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Blog May 7, 2026
“Moving the Elephant”: Reflections on Food Loss and Waste from CPMA 2026
By Gina Morris, Consultant
Updated: May 7, 2026 | 5 min read
Last week I attended the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) trade show in Toronto. Beyond the many tasty samples I happily indulged in, two days of walking the trade show floor and attending various sessions delivered no shortage of interesting conversations with actors across the industry.
For me, one of the most impactful moments was the Learning Lab session on “Food Loss and Waste — Enabling the Conditions for Increasing the Value of Fresh Produce Loss and Waste.” This session brought together voices from across the value chain, from farming, distribution, food recovery, and technology. What stood out to me most was how much the conversation around food loss is evolving. It’s no longer just the domain of sustainability advocates, but there’s a growing mix of industry players stepping in and recognizing it as a systems issue with real economic, social, and environmental opportunities.
Here are a few of my key takeaways from the discussion.
“Moving the Elephant” – Daniel Duguay
Daniel Duguay, Senior Director of Sustainability at the CPMA, opened with a memorable metaphor: addressing food loss and waste is like “moving an elephant”. It’s a complex, hefty challenge requiring many actors, multiple approaches, and a coordinated effort over time.
Progress depends on how well stakeholders across the supply chain align their efforts, and without that collaboration, we risk moving in different directions.
A Parallel Supply Chain
A compelling idea the panelists explored was food recovery and redistribution as a parallel supply chain.
Rather than competing with traditional systems, this parallel network operates alongside them, capturing surplus and redirecting it toward higher-value outcomes, such as feeding communities or supporting new product streams. In this framing, food recovery becomes a built-in feature of the system rather than an afterthought.
Moreover, participation in these parallel supply chains may increasingly define long-term competitiveness for businesses. Those that can effectively divert surplus are not only reducing waste but also strengthening resilience and unlocking new forms of value.
Making Diversion Work
The panel brought these ideas to life with practical examples. Jessica Wynne-Pfenning of Pfenning’s Organic Farms shared how their organization partners with food banks to scale surplus diversion.
Instead of defaulting to compost, food banks act as intermediaries, sorting and redistributing edible produce to communities. As she put it, “Compost should never be the first resort.”
This model works because it removes operational burden from farmers while ensuring surplus is put to better use. It also highlights the evolving role of non-profits, which are increasingly acting as critical infrastructure within the value chain. Many food banks are investing in more sophisticated infrastructure and cold storage to handle fresh produce more effectively and operate at greater scale.
The Business Case and the Gaps
Another important takeaway is that many solutions already make business sense. Jessica Regan from FoodMesh, an organization providing data-driven research and services that help governments, businesses and non-profits to divert food waste, emphasized that reducing food loss and waste can deliver clear economic benefits.
One straightforward policy lever is tax incentives for food donations, currently available in only a handful of provinces. Expanding these programs could significantly increase participation.
However, panelists also emphasized that incentives must be paired with investment. Infrastructure such as cold chain capacity and food transformation facilities is essential to capture and redistribute surplus effectively. Without it, even the best intentions can fall short.
The Role of Policy
While industry momentum is growing, panelists were clear that policy will be critical to scaling solutions.
Measures like landfill bans can help shift behavior, but they must be designed carefully. Bans without incentives risk creating barriers rather than enabling change. Effective policy needs to make it easier for businesses to move up the waste hierarchy toward redistribution, recovery, and value creation.
Julie Dickson Olmstead emphasized the importance of industry engagement in this process, encouraging stakeholders to take part in shaping policy. Otherwise, there is a risk that “policymakers do things to us that we would rather they do with us.”
The Power of Partnership
Ultimately, the session reinforced one core idea: collaboration is the key to progress.
Moving the elephant requires coordinated action across sectors. Without strong partnerships, efforts can become fragmented. With them, the industry can drive meaningful, system-level change.
This is where CPMA’s convening power stands out. By bringing together diverse actors from across the supply chain, the organization is helping to align efforts and build shared momentum. The challenge may be as large as an elephant, but increasingly, the industry is learning how to move it together.
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