As you may have noticed from the last post, IBM’s Sam Palmisano visited the Chatham House stage in London today having delivered a speech titled ‘Welcome to the Decade of Smart.’ Throughout tonight (and over the coming days) we will be posting content and links to images and video from the event here, as they become available.

From the post-event materials being distributed:

On January 12, 2010, Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officers, addressed business and civic leaders at Chatham House in London. In his remarks, he described how forward-thinking leaders in business, government and civil society around the world are capturing the potential of smarter systems to achieve economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development and societal progress.

Links:

Launch a video of the speech: Sam Palmisano at Chatham House

Launch a video of the Q&A from Chatham House: Q&A from Chatham House

Today, Steve Lohr of the New York Times published a brief article about the speech that takes a look at the past year of Smarter Planet work from IBM.

Paul Glader of the Wall Street Journal published an article today as well that examines aspects of IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative.

Technorati Tags: chatham, decade, london, Palmisano, Smarter Planet

Technorati Tags: bloomberg, new york city, Smart Cities, Smarter Cities, smarter city

Most experts believe that enough food is currently produced to feed the world’s population. Indeed, from the multinational agribusiness to the family farmer, food is being produced in unprecedented quantities around the globe. However, much of the food produced is never actually consumed; Indeed as much as 50 percent may be lost or wasted between the farm and the fork. Food spoils in the field and is damaged in processing or transit. Vast amounts are also discarded due to spoilage or exceeding shelf life. A further portion is contaminated and must be removed from the supply chain, and still more is wasted by consumers and purveyors who for various reasons prepare more food than is needed.

In addition to this waste, tremendous inefficiencies remain in the supply chain as CP manufacturers, suppliers and retailers fail to collaborate effectively on sales, production, shipment and marketing forecasts – generating out of stocks, over stocks, and excessive handling and shipping activities. Out of stocks alone are estimated to cost the average consumer products company 2.5 percent of sales. Collectively these problems mean that already approximately one billion people, 15% of the population, go hungry each day and 5.6 million people die of starvation every year, according to UN estimates. At the same time, too much food is consumed by too few, already more than one in three Americans over the age of 20 are obese, and per capita consumption of water and energy intensive proteins continues to rise with incomes.

The world will continue to change rapidly as more people eat more food and specifically more water and energy intensive foods like meat and dairy, and crave fuel for their cars, collectively placing unprecedented pressures on natural resources and the systems we
use to manage them. The UN secretary general has estimated that it will require $15 billion to $20 billion a year in new investments and innovations in agriculture and technology to address these challenges. While technology alone cannot solve this unfolding crisis, its application to create a smart food value chain that is increasingly instrumented, interconnected and intelligent is essential.

Why will a smarter food value chain be instrumented? Because it will use sensing and tracing technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and barcodes, to enhance visibility as meat, fish, dairy and produce moves from the farm to the fork, lowering waste and spoilage and reducing costs. Sensors can also enable more efficient production methods by reducing irrigation, pesticide and fertilizer requirements, boosting yields and monitoring moisture, temperature and airflow during storage to minimize spoilage.

A smarter global food value chain will also be interconnected: creating visibility and connectivity across all the disparate ranches, farms, feedlots, storage bins, manufacturing and processing plants, warehouses, and retail stores that together form the global food value chain. This connectivity is increasingly important as food today is rarely consumed where it is grown or raised, frequently exported to low cost markets for processing or packaging, then re-exported as a finished product for consumption. For example, cod caught off the coasts of Norway may be shipped to China for processing into filets, only to be shipped back to Norway for sale to consumers. This inflates logistics costs and increases waste due to spoilage, damage or contamination.

Finally, a smarter food value chain will be intelligent: capturing, leveraging and sharing standardized data and integrated information to generate insights on optimizing the value chain. Smart technology can improve the complex process that is the production, distribution, storage, selling, consumption and disposal of food. Elements include improved planning and coordination, efficient storage and dynamic routing, optimization for cost, carbon and other attributes and improved traceability. The result will be more, safer, higher quality food delivered when and where it is needed, and with little waste and an extended shelf life.

The ultimate driver for many of these requirements is the smarter consumer, who expects more detailed and verifiable information about the source and contents of the food they buy. The companies that recognize and leverage this dynamic can form deeper, lasting connections with consumers. Indeed many of the anticipated 700 million emerging middle-class consumers will take their initial brand loyalties with them as their incomes grow.

A smarter food value chain will meet the world’s growing demands, and sustain that growth for generations. IBM and its business partners are committed to developing and deploying innovative technologies that collectively deliver an intelligent, instrumented and interconnected food value chain.

Technorati Tags: food, food safety, health, hunger, Smarter Food

Major stresses are appearing in the global food value chain—recalls, price spikes, hunger and waste among them—and trends such as climate change, population growth, water shortages, plateauing yields and changing consumption will likely exacerbate these stresses. From the multinational agribusiness to the farmer working his small plot of land, food is being produced in unprecedented quantities around the globe. Most experts believe that enough food is produced to feed the world, but distribution issues, waste and diversion of food sources to other products such as biofuels mean that one billion people go hungry each day and 5.6 million people die of hunger every year, according to UN estimates. At the same time, more than one in three Americans over the age of 20 are obese.

Much of the food grown and raised is never consumed—as much as 50 percent of the world’s food supply may be lost or wasted between farm and fork. Food spoils in the field and is damaged in processing or in transit. The 2009 recall of contaminated peanuts from Peanut Corporation of America was the largest recall in FDA history, comprising 3913 products, impacting 200 companies down the value chain and sickening 700 people, eight or more of whom died. Food spoils or exceeds its shelf life while in storage, in the retail market and in the home. It is wasted at the dinner table and in the restaurant. And it is consumed too much by too few, as per capita consumption of meat and dairy are on the rise. Retailers cannot get food to their customers because of out of stocks, and overstocks leave much food unconsumed. The average Consumer Products company loses 2.5% of sales due to food items being out of stock.

All stakeholders in the food supply value chain are under enormous pressure to optimize their processes and safeguard the world’s food. Where will the solution to this food crisis be found? The UN secretary general has estimated that it will take $15 billion to $20 billion dollars a year in new investments and innovations in agriculture and food technologies to offset this crisis. Technology alone cannot solve the crisis, but the application of “smart” technology—instrumented, interconnected and intelligent—just might.

The world is rapidly changing, and these changes are placing unprecedented pressures on the earth’s natural resources and the man-made systems designed to manage them. These changes are profoundly impacting the world’s food supply, which is beset by crises ranging from skyrocketing fuel and ingredient costs to major shortages where food was once plentiful, from widespread product contaminations to escalating demand for high-quality, environmentally friendly products.

IBM brought together major stakeholders in the global food supply value chain, including members of The US Congress, USDA, FDA, industry trade organizations, academia and consumer advocates in Washington, D.C. on June 24th. This overwhelmingly-successful forum produced the following highlights and sparked the discussion that will continue with subsequent events including a series of webcasts coming up shortly. http://www.youtube.com/user/IBMSocialMedia

Technorati Tags: food, food safety, Smarter Food

It’s a concept a number of us here on this blog have talked about in the past (see prior posts from Andy Piper, Jack Mason and myself). If you look at it at the individual object level, it seems fairly novel and can be construed as gimmicky. Houses that tweet? Andy Stanford-Clark, one of our favorite fellow IBMers who has really pioneered this topic, has “instrumented” his house, the local bus, even the local ferry boat to give the public information about this (more on Andy below). But think beyond the individual object to thousands or even millions of embedded objects acros entire systems – say transportation, or food, or healthcare or shipping or even natural ecosystems – think of the incredible benefits we could reap.

This requires, of course, better analytics to makes sense of it all. But coupled together (data+ analytics) it’s truly the next transformative era of computing. As others have stated before, if Web 1.0 was characterized by connecting people to content, and Web 2.0 is connecting people to people, then Web 3.0 is certainly connecting objects to people and to eachother. The Internet of things. Tim O’Reilly has also been talking about this for a while.

What got me onto this topic recently were two nice pieces from Read Write Web (here and here) stemming from a conversation Richard MacManus had with Andy. From the second post, I share this bit talking about some of the real life applications of this kind of instrumentation:

This month IBM made an agreement with Matiq, an IT subsidiary of Norway’s largest food supplier Nortura. The project involves using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to track and trace poultry and meat products “from the farm, through the supply chain, to supermarket shelves.” This food tracking solution will help ensure that meat and chicken are “kept in optimal condition throughout the supply chain.” The system uses IBM’s WebSphere RFID Information Center, together with IBM’s sensor and actuator solutions.

Matiq offers a great example of instrumenting a food system. But what about if we start to connect that to an instrumented healthcare system and an instrumented traffic and transportation system. You start to see the possibilities of this “system of systems” concept we’ve been talking about in the context of our Smarter Cities conversations.

We’ll continue to probe further here on this blog on the opportunities for the Internet of things. Stay tuned next week for a deeper discussion on the privacy implications of all of this – a key concern that must be addressed at the outset.

Technorati Tags: rfid, Smarter Planet

Recent USDA listening sessions on the establishment of the National Animal Identification System have once again increased the debate if the United States should proceed with establishing a mandatory or continue with a voluntary national livestock disease traceability system. Although opinions differ on how livestock disease issues can be best addressed, and concerns about cost, confidentiality, technology, and practicality of the system remain, the need for improving our existing infra-structure to respond quickly to a disease outbreak has not decreased.

While the national debate seems to focus on the “if we should implement a system”, individual states and industry have made progress and addressed several of the concerns. One of those areas is technology. Based on input from the livestock industry and producers, most species recommend the use of some type of individual identifier for animals moving into commerce. Depending on the species and type of farm management, the use of a group/lot identifier could also be used to keep track of animals leaving the farm. The cattle industry would get the most value out of using a visible ear tagging system that can also be read electronically. In recent years great progress has been made integrating low frequency RFID technology (LF RFID) in herd management making the use of LF RFID more attractive to livestock producers. In the dairy industry for example a USDA official approved LF RFID can also be used for herd health checks, sorting animals, collecting parlor data, animal health programs, breed registry, etc.

By integrating the official ID tags in herd management and industry programs, the process of participating in a disease traceability system becomes not only more practical but also more cost effective and can also open up opportunities for livestock producers to participate in other value added programs.

Bottom line, integration with existing programs will result in minimizing the up front investment and the ongoing effort it will take for a producer to participate in a animal disease traceability program.

Technorati Tags: food, food safety, rfid

Here are a few highlights from each speaker – common themes include the need for identifiers for food products, open traceability systems, standards, and information sharing:

Congresswoman Nita Lowey, NY-18 (Westchester): we need a mandatory traceability system for all foods
David Acheson, Assoc. Commisioner for Food, FDA: major roadblocks to food safety are the lack of uniform standards, we need a global traceability system, there’s a misconception that local is safe and global is unsafe
Gay Whitney, Standards Director, EPCglobal: we need standards for food identification, information capture and information sharing
Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest: 46% consumers worry they’ll get sick from food, 52% have little confidence in food safety systems, retailers need to take more responsibility with recalls
Viktor Varan, Matiq: talked about the food tracking system implemented in Norway
Dr. Allan Preston, DVM and Assistant Deputy Minister, Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural Initiatives: humbled by how underdeveloped and developing nations are ahead of North America in food traceability
Dr. Harold Schmitz, Chief Science Officer, Mars: We need government, universities, and the industry to work together, and not fragment, to counter food supply chain threats
Margaret Saunders, Homeland Security Director, Oak Ridge National Lab: food safety is important to homeland security

The session ended with an active Q&A that could have gone longer, but we were already over our allotted time.

Below is a link to the press kit for the event that includes the final press release on the consumer survey we did about their attitudes on food safety that we released the day of the event. as well as other relevant content.

www.ibm.com/press/smarterfood

Technorati Tags: consumer products, food, food recall, food safety, safety

It is tempting for governments and businesses to view these events and trends through a polarized filter, seeing only the impact to one’s own country or operations. The notion of food security has come to mean ensuring enough food for one’s own population, whatever the cost. Wealthy, water starved nations are acquiring vast tracts of farm land around the globe to ensure access to food, and concerned governments increasingly resort to curbing exports when food prices spike. At the same time we seem to be deluged with high profile product recalls as the highly processed nature of the food we eat and the complex global supply chain becomes more challenging to monitor and manage. And we are hearing more demands for greater inspection of the food supply.

These approaches are mostly short sighted and often selfish and don’t address the underlying issues within the food value chain. So, what’s needed? A more holistic and pragmatic approach that ensures the safety of the food we produce, the sustainability of the practices we use to raise and process it, and the security of the overall food supply from macro level threats such as climate change.

Smarter food policies at the government level will ensure a more equitable and rational allocation of resource and sustainable production of food – critically important as climate change forces major shifts in how and where crops are grown. Smarter supply chains will tackle issues like food waste and spoilage (estimated at 40-50% of all food), and reduce out of stock at retail that currently cost the consumer goods industry 2.5% of sales.

A growing number of online conversations and events are focused on these issues, bringing together key stakeholders to engage in frank discussions about problems, solutions, costs and benefits. But given the gravity of the challenge we face – 1 billion additional people on the planet by 2020 – the window for talking is exceedingly small, and the time for bold action is now.

IBM will be tackling these issues at a forum tomorrow in Washington, D.C., bringing together policy makers, food industry experts, manufacturers and retailers to discuss the future of food safety and quality and to share views on how we can make significant improvements for consumer safety and confidence, the food industry and the world. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #ibmfoodDC.

Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for food at the US Food & Drug Administration, will be the keynote speaker at IBM’s Food Safety event at the Rayburn Building on June 24. Will you be there to participate in this discussion of how businesses and government can create a smarter, safer food supply for consumers around the world?

The President Obama Administration has committed $1+ billion to FOOD SAFETY on an INTERNATIONAL basis. We can help guide where that is spent! On June 24, from 9:00 until 11:30am US Eastern Time IBM will host an event on food safety in the US Government Rayburn Building in Washington, DC. The event — which will gather government leaders, trade and consumer groups, food producers, retailers, scientists, food industry analysts, academics, press and other industry influencers — promises to be viewed as a ground-breaking discussion around this most top-of-mind challenge.

We have confirmed Gay Whitney, Standards Director, EPCglobal (key standards body for traceability), Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest to discuss consumer needs from a scientific and health perspective and Are Bergquist, Managing Director, Matiq (Largest Food Producer in NORWAY) to share success story on meat traceability in Norway, among other speakers.

There is a very limited number of attendees who will be able to participate in this OPEN FORUM, so if you have interest in securing the safety of the world’s food supply, please respond immediately with your intent to attend to
ibmfood@us.ibm.com. There is no cost for entry to this event.

Technorati Tags: food recall, food safety, foodborne illness, rfid, supply chain, traceability

Although the food industry has evolved to a degree over the millenia, bottom line, farmers still grow food, and vehicles of some sort (horse and wagons, trucks, etc.) bring them to market.  However, as so many other industries are being transformed by the Internet, while others are being forced into extinction because of it, what will be the transformational future of food?  Will anything truly, fundamentally change, as is suggested in the article?  Perhaps some methods of distribution may evolve, but I believe there is even a more pronounced possibility looming out there.

Thanks to the Internet, people have become entrepreneurs like never before.  One can run their own business from start to finish almost autonomously.  You no longer really need a telephone company for your personal communications needs.  Just go VoIP. So, what if you could go “back to the future” by generating your own food supply?  Humans used to do this exclusively in eons past.  Why could we not become completely self-sufficient with our own food supply with the tools that exist today?

We could personally ensure three of the key aspects of food: 1) Safety from food borne illness, 2) Availability, protection from hunger, or waste from over supply, and 3) Quality, health and nutrition content.  What would it take for us to do this?  Could we have a huge variety of ingredients, raw materials that is, at hand to generate an endless array of food choices at the home?

I don’t think we’re far off from this world.  We could make supermarkets obsolete.  Maybe.  And that’s coming from an ex-supermarket manager.  Why should we be at risk of what other people are doing with our food before it gets to us?  A typical carrot in Iowa travels 1600 miles before it gets to the grocery store.  Who knows what it’s been through to get there?  75 million Americans are sickened each year with food borne illness.  50% of all food in the world is wasted, but a billion or more go hungry.  Even if we have access to food, how healthy and nutritious is it?  Could we make it better on our own?

Supermarkets have looked the same on the inside for 100 years.  Aisles of cans and meat and produce departments.  Nothing new, really.  It’s time for a revolution.

Technorati Tags: food, food safety, Smarter Food