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information for the concerned consumer
Policy
Predicted world water crisis needs urgent action, says UN
The recent UN report “Water in a Changing World” has warned that urgent action is necessary to prevent a global water crisis. Factors which will contribute to the crisis include biofuel production, increasing meat consumption, increasing populations and migration of country dwellers to the city. The report says governments need to boost investment in water infrastructure and better management in a sector which has been badly neglected considering its vital importance.
Food security key to Millennium Development Goals
The Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future held a consultation in August 2008 in preparation for the UN High Level Event on the Millennium Development Goals in September. Their report was presented at the Roundtable on Environmental Sustainability at the event.
The report identified food security and the impacts of agriculture as important components of the 7th Millennium Development Goal to 'Ensure Environmental Sustainabilty'.
Food Distribution - An Ethical Agenda
The Food Ethics Council (FEC) has published a report on UK food distribution. It calls for system with an ethical agenda.
The report explores what effects food distribution in the UK, what is being done to improve it and where the tensions are. The FEC also offer a vision of the future of food distribution, and provide recommendations for government, business and civil society to help get there.
Food distribution networks impact on our environment, economy, culture and communities, and contribute to climate change. How to make these networks sustainable is becoming an ever more important issue.
EU Votes to Tighten Use of Pesticides
The EU recently voted to ban 22 farm pesticides, and tighten the use of others. The decision has been welcomed by Caroline Lucas, a Green MEP, as 'a new milestone for environment and health protection.' The British government and National Farmers Union, who were against the proposal, have stated that the move could wipe out the UK harvest of winter vegetables and push up food prices.
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.
Malawi: The other side of the Africa's story
Malawi has turned itself from being a food deficit country to one producing surplus grain and overcoming food shortages. The Malawian government's grain subsidy programme; introduced in 2005, increased the provision of maize seed and fertiliser to smallholder farmers by more than 75 percent. As a result, Malawi has trebled maize production from 1.2 million tonnes in 2005 to 3.4 million tonnes in the 2007/2008 agricultural season.
The sucess of the programme has confounded economists and multilateral agencies who initially criticised the subsidy policy. The budget deficit has not worsened, and the programme has saved the Malawian government US$120 million/year on importing food aid. This success has shown how African states can become food secure, and encouraged members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to increase agricultural finance allocation to at least 10% of their national budgets.
Professor Tim Lang, inventor of the phrase 'food miles' has expressed concern about the prevailing thinking on consumer choice. He asks why the consumer is being left to agonise about complex ethical issues, often without adequate information to inform their decisions. Instead he calls for 'choice-editing' by major retailers, asking them to take more responsibility, and make most of these decisions before products hit the shelves.
"The food-miles debate is just a weather vane in my view about whether we are shifting our food culture in Britain from 'value for money' towards 'values for money', or whether we continue with the frankly absurd rhetoric about consumer choice and consumer sovereignty when the reality is that research shows consumers broadly trust the retailers." he recently stated in the Guardian.
Professor Lang cautions that for retailers to start making these decisions there now needs to be more involvement and regulation by the government. He emphasises that individuals cannot control retailers like Tesco, and those in power must ensure that the we can trust the choices already being made on our behalf.
"Though the rich world's governments won't hear it, the issue of whether or not the world will be fed is partly a function of ownership," says George Monbiot. This point reflects an unexpected discovery first made in 1962 by the Nobel economist Amartya Sen which has since been confirmed by dozens of studies. There is an inverse relationship between the size of farms and the amount of crops they produce per hectare. The smaller they are, the greater the yield.
For a fair and ethical agricultural system
The goals of improved well-being, protection of the environment and improved public health are key to developing a fairer and more ethical food and agriculture system, according to the FAO in its report "Ethical Issues in Food and Agriculture". Steps which need to be taken include education and information, transparency of decision making and debate and discussion. Science and technology need to work together with the people involved in agriculture and to take into account their knowledge and cultural beliefs. Participation by all parties in debate is necessary.
A Real Change for Ethical Food
'If you think you can make the planet better by clever shopping, think again. You might make it worse' claimed the The Economist in a recent article.
Changes in consumer behaviour towards organic food, Fairtrade, and local food are not enough. A real change requires actions by governments, reforms of the word trade system and the abolition of agricultural tariffs and subsidies.
Despite this, the ethical food movement offers something really important: hope, and an enormous appetite for change.
