2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit
May 16-18, 2023 | St.Louis, MO
John Larson
Senior Vice President
American Farmland Trust
Bio:
John Larson joined American Farmland Trust (AFT) as Senior Vice President in April of 2015, having previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). Before NACD, Larson worked directly with Washington State conservation districts for 6 years as the Executive Director of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts (WACD), and for several years as the President of the Washington Association of (Conservation) District Employees (WADE).
Larson has a passion for natural resources and the outdoors, and is an avid fly fisherman, marathon runner, and mountain biker. Before his nearly 20 years with conservation districts, Larson owned and operated an irrigated row-crop farm in central Washington State.
Before moving to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, Larson resided in Washington, D.C. area. Larson was born and raised on the West Coast in Washington State. He is an alumnus of Washington State University, where he studied Agricultural Economics. He and his wife Shannon have two grown children, Tyler and Cassie.
Schedule
Thursday, May 18th
1:30pm - 2:30pm
Insights from the Farm: Cultivating Ideas to Reduce Farm-Level Food Loss
Breakout Session (Running Concurrently)
Building a sustainable food system starts on the farm. Food that is grown but not consumed uses resources all along the farm-to-fork chain. Of the nearly 17 million tons of surplus produce generated at the farm level, a staggering 82% reached maturity but were left behind after harvest. So, how can we optimize the harvest? From protecting and restoring biodiversity to ensuring that safe and nutritious food reaches our tables, growers and producers play an indispensable role in achieving a more sustainable future…but they can’t do it alone. This session will highlight the wins, challenges, viable solutions for the future, and the role that other actors across the value chain can play to minimize food loss at the farm level.