How Maersk is Tackling Food Waste
1/3 of all food is wasted or lost as it moves from the farm to our tables. This is what a shipping and logistics provider is doing about it.
Maersk Growth is the venture arm of A. P. Moller – Maersk, one of the largest shipping and logitics companies in the world. When it comes to food, the supply chain is critical. 1/3 of all food is wasted or lost as it moves from the farm to our tables. Peter Jorgensen is a Partner at Maersk Growth and in this episode, we discuss why Maersk is investing in startups that tackle supply chain inefficiens around food loss and waste.
A small note that this was one of the first podcast episodes I recorded back in 2019. I re-read the transcript the other day and it felt more relevant than ever, so I wanted to share it with you again.
This episode also made me think that even if you don’t consider yourself “in the food or ag business,” food is always impacting us. I mean, everybody’s gotta eat. I always think of that scence from my Big Fat Greek Wedding where the dad says, “Give me a word, any word, and I’ll tell you how the root of that word is Greek.” I feel the same way about food. If you give me a company, I’ll tell you how it relates to food and can contribute to making a better food system. It’s just a matter of awareness ;)
Related Links
🤳 Too Good To Go on building a startup that tackles foood waste
🛍 Matt Homewood on stopping supermarket food waste
👩🍳 Amass on creating a zero-waste restaurant
🍽 Electrolux on using appliances to curb consumer food waste
☕️ How companies like Coffee Collective figure out shipping when starting up
💼 More interviews with corporations investing in food solutions
Episode Transcript
Analisa Winther, Nordic FoodTech Podcast Host 1:04
Hi Peter, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you today.
Peter Jorgensen, Maersk Growth 1:08
Thank you for having me.
Analisa Winther, Nordic FoodTech Podcast Host 1:09
When did you first realize or was there a moment when you realized that you wanted to start working with food?
Peter Jorgensen, Maersk Growth 1:20
Well, I've spent the last 22 years within the logistics industry. And I think I'm one of the few left to have spent 22 years with the same company. Maersk is a big logistics provider, also of food. There's a lot of food in the world, but the food is often in the wrong place. It needs to be exported to the people that need it, also with our growing populations. I think it was quite a natural interest when it comes from the background I have and working for the company the way I do.
Analisa Winther, Nordic FoodTech Podcast Host 2:10
Excellent. Maybe then, you can tell us what exactly Maersk Growth is and then what your role is within the organization?