it to a store, and beyond.”

Begin will lead a session titled “Protecting the Value of Food: Learning to Value Food at All Stages of Its Lifecycle — from Seed to Wasted Food to Renewable Energy.”

Divert removes 900 million pounds of carbon annually by preventing wasted food from reaching landfills and converting it into renewable energy. The company has also donated nearly 11 million pounds of food to communities in need since 2018.

“At OPS 2023, we’ll explore the energy and resources that go into getting produce on the shelves, the specific challenges that contribute to wasted food at scale, and how actionable data can enable us to better understand what’s happening upstream to drive new efficiencies and transform the food value chain,” Begin said.

OPS 2023 is a two-day event designed to bring together organic fresh produce growers, shippers, and processors with retailers and buying organizations from across North America. The seventh annual event will be held at the Monterey Conference Center.

The conference will also include a series of educational sessions focusing on sustainability, the growing importance of Controlled Environment Agriculture, new organic rules and regulations, and changing consumer purchasing behavior in an era of inflation.

OPS 2023 will also include a selection of field tours for qualified retailers and buyers, an opening night reception and a sold-out trade show floor featuring more than 170 global producers and processors of organic fresh produce.

Registration is available at www.organicproducesummit.com.