Milling & Baking News - March 12, 2019 - 11

Business

General Mills taking steps to
advance regenerative ag practices
MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills, Inc.
said it plans to partner with organic
and conventional farmers, suppliers
and farm advisers in key growing regions to advance regenerative agriculture practices on one million acres of
farmland by 2030.
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic
method of farming deploying practices designed to protect and intentionally enhance natural resources and
farming communities. These practices
focus on pulling carbon from the air
and storing it in the soil in addition
to helping the land be more resilient
to extreme weather events. General
Mills said it will partner with key suppliers to drive adoption across key ingredients, including oats, wheat, corn,
dairy feed and sugar beets.
"We have been feeding families for
over 150 years, and we need a strong
planet to enable us to feed families for
the next 150 years," said Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman and chief executive
officer of General Mills. "We recognize
that our biggest opportunity to drive

positive impact for the planet we all
share lies within our own supply chain,
and by being a catalyst to bring people
together to drive broader adoption of
regenerative agriculture practices."
Jonathon J. Nudi, president of North
American Retail at General Mills, said
the company's first on-farm training
and education academies will focus on
North American growers who source
oats for Cheerios, Annie's, Cascadian
Farm, Nature Valley and Blue Buffalo.
General Mills has been driving awareness of regenerative agriculture with
consumers through its brands. Last
spring, the company introduced two
limited-edition Annie's branded products featuring ingredients grown using
regenerative farming practices. Annie's
elbow pasta and cheddar and bunnyshaped baked graham snacks were made
using organic ingredients from regenerative farms in Montana. The farmers, Nate
Powell-Palm and Casey Bailey, were
named and pictured on the packaging.
Meanwhile, Cascadian Farm, another General Mills' brand, is working

alongside The Land Institute to commercialize organic Kernza. Kernza is
a perennial grain whose roots are able
to capture carbon and water, while
preventing soil erosion, according to
General Mills.
Since 2015, General Mills has invested more than $4 million to advance
soil health initiatives. Among its efforts General Mills is working with
Gunsmoke Farms L.L.C. to convert
34,000 acres of conventional farmland
in South Dakota to certified organic
acreage, using regenerative agriculture practices. General Mills also has
developed The Soil Health Roadmap
in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. The roadmap outlines steps
to achieve widespread adoption of soil
health systems on more than 50% of
U.S. cropland by 2025.
"We need companies like General
Mills who have the scale and commitment to create sustainable agricultural systems," said Larry Clemens,
North America region agriculture
director for The Nature Conservancy.
"Efforts to improve soil health and
enrich biodiversity are critical to addressing climate change and other
environmental challenges." MBN

Grupo Bimbo expands in Chile with
purchase of Alimentos Nutra Bien
MEXICO CITY - Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de
C.V. has completed the acquisition of baking manufacturer Alimentos Nutra Bien
S.A. from Compañía de las Cervecerías
Unidas, a Chilean beverage company. Financial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
Nutra Bien bakes cookies, bread, and
cakes in Talagante, Chile, 25 miles southwest
of Santiago. In 1984, Isabella Jaras Parker
founded the brand as a small retail operation in Boston before moving back to Chile
to establish it as a wholesale bakery in 1992.

Grupo Bimbo said Nutra Bien complements its current portfolio, expands
its distribution and increases
penetration in the traditional
baked foods channel. In 1992,
Grupo Bimbo acquired Alesa,
S.A. and Cena (currently Ideal
S.A.) in Chile. Agua de Piedra
S.A. was acquired in 2007. Grupo Bimbo's Chilean subsidiary
currently makes bread, rolls,
small cakes, sweet bread and
snack salads under the brand

ALIMENTOS NUTRA BIEN

Crispbread baker celebrates hitting
100% carbon emission neutrality
NORTHBROOK, ILL. - Wasa, part of the
Barilla Group, has become the first crispbread brand to achieve 100% carbon neutrality. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by
balancing carbon emissions with carbon
removal, or by simply eliminating carbon
emissions altogether.
Wasa said it has spent the past nine
years working to achieve net-zero carbon
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

names Ideal, Cena and Barcel.
According to a report by Latin Lawyer, the acquisition faced hurdles as
Chile's National Economic Prosecutor's
Office (NEPO) initially blocked the deal,
noting that it would decrease competition in the country's food market. Chile's Tribunal for the
Defense of Free Competition
overruled the decision, stating
that NEPO's methodology was
flawed. As part of its decision,
the court set maximum sales
prices on Nutra Bien's baked
foods for three years and mandated that it maintain product
quality. MBN

emissions by measuring and reducing its
carbon footprint from field to shelf. The
company said it has reached its goal by
increasing the use of rail logistics for efficient delivery of ingredients and products, launching several energy saving
projects, and buying electrical energy
from renewable sources guaranteed by
origin certificates.
"We're proud to continue honoring

our core values and commitment to the
environment by stepping up for the
planet and achieving carbon neutrality,"
said Jean-Pierre Comte, president of Barilla Americas. "With Wasa celebrating
our 100th anniversary this year, it's more
important than ever to continue looking
to the future and ensuring we're making a positive impact for generations to
come."
Wasa supports two main carbon compensation projects, including a rainforest
protection project in Peru and a solar energy project in India. MBN
Milling & Baking News

March 12, 2019 / 11

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Milling & Baking News - March 12, 2019

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