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An upcoming student-led Stanford conference aims to explore the future of food.
The Food4Thought Festival, to be held April 17-18 at Tresidder Oak Lounge, will offer panels and workshops focused on connecting students and early career grads with researchers, policymakers and alternative protein companies focused on sustainable and equitable food systems. The two-day event is open to anyone interested in food systems and aims to cultivate conversations around subjects such as regenerative agriculture and the intersection of AI and machine-learning with food.
“There’s a lot of momentum and excitement around what the future of the food system could look like, but there’s not a lot of know-how or general information about what current work is being done, what types of opportunities there are,” said Navin Durbhakula, a recent Harvard grad with a degree is sustainable food systems and one of the founders of the nonprofit Food4Thought.
Food4Thought Innovations, an advisory platform for student changemakers to reform food systems, was founded in 2024, with the number 4 symbolizing the four pillars of the food system: environmental justice, food security, public health and animal welfare. The first Food4Thought Festival was held at Havard, and now it’s coming to Stanford.
Durbhakula said Stanford was a natural choice to bring the conference to, as it not only has a school of sustainability but the Bay Area is a hub of food tech innovation. Recent Stanford grad Sofia Estefania Vera Verduzco is helping to bring the Food4Thought Festival to Stanford through her student club People for Animal Welfare.
“There are quite a few researchers that are doing really exciting work in pushing forward plant-forward and other alternative plant-based proteins at Stanford … but I think on the student level, the engagement is much lower, and it’s not as organized,” she said. “And so I think it’s really exciting to show students what the future of food could look like and be a hub for people.”
Tickets range from $100-$499, and discounts are available for different circumstances. While parking must be paid separately, a ticket does give in-and-out access for both days of the conference. Food4Thought expects about 250-300 participants at the festival.
Panels will be on topics such as seafood sustainability with the executive director of Aquaculture Accountability Project and the CEO of Finless Foods and school food policy with Friends of the Earth and ProVeg International. Additional speakers include Ellen Kuhl, who runs the Living Matter Lab at Stanford; Karim Pichara, the co-founder of NotCo, a company that uses AI to create plant-based alternatives to animal products; Sailesh Rao, the founder of Climate Healers, a nonprofit focused on mitigating climate change through a transition to a vegan lifestyle; and Upside Foods, a food tech company that grows meat from animal cells.
In addition to panels, expect workshops and case challenges, a research showcase, a career fair, a film screening and even a meditation session led by The Art of Mindfulness Foundation. All meals will be catered by Loving Hut, one of the largest international vegan franchises.
Durbhakula said that Food4Thought is “building a movement,” explaining that reform is needed in many different aspects of the current food system, and changemakers in each area need to connect and collaborate with each other.
“People have a tendency to stay in their lane and study one aspect of something, or really focus on a particular solution area; but oftentimes, if those people aren’t talking to each other, then you might be solving one solution, but then creating another problem in another area,” he said. “Because the food system is, at the end of the day, I like to think of it as a circular system.”
Food4Thought plans to continue hosting the festival annually at universities all across the country, inspiring change for a sustainable future.
Food4Thought, Instagram: @food4thoughtinc. Food4Thought Festival will be held at 498 Santa Teresa St., Stanford, on April 17 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and April 18 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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