Food manufacturers, retailers, farmers and producers are making substantial progress working together on sustainability, partnering to ease any strain that could arise from business commitments that directly impact growers and the supply chain.

Those words come from representatives of two of the world’s largest food companies, PepsiCo and Walmart, who said they’ve employed innovative initiatives to not only aid the planet but also do so with growers in mind through listening and cooperation.

Mikel Hancock, senior director of strategic initiatives with Walmart, and Rob Meyers, vice president of sustainable agriculture for PepsiCo, were guest panelists during a session on sustainability at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s convention earlier this month.

Session moderator Terri Moore, AFBF vice president of communications, said that cooperative mindset is a positive development as all entities work hand-in-hand to feed the world while sustaining the land.

“Historically, there has been tension between farmers ...