May 20, 2020
Food System Spotlight: The Role of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs in our Global Food System
Courtney Bidney, Director, General Mills - Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs
A consistent challenge that food system leaders face today is striking the right balance on how to approach critical issues impacting the industry. How are we being mindful of food waste while also feeding a growing population? How do we utilize the latest technologies in ways that are consistent with individual consumer food values?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing these challenges, but rather a need for leaders to break down barriers to collaborate by joining forces to identify solutions.
General Mills continuously applies consumer input to improve its products and engages with stakeholders to shape food safety and nutrition regulations. Courtney Bidney, Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Director at General Mills and an Advisor to the University of Minnesota’s Integrated Food Systems Leadership program, applies a food system-thinking approach while leading these efforts.
Courtney’s unique background in food safety, nutrition, and quality engineering is a great example of how food leaders can bring curiosity to all stages of their career for continuous improvement. We sat down with Courtney to learn about General Mills’ areas of focus as an industry-leading brand delivering safe and delicious food to consumers and how embracing a learning mindset is one of her keys to success.
How does your role in General Mills’ Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition and Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs impact the company’s goals? How does that relate to the broader food system?
At General Mills, our purpose is to make food the world loves. We are committed to providing people with nutritious, convenient, good tasting food that is safe and can help them live healthier lives.
Part of my role in Scientific and Regulatory Affairs and the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition includes actively engaging in public policy discussions to build science-based regulations and advance food safety and nutrition priorities across the globe.
Food safety leadership is a differentiator for General Mills, but not an area of competition. We freely share our best practices and emerging areas of concern while collaborating with industry peers and regulators to help raise standards industrywide. For example, General Mills strongly supported the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)–the largest revamp of U.S. food safety laws in decades–and its goal of improving food safety standards across the food value chain.
In your time in this role at General Mills, how has the focus on sustainable food systems evolved and impacted your work?
As one of the world's largest food companies, General Mills seeks to be a force for good. We recognize the importance of sustainable food systems to feed a growing population with nutritious food.
We define sustainable diets as healthy, nutrient dense diets from regenerative food systems. We aspire to produce nutritious, convenient, and safe food using regenerative agriculture practices.
I’m proud that General Mills is viewed as a leader in regenerative agriculture. Crops grown with regenerative practices sequester carbon in the soil, improve soil health, and provide fertile ground for the ingredients we use in our products. We are committed to establishing regenerative practices on 1 million acres of agricultural land across North America.
We believe in choosing ingredients grown and produced in ways that benefit our planet and to apply our regenerative practices to help grow our portfolio of nutrient dense products. For example, oats grown with regenerative practices sequester carbon in the soil while providing the ingredients for our nutrient dense cereals, like Cheerios.
In addition, we believe there is a role for dairy and meat in a nutritious, sustainable diet and are working to improve the sustainability of those supply chains. For example, EPIC, a brand in our snacking portfolio, seeks to advance regenerative grazing, which can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of animal production.
Within the food system, what do you see as the top regulatory and nutrition challenges for this year and beyond?
With a complex, global food system, there are several regulatory and nutrition challenges that we face.
With the aging population increasing, rising obesity levels and non-communicable diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, comes rising healthcare costs. These issues certainly have an impact on the regulatory environment.
Second, a lack of harmonized regulations in a more global food supply reduces the scale of the supply chain and increases supply chain complexity.
Another enormous challenge we face is increasing productivity and driving value in our food system while also protecting and enhancing precious natural resources. There are many headwinds: increased global population, increased competition for scarce land, water, and energy resources, and the threat of climate change. Achieving sustainable food systems will take our best thinking and strong collaboration across the value chain.
Lastly, I see changing consumer values as an opportunity. Some consumer values are more enduring, like the desire for taste and convenience. Other consumer values change over time. For example, health and wellness is no longer strictly associated with nutrition and health. For today’s consumer, wellness could also include natural and organic ingredients and fewer ingredients perceived as artificial. Another example of a changing consumer value pertains to the use of certain technologies in the food system. Some technologies may or may not be accepted by the consumer, and consumers have greater expectations for transparency regarding the ingredients and technologies that are used.
Consumer values may or may not be based on science. The food values of one consumer may be different than the food values of another consumer. That isn’t a bad thing–it’s what makes us individuals. As a consumer-first company, we do our best to offer a variety of choices so that consumers can find products that delight them and resonate with their individual food values.
Who are some of the key stakeholders you work with internally and externally?
As part of my role in Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs and the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, I engage with a variety of both external and internal stakeholders. From an external perspective, I work with a variety of leaders in the regulatory and health space. This includes regulators, academics, and key opinion leaders. From an internal perspective, I work with a range of cross-functional partners, including R&D, business teams, external relations, government affairs, legal, and corporate communications.
Any advice to those looking to grow within this area? What types of education and experience has helped you grow in your career?
The rate of change and flow of information is ever increasing, so I think it’s important to embrace a learning mindset. Of course, you’ll need to draw on education and technical expertise you’ve gained, but to be an impactful leader, it’s necessary to push yourself to learn, be challenged, and grow leadership skills as well.
As an IFSL program advisor, can you share why you’re involved with this program?
The food system is complex and interconnected. In order to solve the monumental challenge of sustainably producing safe and nutritious food for the generations to come, I believe collaboration across disciplines is needed. I am involved with the IFSL program because I believe in developing leaders that understand the complexity and interdependency of the global food system and are prepared to work together to make a difference.
For more information about the University of Minnesota’s IFSL Program, visit https://ifsl.umn.edu. IFSL Program applications are accepted on a rolling basis for the next cohort which begins in September 2020.
Download a program brochure or schedule a consultation call for more information.