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2026 EVENT AT A GLANCE
On October 27th 2026, we will gather for the eighth annual Food. Ag. Ideas (FAI)—a premier event where food, health, and innovation converged. Through a full day of fireside chats, panels, immersive experiences, and high-impact networking at Machine Shop in Minneapolis, FAI spotlights the future of nutrition and wellness.
This year's theme, The Minnesota Model: Building a Living Economy from the Ground Up, explores how Minnesota's century of cooperative economics, land stewardship, and connected layers of food system infrastructure has built something durable—and what the rest of the country can learn from it.
With top speakers from major brands, healthcare, and startups, FAI 2026 is a must-attend event for anyone shaping what we eat and how we live. Together, we took steps toward building a healthier, more sustainable future.​​​
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TUESDAY: 10/27
the Minnesota Model
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM | Machine Shop
Check-In & Networking
8:30 AM – 9:20 AM | Machine Shop
The Minnesota Moment: What the Living Economy Is, Where It Came From, and Why It Matters Now
This opening session confronts the forces reshaping food and agriculture—from AI and climate pressures to shifting consumer trust—not to alarm, but to orient. Grounded in Minnesota’s century-old cooperative tradition, the keynote introduces a vital three-layer model (local, regional, and global) for navigating today's industrial tensions. Rather than offering easy answers, this honest framing examines where our regional infrastructure succeeds and where it falls short, leaving attendees not anxious about the future, but fully activated to build a more resilient food economy.
9:30 AM – 10:20 AM | Machine Shop
Eating Reimagined:
What the GLP-1 Era Means for Food & Ag
The rise of GLP-1 medications signals a structural shift away from the old food model of high volume, cheap calories, and convenience toward smaller portions and nutrient density. Rather than treating this as a simple pharmaceutical trend, this panel explores the deeper reality: consumers are fundamentally re-examining their relationship with food. Industry experts will discuss what replaces the old volume-based system, where new opportunities are hiding, and how farmers, brands, and retailers can adapt to a market that eats less but demands much more.
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM | Machine Shop
Networking & Refreshments
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM | Machine Shop
Food As Health: From Category Trend to System Infrastructure
Moving beyond simple product reformulations, this session connects soil health to human health, exploring how regenerative farming and advanced nutrient density measurement can transform food into true preventive medicine. Building on the momentum of previous discussions, the panel dives into the latest frontiers—including personalized nutrition, the gut-brain axis, and bioactives—while addressing the structural shift required for healthcare, insurance, and retail systems to treat food as critical health infrastructure. Leveraging Minnesota's unique research and startup ecosystem, this biological argument outlines a food system fundamentally re-oriented around nourishment from the ground up.
12:00 PM – 1:10 PM | Machine Shop
Featured Lunch Conversation
1:15 PM – 2:05 PM | Machine Shop
Nourishing the Economy: Protein, Innovation, and the MN Collaborative Model
Protein is the ultimate nutritional driver of our time, and Minnesota is at the center of its global transition. Rather than chasing trends, this session highlights the state's unique collaborative infrastructure—including MBOLD, the Plant Protein Innovation Center, and major industry executives—which connects the entire food ecosystem from field to lab to market. The panel will tackle the hard questions of how plant and conventional animal agriculture can co-exist, and what specific crops and production systems must be developed to supply the next generation of protein ingredients.
2:15 PM – 3:05 PM | Machine Shop
Resilience & Volatility: The Stress Test
This session stress-tests the living economy against severe global disruptions, including trade tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, regulatory shifts, and climate volatility. Moving beyond regional ideals, the panel examines how systemic resilience must be built across supply chains, finance, and ecology before a crisis hits. By analyzing how Minnesota’s unique infrastructure—combining domestic supply chain depth, regenerative agriculture, and international trading partnerships—absorbs shocks that fracture other regions, attendees will gain actionable insights into building a food and agriculture model designed to last.
3:05 PM – 3:45 PM | Machine Shop
Networking & Refreshments
3:45 PM – 4:35 PM | Machine Shop
The Local and Regional Food System as Economic Infrastructure
This session brings the living economy back to the ground, proving that local food hubs, cooperative distributors, and community-rooted brands are not separate from the global scale—they are where it starts. Attendees will explore how Minnesota connects the local, regional, and global layers to build trust, pilot new ideas, and scale durable impact. Offering an accessible entry point for everyone in attendance, this panel demonstrates how investing in local food infrastructure today creates the essential foundation needed to drive large-scale, resilient collaboration tomorrow.
4:45 PM – 5:25 PM | Machine Shop
The Playbook: Can the Minnesota Model Travel?
The final session serves as a provocation rather than a victory lap, asking the most critical question of the day: which parts of Minnesota’s food and agriculture model are transferable, and which are entirely unique to this place? Speakers will challenge the room on what the region is still getting wrong, while providing external attendees with the specific ingredients needed to build similar innovative ecosystems back home. Designed to amplify this framework across the national Naturally Network ecosystem, this closing keynote ensures attendees leave fully activated to build, scale, and connect resilient food infrastructure within their own communities.
5:30 PM | Mill City Museum
Networking Reception
Co-hosted with Reuters Transform Food this is a unique opportunity for attendees from Transform Food & Agriculture and Food. Ag. Ideas to come together and celebrate Minnesota's expanding leadership in global food and ag innovation in a networking drinks reception.