AGRI-FOOD 2050 Industry Event
Thank you to all who attended Agri-Food 2050!
Scroll down to view 2025 event wrap up
The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) brought industry leaders together to envision the future of Agri-Food in Ontario. The inaugural Agri-food 2050 Event was held at the Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls in September of 2025. It drew attendees from across the broader agri-food sector including representatives from primary agriculture, agri-business, food processing, agri-food research, and government.
The Agri-Food 2050 Industry Event:
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Generated dialogue and prioritize critical forces (change drivers) impacting agri-food resilience
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Created an industry-wide, unified commitment to plan for and manage the future
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Seeded action groups to tackle priority issues and opportunities
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Built energy around what’s possible
September 2025, Agri-Food 2050 Event Summary
Headline Speaker: Jesse Hirsh
Feeding Possibility: Open Innovation and Resilient Futures for Ontario’s Agri-Food System
In a time of rapid disruption and compounding uncertainty, Ontario’s agri-food sector faces a pivotal opportunity: to lead not only in production, but in collaboration. This keynote explores how open innovation, participatory foresight, and shared digital infrastructure can create a more adaptive, inclusive, and resilient agri-food future. Drawing on emerging trends in AI, community development, and trusted systems design, Jesse Hirsh outlines a vision where growth is rooted in stewardship, and innovation is built on trust.
What Ontario's Agri-Food Leaders Are Saying
"As partners within the agri-food supply chain we have an opportunity and a responsibility to drive meaningful change. What we build today must be resilient, innovative, and sustainable—capable of adapting to evolving challenges while ensuring food security for generations to come. Our collective action now is essential to transform challenges into opportunities, creating a future that thrives and nourishes all."
—Doug Alexander, Vice President Sustainability and Government Relations, Belmont Food Group
"The Agricultural Adaptation Council's 2050 initiative is vital for the future of Ontario's agriculture and food sector and I am grateful for their leadership. Their engagement of the sector to determine where our future lies is essential. It is only when we see our destination, our future, that we can work to get there, together."
—Rene Van Acker, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Guelph
"Agri-Food 2050 creates the space to look at unfamiliar solutions and ask what could fundamental change look like?"
—Deb Stark, Board Member, Canadian Agri-Food Automation & Intelligence Network
"For CFIN, discussing how the adoption of foodtech can unlock productivity in the food sector with others across agri-food was highly beneficial. By working together with our partners in agriculture, agri-business, and academia, we can act with purpose today to shape Canada’s success in 2050."
—Dana McCauley, CEO, Canadian Food Innovation Network
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