Minneapolis, Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Key speakers at this year’s fifth annual Organic & Non-GMO Forum, here at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis on October 29-30, will address the ever-growing plant-protein solutions arising in the sector, and provide a view inside the decisions that led the world’s largest brewery to work directly with farmers in establishing its first organic product.
Keynote speaker Tyler Lorenzen – CEO of PURIS, the largest pea protein production company in North America – will share the story of the 35-year journey of PURIS, from its humble beginnings as a soybean processor to becoming one of the leading suppliers of plant-based food ingredients, and a critical supplier to this expanding market. So critical in fact that it received just this month a $75 million investment from Cargill. The funding will be used to more than double production at PURIS’ existing 200,000 square-foot facility in Dawson, Minnesota.
"This is more than a pea protein facility. This is the future of food,” said Lorenzen in a press release. “The Dawson facility will not only support PURIS farmers in the U.S. with a crop that regenerates their land and that is sustainable because it provides soil health advantages, but will also support the growing demand for great tasting plant-based products in the marketplace. This investment will grant PURIS the ability to support more food companies, more farmers and more consumers faster.”
PURIS’ path to success included the creation and scaling of an end-to-end system of sustainable plant-based foods and ingredients grown and processed in the USA, which Lorenzen will outline in his keynote address at the Organic & Non-GMO Forum: “Seeding and Scaling the Plant-Based Food Future.”
Supporting Transitional Producers:
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold’s Contract for Change
In this session, executives from Anheuser-Busch – Azania Andrews, vice president of marketing for Michelob ULTRA, and Jess Newman, director of U.S. agronomy for Anheuser-Busch – will share the how and why of the company’s launch of its USDA certified organic light lager, the first in the nation from a national beer brand.
Andrews and Newman will discuss the market drivers for the new beer, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, introduced in 2018, and their newly-launched “Contract for Change” initiative put in place to support farmers’ transitioning to growing organic barley.
“There aren’t any light beers from mainstream brewers offering an organic product,” Andrews told Men’s Health in an interview. “We wanted to make a light beer for those who prioritize eating and shopping organic.”
Hear more from these speakers, and the previously announced keynote speaker David Vetter, a trailblazing organic farmer from Nebraska and subject of the documentary “Dreaming of a Vetter World” at the Organic & Non-GMO Forum. Register at ongforum.com and follow us @ONGForum. See also the full agenda and list of attending companies.
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The Organic & Non-GMO Forum is hosted by HighQuest Group, a north-of-Boston, Mass.-based strategic advisory, conference and media company serving corporations, financial investors and governments across the global food and agribusiness value chains. highquestgroup.com
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