Chapter 8b: Discussion Question & Activities

NEW YORK & MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HSBC Bank USA, N.A., (HSBC) and the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative (MRCC) announced that HSBC has made a $1.6 million grant to MRCC to accelerate conservation and the adoption of regenerative practices such as cover crops, nutrient management, reduced tillage, and prairie strips on large-scale farms in MRCC’s collaborative projects.

“HSBC’s new global Climate Solutions Partnership is about investing in tangible, high-potential methods to attack climate change, and there were no other efforts in the US that impressed us as much as the work being done by MRCC”

Nature-based Solutions for Catalyzing a More Resilient U.S. Food System is the only U.S.-based project included as part of the Climate Solutions Partnership, which HSBC announced today. The Partnership aims to address barriers to scaling sustainable projects and to bring climate solutions to commercial viability, while also delivering for people and nature. Together with partners World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global initiative is backed by $100 million of philanthropic funding from HSBC over five years.

The U.S.-based work, driven by MRCC members Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, and The Nature Conservancy partnering with members Unilever and Cargill, is made possible through direct relationships with row crop farmers, in a region where row crops account for 75 percent of agricultural land. As farmers depend on healthy soil and water resources, which are being depleted rapidly, the benefits of regenerative practice adoption can offer a lifeline for individual farms over the long term. These practices protect against the flooding and erosion impacts of increasingly extreme weather, improve crop yields, and reduce production costs. “We had gullies and water collecting across parts of our land for some time, which prevented crops from being able to grow,” said Carter Morgan, a farmer participating in the Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) initiative of Georgetown, Illinois. “Once we eliminated tillage and implemented cover crops, we got erosion under control, soil health improved, and our herbicide use went way down.”

The Climate Solutions Partnership is part of HSBC’s ambitious climate strategy. HSBC aims to align its provision of financing to net zero by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris Agreement goals, and to work across the financial sector and beyond to accelerate solutions that increase the pace of change.

The Partnership seeks to remove barriers and create incentives in three areas: energy transition, business innovation, and nature-based solutions. MRCC is part of the focus on nature-based solutions and will be one of 20 projects globally to protect and revitalize wetlands, mangroves and forests, and to promote sustainable agriculture. Working with a network of local partners, these projects will contribute to net-zero goals by capturing CO2 while increasing social and environmental resilience.

“HSBC’s new global Climate Solutions Partnership is about investing in tangible, high-potential methods to attack climate change, and there were no other efforts in the US that impressed us as much as the work being done by MRCC,” said Kelly Fisher, Head of Corporate Sustainability, HSBC USA. “These regenerative agriculture practices will help farmers to keep producing food in a meaningful and sustainable way long into the future.”

“Soil health is vital for both a healthy natural ecosystem and a healthy agricultural system that supports farm families and production of the food we eat. We are honored that our unique collaborative has been selected to advance the important work of restoring and maintaining soil health by building on our portfolio of projects across the Midwest.” said Margaret Henry, PepsiCo’s Director, Sustainable Agriculture.

Focused on Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska, the projects will expand practices that are transferrable to other growing regions in the Midwest, the U.S., and around the globe. Benefits of the work will be measured in multiple ways: reduced carbon emissions, improved water quality and biodiversity, enhanced food security by reducing soil loss, and improved farm profitability.

• In Iowa and Nebraska, this grant will build on existing projects being implemented by Practical Farmers of Iowa to support expanding cover crops and introducing small grains to provide continuous living cover that protects and enhances soil health.

• In Illinois, the Precision Conservation Management program implemented by the Illinois Corn Growers Association will be replicated in an entirely new region, expanding its impact to 100 additional farms over four years. A pay-for-performance model to provide growers conservation practice adoption incentives by utilizing the STAR initiative will also be implemented in Illinois.

• In Michigan, MRCC will develop a sustainably grown grain pilot program that can be incorporated into supply partners’ buying frameworks, with the potential to link conservation incentives to the point of sale. Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, farmer, Agriculture Engagement Strategy Director at The Nature Conservancy, and MRCC co-chair offers that “on-farm practices benefitting the environment and society without a visible financial payoff for 3-5 years are difficult practices to embrace. This grant will allow us to prove out the financial benefit and break down some of the barriers to adopting regenerative practices.”

A unique aspect of the Climate Solutions Partnership will be the creation of a Nature-based Solutions Accelerator, facilitated by global partners WRI and WWF, which will highlight meaningful innovations, including MRCC’s work in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska.

Another unique aspect is that, during the four-year grant term, participating projects may draw upon additional expertise from other MRCC members, including Bayer, Environmental Defense Fund, Walmart, and WWF. MRCC members represent distinct roles in the food and agriculture value chain, which creates an opportunity to drive collective action and remove barriers for systemic change to improve food system health, environmental outcomes, and the well-being of farmers.

“We firmly believe that partnering with farmers – with support from trusted networks, technical assistance, and funding partnerships to weather their first few years of transition to regenerative practices – is an investment in healthy soils that are the foundation for a resilient future for Midwest agriculture,” said Kate Schaffner, Global Sustainability Manager, Kellogg Company. “We‘re proud to continue our long-standing partnership with MRCC and this important work as it supports Kellogg’s Better Days commitment to support one million farmers by the end of 2030.”

Fourth generation wheat farmer Mike Milligan, a participant in Kellogg’s and The Nature Conservancy’s project in the Saginaw Bay region of Michigan, echoes the same sentiment, saying “we are here to build something longer term than one lifespan.”

Note to editors:

Midwest Row Crop Collaborative

Administered by Environmental Initiative, the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative explores new approaches to agricultural challenges to find solutions that increase productivity while ensuring soil health, protecting water, addressing the factors contributing to climate change, and supporting farm families. Members include Bayer, Cargill, Environmental Defense Fund, Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, The Nature Conservancy, Unilever, Walmart, and World Wildlife Fund.

HSBC

HSBC Bank USA, National Association (HSBC Bank USA, N.A.) serves customers through retail banking and wealth management, commercial banking, private banking, and global banking and markets segments. It operates bank branches in: California; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Maryland; New Jersey; New York; Pennsylvania; Virginia; and Washington. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is the principal subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings Inc. In the United States, deposit products are offered by HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Member FDIC, investment and brokerage services are provided through HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., (Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC) and insurance products are provided through HSBC Insurance Agency (USA) Inc.

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,959bn at 31 March 2021, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.

¡YAPPAH! brand continues to bring partners together to join the fight against food waste with Kickstarter launch

Introduces new flavor of Chicken Crisps, a chef-composed snack crafted from rescued ingredients, available exclusively on Kickstarter

CHICAGO – September 26, 2018 – ¡Yappah! the new snack brand from the Tyson Innovation Lab that is helping to fight food waste by inspiring consumers to rethink snacks for good with its delicious, chef composed snacks, is launching on Kickstarter a three week crowdfunding campaign September 24 through October 15 showcasing an exclusive new flavor, Chicken Michelada.

The Kickstarter campaign follows a successful partnership with Indiegogo in June through which the ¡Yappah! brand introduced its first four Chicken Crisps flavors on the crowdfunding platform. Through that campaign, the ¡Yappah! brand received feedback from backers who suggested adding variety, leading to the development of the Michelada flavor.

Co-creation with consumers and partnership with other like-minded companies is seen as essential to help tackle the issue of food waste and make an impact on a large scale. With the support and co-operation of Kickstarter, the ¡Yappah! brand will have more opportunities to connect with early adopters. Two key partners in the ¡Yappah! brand launch have been Molson Coors, which provides the spent grain for the three beer flavors, and Naturex, which provides the vegetable puree for the two veggie flavors.

“We could not have developed the Chicken Crisps or test launched them without the collaboration of partners like Molson Coors, Naturex, Indiegogo and the great cooperation of Kickstarter,” said Rizal Hamdallah, who heads the group who created the ¡Yappah! brand and the Chicken Crisps. “We will continue to seek out partners, large and small, who have resources and goals that complement our own.”

A recipe crafted by a chef trained at a Michelin-Star restaurant

The new Chicken Michelada recipe, developed by ¡Yappah! brand’s chef Kang Kuan, the former sous chef of Michelin award-winning French Laundry Restaurant and a veteran of the famed restaurant Morimoto, was inspired by the popular Mexican drink, typically made with beer, lime juice and assorted sauces and spices. This spicy new flavor is crafted with rescued spent grain from Molson Coors and chicken breast from Tyson Foods, and each recyclable aluminum can contains eight grams of protein.

The ¡Yappah! brand’s name was inspired by a tradition in the South American Andes called “yapa,” which refers to th e little something extra a merchant gives to a valued customer so that nothing gets wasted.

“The ¡Yappah! brand mission is unique, important and far-reaching,” Hamdallah said. “The brand was created to inspire people and partners to rethink their relationship to food and how it impacts society. Through this Kickstarter campaign, we again are encouraging everyone to support efforts to address global food challenges such as food waste.”

In addition to testing the new Michelada flavor, the ¡Yappah! brand aims to grow a passionate community of early adopters who believe in the brand’s mission.

Kickstarter, a public benefit corporation whose mission is to bring creative projects to life, has a socially conscious community which makes this crowdfunding campaign a great fit.

¡Yappah! Chicken Crisps will launch at retail through a partnership with Treasure Island Foods, a local Chicago supermarket chain. ¡Yappah! Chicken Crisps will ship to stores in late October after the Kickstarter campaign concludes and backers received their orders. The new Michelada flavor will complement the first four flavors: Chicken Carrot—Curry Flavored, Chicken Celery—Mojo Flavored, Chicken IPA White Cheddar, and Chicken—Shandy Beer Flavored.

¡Yappah! Brand Partners with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to help fight hunger
Food waste is one of the leading causes of hunger worldwide. The world produces enough food to nourish every man, woman and child, but over one third of that food is never used. Since the ¡Yappah! brand is about helping fight food waste, then it also is about helping fight hunger.

To emphasize this, the ¡Yappah! brand has donated all net funds raised through its earlier Indiegogo campaign to its partner, the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD). The same will be done with net funds raised through Kickstarter. The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a non-profit organization that fights hunger throughout Cook County, Ill. In addition to hunger relief, the GCFD has several initiatives to help address food waste.

About Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp® and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 122,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit WWW.TYSONFOODS.COM.