Poop, Bugs & Beer

Re(PURPOSE) makes circularity real and tangible, taking the concept of retaining nutrient value and really bringing it to life.

Poop, Bugs & Beer.

Those are three words you might hope to never hear in the same phrase. Unless, of course, you happen to be a CBC journalist talking about the launch of the first Re(PURPOSE) Circular Meal.

It’s been two weeks since Re(PURPOSE) was launched, since the first gourmet meal grown entirely from waste products (hence the poop, bugs and beer!) became available for purchase, and the response has been frankly inspiring.

The national media picked up and widely showcased the three meals, each featuring locally grown trout (fed on insects that themselves had been fed waste brewers grains), locally farmed potatoes (fertilized with fish detritus, or poop) and locally baked sourdough bread (made from waste brewers grains and waste yeast).

The Circular Meals themselves are proving so popular that the three Guelph restaurants (The Wooly Pub, Park Grocery Deli & Bar, and Miijidaa Café + Bistro)  featuring them sold a month’s worth of inventory in just seven days.

Several other food and beverage companies have reached out to begin conversations about how they, too, can create their own Re(PURPOSE) Circular Meal Experiences.

And discussions have started with partners both in North America and Europe about how Re(PURPOSE) can work in other parts of the world.

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks…!

When we began working on the idea of circular meals with our friends and colleagues in the Our Food Future Network, the modest goal was to see if we could create collaborations between food companies and measure the waste that was saved and the value that was created each year.

But with the launch of the first Circular Meal Experience, it has become clear that Re(PURPOSE) is growing into a movement.

The comment I have heard most over the last two weeks is how people love the way Re(PURPOSE) makes circularity real and tangible.

It takes the concept of retaining nutrient value and really brings it to life.

The video, that traces, step by step, how each waste product is repurposed into an ingredient of a really appetizing meal seems to be opening people’s eyes to what is possible.

And so, I thought I would keep today’s blog short, and just focus it on an invitation.

An invitation to you to join the Re(PURPOSE) movement.

First, watch the Re(PURPOSE) video if you haven’t already.

Then look at the waste products in your food and beverage company, or even in your home, and ask yourself what if?…

What if those things that you call waste today weren’t waste at all, but a source of nutrients?

What if they were an ingredient for another food or beverage product or food or beverage experience?

What if they were really valuable and could be a new revenue stream for your company (as well as the source of a really cool story)?

What if waste wasn’t waste?

That’s what I want this emerging Re(PURPOSE) movement to stand for: a sense of what is possible that inspires people to see food and ‘waste’ differently. And that creates a whole load more exciting and yummy Circular Food Experiences that we can all enjoy!

I’m off to get myself some more poop, bugs and beer on a plate (not literally, of course)!

Cher

Cher Mereweather

President & CEO

cmereweather@provisioncoalition.com

P 519.822.2042 x1

C 519.803.6395