Merge Impact addresses rising consumer demand for nutrient-dense foods and greater transparency with new blockchain-powered nutrient density tracking platform.
MORRISON, Ill., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Impact today announced MINT (Merge Impact Nutrient Traceability), a nutrient density data tracking and transparency tool powered by blockchain technology. Merge Impact is the first and only blockchain-powered agricultural measurement and data solution to connect brands to fully verified regenerative and organic supply chains while providing regenerative and organic farmers with comprehensive field-level measurement and ecosystem services. With the click of a button, the new MINT tool connects food brands to regenerative and organic farming partners with verified nutrient soil data. Additionally, farmers can maximize the value of their regeneratively grown crops through field-level nutrition measurement, streamlining their claims verification and radically increasing supply chain transparency.
According to Mintel’s 2023 Food + Drink Report, nutrient density is one of the year’s most important consumer trends. With nearly 99 percent of the world’s daily calorie intake traced back to agricultural soil and one-third of the world’s soil resources already degraded*, industries will be tasked with protecting the nutrition of our soil for future generations. Agricultural transformation through regenerative and organic approaches will be crucial to building sustainable nutrition and global food security for our future.
“As more food companies set ambitious sustainability goals, they are looking for technological advancements to streamline and ensure supply chain data credibility and transparency from their farming partners,” explained Ben Adolph, Merge Impact founder and CEO. “The Merge Impact MINT nutrient density platform is a comprehensive standard delivering transparent connections between nutritional qualities of food and the systems they were produced under. Using the MINT blockchain, Merge connects the nutritional value with climate impact in a transparent, defensible package.”
MINT provides food brands like Simpls, a meal delivery service dedicated to making it easy to eat delicious, wholesome, and sustainable foods, with a trusted, verifiable, and fully transparent source of nutrient density data for ingredients sourced from regenerative and organic farmers. The MINT platform also provides farmers with an easy and efficient way to optimize their yield while minimizing environmental impact and advancing a healthier food supply chain for the planet and our communities. To develop the metrics for MINT, Merge Impact collaborated with Danielle Kushner, a soil, agriculture, and human health consultant with Deep Soil. Kushner’s mission for the last decade has been to optimize soil organic matter and the micro-biological productivity of soil in order to grow more nutrient-dense food for human and animal health while mitigating climate change. In her collaboration with Merge Impact, Kushner provided informed science-based metric recommendations for the new MINT protocol.
“Healthier crops grown in healthy soil lead to more nutrient-dense and flavorful food for consumers,” said Beth Robertson-Martin, co-founder and vice president of partnership development at Merge Impact. “We’re excited to provide food brands with an easy, trustworthy way to ensure maximum nutritional value, from farm to fork.”
Studies show that regenerative and organic agriculture practices result in healthier soil and increased diversity of microorganisms, phytochemicals, and nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, and vitamins including B1, B12, C, E, while lowering elements that are detrimental to consumer health.* Through soil sampling and grain testing, the MINT platform will verify a variety of key nutrients, including antioxidants, polyphenols, protein, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, sulfur and zinc.
“Merge Impact is enabling us to bring maximum transparency to our customers about the health, climate and ecosystem impact they make with every bite of our food,” said Ryan Rosenthal, co-CEO of Simpls. “Most importantly, we can quantify the incredible efforts of our innovative growers and give them the credit they deserve for their work. It’s a beautiful collaboration with our growers, customers, and Merge Impact to create a regenerative future.”
Brands and farmers interested in learning more about MINT and Merge Impact’s blockchain-powered agriculture data and measurement services can go to www.mergeimpact.com.
About Merge Impact
Merge Impact is the first and only blockchain-powered agricultural measurement and data solution to connect brands to fully verified regenerative supply chains while providing regenerative and organic farmers with comprehensive field-level measurement and ecosystem services. The result is a radically transparent food economy that ensures all stakeholders — Earth, farmers, consumers, and brands — benefit from verified regenerative practices. With its partners, Merge Impact measures the environmental impact of crop production by monitoring almost any data point on the farm — from water to carbon to biodiversity and more. Merge Impact is an essential brand partner that connects brands with the verified data they need to reach their climate goals. Founded on the farm, Merge Impact enables and empowers farmers to measure and monetize the impacts of regenerative farming practices, with the click of a button. www.mergeimpact.com
*Sources: Food Business: What Consumers Want in 2023, NPR: Study aligns regenerative farming with human health benefits, Study: Regenerative farming boosts soil health, yielding more nutritious crops, Status of world soil resources, and How regenerative agriculture can enable sustainable nutrition
