With the tremendous media coverage recently of environmental issues, and the push from certain influential circles for ESG to be a business imperative, there’s been understandable pressure for manufacturers to join the ranks of good corporate citizens and just DO something. This presents an opportunity for those of us in the food processing world to do something first, something we’ve not been all that good at historically: market ourselves. And it should be easy in this case, because for decades we’ve led the way in environmental improvement efforts in the business world. First and foremost ..read more

There are several sobering worldwide and domestic facts about the amount of food waste that is being generated. Worldwide here are some up to date annual statistics (1): One third of all food fit for human consumption is either lost or wasted Largest source of food waste is in the food production phase and amounts to 500 MM tons due to crop infestation, poor harvesting techniques, and insufficient irrigation Second and third largest sources of food waste are in the post harvesting and storage phase and consumption phase and amount to ~ 300MM tons of food waste each year The US is a major con ..read more

Savings Hatch Farm Improvements Schipper Eggs has been delivering millions of eggs around the country for decades and chances are pretty good that you have enjoyed one. That’s because the Holland farm is one of the largest producers in Michigan and supplies eggs to many different local and national grocery store chains such as Meijer and Costco. As the poultry farm has grown from housing several hundred chickens to 1.6 million over the years since its inception in 1918, costs have gone up as has the need for more power. Enter Consumers Energy, which continues to help Schipper’s get the reliabl ..read more

As an equipment provider, Reiser’s commitment to sustainability might be a little different from most food product manufacturers. Our goal is similar, to help preserve natural resources and protect our environment. However, we actually achieve this by engineering ways to help our customers become more sustainable. A key part of this is developing custom-tailored solutions that solve a specific issue. Regardless of the industry or application, our processing equipment is always designed to deliver efficiencies that increase output while lowering food waste. The objectives are simple - streamlin ..read more

Savings Hatch Farm Improvements Schipper Eggs has been delivering millions of eggs around the country for decades and chances are pretty good that you have enjoyed one. That’s because the Holland farm is one of the largest producers in Michigan and supplies eggs to many different local and national grocery store chains such as Meijer and Costco. As the poultry farm has grown from housing several hundred chickens to 1.6 million over the years since its inception in 1918, costs have gone up as has the need for more power. Enter Consumers Energy, which continues to help Schipper’s get the reliabl ..read more

Introduction: Equipped with an education and passion in mathematics and physics, coupled with a fortunate opportunity in an emerging solar energy industry, I have been fortunate to build a career been involving hundreds of unique and challenging commercial solar projects throughout Michigan and the Midwest. The bulk of these projects have been in the agribusiness space – small and large corn and soybean farms, large livestock facilities, cold storage facilities, food processing plants, small and large manufacturers, and many other (mostly) rural businesses. This goal of this blog is to offer ..read more

As a sustainability advisor to the West Michigan Food Processing Association (WMFPA), I recently had the opportunity to facilitate a WMFPA industry discussion with different levels of food manufacturing management regarding sustainability best practices. The session provided great insight about the significant difficulties companies are having addressing current supply chain issues and risks. The need for implementation of sustainability best practices to help improve decision making and create positive sustainability impact was prominent in the discussion. There were , however, several linger ..read more

The partnership aims to connect the resources of Michigan State University with west Michigan entrepreneurs and food companies. MUSKEGON, Mich. — The Michigan State University (MSU) Product Center and the West Michigan Food Processing Association announced a partnership on Monday, August 2 that brings the university’s resources to the doorstep of west Michigan food companies and innovative entrepreneurs. “Our mission is to help entrepreneurs in the food, agriculture and natural resource space add value to their products and to assist in the development of new and innovative products,” said Mol ..read more