Food Systems Innovation Summit

📅  Friday, November 13, 2026  8AM – 6PM

📍  Spieker Forum, Chou Hall, UC Berkeley Haas

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UC Berkeley Haas’ new Center for Food Systems Innovation warmly welcomes you to join thought leaders, alumni, students, and industry partners for a day of connection, inspiration, and charting pathways for the future of Food Systems Innovation. Designed to identify opportunities and provide the conditions for their pursuit, the Summit will connect health, climate, equity, and finance through technological and social innovations with an eye toward systems level collaboration and leadership.

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Programming

Speakers

Groundbreaking leaders share inspiration

Chefs, farmers, and CPG leaders take the stage to tell the stories behind their work and reignite our imaginations.

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Alice Waters (Chez Panisse & Edible Schoolyard)
  • Mas Masumoto (Masumoto Family Farm)
  • Sana Javeri Kadri (Diaspora Spice Co)
  • Paul Schiefer and Andy Berliner (Amy’s Kitchen)
  • John Foraker (Once Upon a Farm)

Collaborative Opportunity Finding

Curated conversations and opportunity identification

In the afternoon, we invite you to participate in smaller group discussions focused on collaborative opportunity identification:

An Open Exchange where participants bring the ideas – small groups of 3-6 form around the specific questions in the room, and you follow the conversations you are most drawn to

Curated roundtable conversations with ~15 industry professionals from across the food system, with students listening in and sharing their perspectives afterwards

  • Supply chain collaboration
  • Innovative capital structures
  • Influencing the cultural narrative around food, health, and climate

Lightning talks

Innovations and ideas in 5-10 minute talks

Our lightning talks bring the full food value chain onto one stage in quick succession. Each speaker has five minutes to share a single idea, breakthrough, or provocation, from technologists and agroecologists to investors and policy advocates. The result is a fast, wide-ranging window into where food systems innovation is heading, and a natural springboard for the conversations that follow. Propose a lightning talk here.

Mentorship & Purpose Sessions

Reconnect with your why

These sessions create space to connect and discuss career opportunities that feel fulfilling. For emerging leaders, it’s a chance to seek guidance and direction; for established practitioners, it’s a rewarding opportunity to invest in the next generation of the food systems community.

Happy Hour and Showcase

Connect and experience innovative products and ideas

The day closes with an open showcase and happy hour, where guests can experience innovative products firsthand, meet the people behind them, and continue the conversations sparked throughout the Summit in a relaxed setting