McCain Foods enters Roblox to promote sustainable farming practices

McCain Foods, a Canadian company that describes itself as “the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products,” is hoping to educate young people about regenerative agriculture through a new activation on Roblox, a blockchain-based virtual world.
The company’s new #SaveOurSoil campaign – of which the Roblox experience is a part – will also include a partnership with Bored & Hungry, a Long Beach, California-based restaurant that uses Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs in its branding. The restaurant will serve McCain’s ‘Regen Fries’ (short for “regenerative”) at a pop-up starting and extending through November 18.
The campaign, according to McCain, is part of its larger effort to adopt regenerative agricultural practices across its global potato-growing operation by the end of 2030.
The biochemical integrity of soil is ordinarily degraded over time through intensive farming practices. But regenerative agriculture – which includes a variety of practices, including cover crops and crop rotation – can extend the lifespan of soil by reintroducing vital nutrients as they are used to support crops and animals.
A recent report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) claims that a staggering “90% of the Earth’s precious topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050.”
“We believe regenerative agriculture is vital in trying to make the global food system more sustainable,” Christine Kalvenes, global head of innovation and marketing at McCain, said in a statement. “If we don’t change the way we farm, the implications are bleak – and we cannot allow that to happen. Working together with farmers and consumers, we want to enable and speed the transition to regenerative farming practices.”
McCain’s new Roblox experience, called ‘Farms of the Future,’ is designed to introduce a younger audience to the benefits of regenerative agriculture. Once inside, visitors are challenged to earn points as they grow virtual potatoes through a variety of regenerative agricultural practices.
‘Farms of the Future’ was launched inside Livetopia, a virtual roleplaying game that’s attracted more than 2.6bn visits from players, according to its website.
Source: Thedrum