Sustainability, resilience, and nutrition are not "competing priorities" but should be addressed together, according to Juan Aguiriano, group head of marketing and sustainability at Kerry Group.

He made these comments as Kerry hosted Prof. Wolfram Schlenker, the inaugural Ray A. Goldberg Professor of the Global Food System at Harvard University for a discussion on food system resilience.

The event took place today (Wednesday, June 17) at Kerry’s Global Innovation Centre in Naas, Co. Kildare, convened under the Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute.

According to Kerry, the discussion between Prof. Schlenker and Juan Aguiriano examined how climate volatility, environmental strain, geopolitical disruption and artificial intelligence (AI) are "reshaping risk across the global food system - and what must change to build resilience".

Resilience

Dr. Mary Shelman, founder of consultancy Shelman Group, acted as moderator of the discussion.

She said: “What came through clearly in this discussion is that resilience cannot be reduced to a single metric or solved in isolation.

“Food system leaders are navigating interconnected pressures - from climate and trade disruption to affordability and nutrition - and the companies that will create long-term value are those that embed sustainability into decision-making as a source of resilience, innovation and strategic advantage.”

According to Kerry, the conversation explored how resilience must be understood differently across commodities and specialised ingredients and why sustainability should be viewed as a "core driver" of risk management and long-term value creation.

It also looked at where greater transparency is needed around trade-offs between sustainability, affordability, resilience, and nutrition.

The speakers also pointed to the growing role of data and AI in enabling more resilient production systems, smarter supply chains, and more informed consumer choices.

According to Prof. Schlenker, decisions being made today in boardrooms and research labs will determine what lands on plates in 2040 and beyond.

Juan Aguiriano added: “Across the food industry, we are seeing growing recognition that sustainability, resilience and nutrition are not competing priorities - they must be addressed together.

“The challenge now is to turn better data and stronger science into practical action across supply chains and innovation pipelines, so we can help customers deliver food and beverage solutions that are more affordable, more sustainable and better for people and planet.”

Founders Circle

Kerry is a member of the Founders Circle of Harvard's first university-wide endowed chair dedicated to the global food system - "the collective of corporate leaders, scholars, and agribusiness figures".

The Founders Circle was established to honour the legacy of former Harvard Business School professor Ray A. Goldberg - who Kerry group described as "widely regarded as the father of agri-business", and who passed away earlier this year at the age of 99.

Today’s discussion will be available to view on the Kerry Health and Nutrition Institute website from June 30.