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information for the concerned consumer
Climate change
Reports warn of troubled fish stocks
Two recent reports have both warned about the state of the world fish population. "Hungry Oceans" by environmental group Oceana warned that the growing trend of eating smaller "prey" fish such as herring and squid is depriving larger "predator" fish of their food, who are already threatened by overfishing. The UN report said that aquaculture may not grow to meet demand and their declining fish stocks pose a potential problem for humans. Both reports warned of the effect of climate change as it could lead to migrations and fish populations can collapse during warm periods.
Serious impact of climate change
The UK Government has stated that “climate change poses the most serious long-term threat to development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”. The single biggest source of vulnerability to climate change is poverty; the poorest members of society will suffer the worst consequences.
The WHO estimates that 150,000 people already die annually from the effects of climate change, a number expected to double by 2020. A range of serious imapcts on human health have been exacerbated by climate change; increased malnutrition, mortality from hot weather and floods, storms, fires and droughts. These factors also lead to decreased agricultural productivity, further increasing malnutrition.
Creating a Level Playing Field for African Strawberries
Do we have a moral obligation to eat African strawberries at Christmas?
This is a question that Benito Muller, Director of Energy and Environment at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, recently addressed. In his comment on food miles and poverty eradication, he explored some of the misconceptions around the issues of food miles and air-freighted fruit and vegetables.
Winter strawberries for example, may have a lower carbon footprint grown in sunny Kenya and flown to the UK, than out-of-season fruit grown locally in heated greenhouses. He argues that the food miles concept has misled the consumer, and that demonising imports from developing countries is harming the livelihoods of some of the world's poorest people.
Mr Muller concludes that it is time to level the playing field, and accurately portray the carbon footprint, and development benefits, of fresh produce.
Defra reports on African trade with the UK
A 2007 Defra report examined the carbon costs of African horticultural trade with the UK. African nations supply 14% of the UK's fruit and vegetable imports, of which 90% are transported by ship.
Nevertheless, concern has arisen over the carbon impacts of the 10% that is air-freighted. The report states that while air-freighting is a carbon intensive activity, the external (carbon) costs of the trade represent 10% of the value of Kenya's trade, and only 4% of the value of African trade as a whole. Defra noted that the producer benefits to developing nations should be included in assessing the costs of such trade.
The report predicts that because air-freighted high-value commodities have limited market demand, they are likely to remain a very small share of total food imports. It recommends investigating the lifecycle impacts of African horticultural produce, to get a better understanding of their developmental benefits and carbon costs.
Billions face future food shortages
A recent study has predicted that half the world's population could face food shortages by the end of the century. Rising temperatures may cause significant falls in the harvest of the world's staple food crops. Higher temperatures in the growing season of the tropics and subtropics could reduce the harvest of rice and maize by 20-40%. Increased temperatures are associated with a higher incidence of drought, which causes further crop losses.
The worst shortages are expected to hit the poor, densely inhabited regions of the equatorial belt. The populations of these areas are going through rapid population growth which will place added pressure on food supplies. The team behind the study, from Stanford University in California, emphasised the need for countries to rethink their agricultural systems and adapt to the changing climate.
NHS to reduce carbon footprint through meat-free menus
As part of a huge initiative to cut down the NHS's carbon emissions, more meat-free menus will be offered in hospitals. The NHS accounts for 3% of all carbon emissions in England. Using fewer meat and dairy products is one way that NHS procurement will try to reduce it's footprint.
In 2008 the NHS served 129 million main meals, therefore the content of those meals can have a big influence. Dr David Pencheon, director of the NHS sustainable development unit, stated 'we should not expect to see meat on every menu'. The NHS will use its significant purchasing power to limit carbon emissions, and reducing the amount of carbon intensive meat and dairy is likely to be one of the most-talked about strategies.
Loss of soil threatens food production, UK government warns
More than 2m tonnes of topsoil from farms and forests is being eroded by wind and rain each year, jeopardising efforts to increase food production, the UK government said today.
The soil erosion is reducing the amount of food grown, increasing the risk of flooding and undermining efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
UK land has been steadily degraded by 200 years of intensive farming and industrial pollution, warned the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in a major study of soils. But it said the situation is not nearly as bad as in many Asian and African countries, where soil erosion due to overgrazing and poor farming practices is now seriously threatening food production.
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Research has shown that only around 2% of the environmental impact of food comes from transporting it from farm to shop; although for wine, it can be as high as 34%. The 'ecological' or 'carbon footprint' is now recognised as a more accurate measure of a food's impact than simply talking about 'food miles'. The type of transport is as important as the distance travelled, with sea freight regarded as the lowest impact.
A 2005 report from the University of Cardiff found that the food products with the greatest ecological impacts are beef, butter, cheese, fish, lamb, cream, chocolate, coffee and ice cream.
Dr Andrea Collins from the BRASS Waste and Resources Research Centre at Cardiff University and Dr Ruth Fairchild, a nutritional analyst at the University of Wales Institute, believe that the concept of food miles is too simplistic. Their recent research into the environmental impact of food points towards a better system of "ecological footprint" analysis.
"Our study was to investigate how much impact our food consumption has," said Fairchild. "Most people would be quite surprised that the biggest environmental impact of food is not because of food miles, but because of the processing it goes through. The potential benefits of a vegan diet in terms of climate impact could be very significant."
Food, water and energy shortages by 2030, chief scientist predicts
Professor John Beddington, the government’s chief scientist, has warned that there will be food shortages, water scarcity and insufficient energy resources by 2030. These problems, caused by growing population and poverty alleviation will greatly increase world demand for resources and trigger public unrest, conflict and mass migration. Food reserves are currently at a 50 year low. The effect of climate change will mean that high latitude regions, such as Northern Europe, will become key centres for food production.
