From Potatoes to Papet and Back: Closing the Loop

Looking back at the 1st edition of the Day of Vaud Food Ecosystems – SHIFT Vaud 2022

• Co-organized by Impact Hub Lausanne, SHIFT Switzerland, and EasyVrac, SHIFT Vaud 2022 aimed to bring together the Vaud agri-food ecosystem and connect actors who rarely cross paths.
• The event successfully combined various co-creation formats to raise awareness and shed light on the challenges and future prospects of the agri-food sector in Switzerland.

On Monday, May 9, 2022, Impact Hub Lausanne, in collaboration with SHIFT Switzerland and Easy Vrac, hosted around a hundred people at its new location, Beaulieu Circulaire, to explore the theme of Vaud food ecosystems.

The objective of this event, involving professionals and the general public, was to work collectively towards transforming our economy and society into decentralized, stable, and healthy entities. To achieve this, it’s essential to establish small, resilient networks consisting of local and independent actors.

In this process of awareness and reflection, many actors from the food ecosystem were present, including Berthe Darras, Secretary at Uniterre; Alexis Tissot, organic farmer; Nicolas Martin, Scientific Advisor at InnoSuisse; Monika Baumann, Director of Getreidezüchtung Peter Kunz (GZPK); Bertrand Donninger, Head of Business Financing & International Relations at Alternative Swiss Bank; Nicolas Besançon from Star’terre, a research institute for organic agriculture; Deborah Küttemann, Member of the Executive Committee of SGG-SSUP and State Councillor of the Canton of Jura, as well as Christelle Luisier, State Councillor of the Canton of Vaud, and many others.

Open to the general public, SHIFT Vaud 2022 provided an opportunity for everyone to meet, exchange ideas, and work on various themes such as resources, community importance, and the pace of our industries and eating habits.

And when it comes to contemplating new models, it also means new formats for meetings. SHIFT Vaud was based on the input and commitment of each participant, creating an open space for experimentation. As Théo Fischer, a facilitator of radical change, put it, “it’s necessary to use collective intelligence and all the potential within the space, rather than relying on the knowledge of a single person on stage.” Interactive workshops were set up to radically rethink the 5 essential themes of our food ecosystem so that, as one participant noted during the event, “we don’t leave the heavy task of change to future generations. It’s today that we must act!”

SHIFT Vaud will return for an edition in April 2023.

About Impact Hub Lausanne
Impact Hub Lausanne is a collaborative space that facilitates the creation and emergence of ideas and businesses with a sustainable impact on our planet. It serves as an innovation incubator, a startup accelerator, a co-working space, and a venue for events and meetings. We provide our members with a unique ecosystem of resources, inspiration, and collaboration opportunities for the development of their projects.

About SHIFT Switzerland
Shift has been active in German-speaking Switzerland for the past 10 years and now aims to establish a connection with the Romandy region and strengthen the circular economy within the Canton of Vaud. We see ourselves as a bridge between research and industry, working to give visibility to existing projects and connect all actors in the Vaud agri-food system who wouldn’t normally meet (from farmers to bankers to scientists) in order to enable new projects to be launched. We aim to push projects that aim to bridge currently separated domains, combining ancient knowledge with new technologies, the physical world with the digital world, and research with practice.

About Easy Vrac
Their mission is to contribute to a healthy diet, a clean environment, and a prosperous, resilient, and inclusive local economy. EasyVrac is an online marketplace that brings together zero-waste shops, making it easy to buy bulk products with just a few clicks and without the need for travel. Orders are delivered in reusable containers by electric bike. Empty containers are collected, cleaned, and reintroduced into the EasyVrac system. They highlight and amplify the impact of local businesses that sell environmentally friendly, fair, and as much as possible, local and organic packaging-free products.