FOOD AND BEVERAGES

SUSTAINABILITY

CONCEPT According to the Worldwatch Institute(2009) the

major problem in the global food production system is in the unsustainable inputs that are sued.

As a result, many forms of environmental degradation occur; falling water tables, deterioration of pasture, soil erosion.

The Western diet, with its high consumption of fish, meat and dairy products is endangering the environment; croplands are diminishing and the ocean’s fish stocks are in decline.

These grim warning signs are matched with some positive signs of awareness in society for health, environmental stewardship and animal welfare.

As a response to the problems being caused by conventional farming techniques the term sustainable food is now used to describe food production that does not take more natural resources than it gives back.

Sustainable food producers see nature as an ally rather than as an obstacle, they are able to produce wholesome food in symbiosis with nature and the surrounding community.

UK GOVERNMENT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, SUSTAINABLE

FOOD IS: Safe, healthy and nutritious, for

consumers in shops, restaurants, schools, hospitals, etc. And can meet the needs of the less well-off people.

Provides a viable livelihood for farmers, processors and retailers, whose employees enjoy a safe and hygienic working environment whether in the United Kingdom or overseas.

Respects biophysical and environmental limits in its production and processing, while reducing energy consumption and improving the wider environment; it also respects the highest standards of animal health and welfare, compatible with the production of affordable food for all sectors of society.

Supports rural economies and the diversity of rural culture, in particular through an emphasis on local products that keep food miles to a minimum.

The term sustainable food may not sound exciting as a description but catering businesses who develop processes to improve the sustainability of the food they offer stand a better chance of meeting the growing demands of individual consumers.

Once the domain of students and hippies the movement has moved into mainstream society and is represented by some very prominent industry players

EXAMPLE Starbucks, has started selling four

categories of what it calls “sustainable coffees”.

The nature of sustainable food often means that they are more expensive than other types of food.

Inevitably, there is a danger that restaurant operations seeking to provide clients with sustainable food choices may increase prices.

There is limited evidence that individual restaurant consumers are prepared to both purchase and pay a premium for sustainable food products.

CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARD SUSTAINABLE FOOD Although consumer awareness of sustainability is growing, it is not yet making a huge difference to what customers choose to buy when they shop for food or sit down to eat in a restaurant.

While the family of sustainable restaurants is wide and can include prosperous niche operations such as organic, vegetarian or healthy food eateries that send a message of health and vitality, results from studies suggest that if a restaurant is planning on “going sustainable” and simply promoting environmental friendliness and stakeholder commitment, it might not have a striking success.

How it purchases ingredients, could make sense from an environmental, moral and investor-relations perspective but it might not make much difference to customers.

RESEARCH IN 2003 FOR UK INSTITUTE FOR GROCERY DISTRIBUTION Found that 45% of consumers would like to know more about the food they are offered when eating out-of-home.

When offered meals that include organic ingredients, free range meats or fair trade products, 52% say that they would be pleased; 45% think they would be likely to order such food.

Today Food and Beverages industry is more competitive than ever. 

As the companies in the various sectors compete and grow sustainability becomes a very important concern. 

Sustainability issues in food industry can cover a range of topics concerning environmental, social and economic backgrounds.

FOOD SECURITY AND GENETIC ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION Food security exists when all

people have physical and economic access to sufficient,

safe, and nutritious food.  Unfortunately, food security does

not exist for a significant proportion of the world

population.  But how to achieve this goal is

debated controversially. 

GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM)  Some see the development and use of

GM crops as key to reduce hunger others consider this technology as a

further risk to food security. Many People see genetically modified

food as a worrying technology Advocates of genetically modified food

products see them as a near-perfect solution for reducing environmental impacts, improving human health and creating new products with enhanced long-term health benefits.

THREE POSSIBLE PATHWAYS HOW GM CROPS COULD IMPACT FOOD SECURITY

GM crops could contribute to food production increases and thus improve the availability of food at global and local levels. 

 GM crops could affect food safety and food quality.

 GM crops could influence the economic and social situation of farmers, thus improving or worsening their economic access to food. 

SUSTAINABLE FOOD

WHICH TYPES OF FOOD CAN BE CONSIDERED FOOD? Defining what is unsustainable or “junk food”

would be easier for most people. People are used to seeing “organic” food in

supermarkets and some have an understanding of organic food production.

Food is often understood and easily spotted by its label

The main impacts of many of the foodstuffs supplied to hotels and restaurants may have been in processing, packing or distribution, not just at the stage of producing raw materials.

CERTAIN TYPES OF FOOD CAN BE IDENTIFIED AS

MORE SUSTAINABLE ( BUT NOT

NECESSARILY MORE HEALTHY) THAN OTHER TYPES.

LOCAL FOOD It means less environmental impact

resulting from travel (food miles) and buying locally helps support the local economy.

The “Localvore” movement( also known as hundred mile diet, where participants choose to consume only locally produced foods) is gaining momentum.

However, it can be naive to imagine that this practice is automatically more energy efficient than transported produce.

Locally produced sausages can hardly be describe as sustainable if the ingredients are coming from the other side of the country or continent and it could be less fresh than sea trout flown in from thousands of miles away.

FAIR PRICES FOR LOCAL FARMERS

The immense production reduction in transport costs, cheap food production in ransport costs, cheap food production in developing countries as well as the increase of big food companies and supermarket chains are responsible for dramatically reducing farm-gate prices in industrialized nations

Local shops are increasingly disappearing and effects on rural economies and farming communities are detrimental (Defra, 2007)

ASSURED FOOD The complexity if the issue is typified by

the number of different schemes that set certain standards covering one or more of the following : food safety and traceability, animal welfare, environmental protection.

The world standard GlobalGap and in Europe the EurepGAP standard are designed to help producers improve food quality and safety, biodiversity, more efficient use of natural resources minimum use of pesticides and fertilizers and worker health and safety.

Food labelled as organic is produced in heavily regulated agricultural systems that stipulate what can added to crops in terms of fertilizer or pest treatment, how waste is dealt with and how animals must be reared.

ORGANIC FOOD

SEASONALITY Restaurant menus should be based

on ingredients that are in season and chefs should look for inspiration from the flow of seasons and the fresh products that become available.

Seasonal offerings not only reduce the importation of food out of season but also enhance local and regional diversity of plant and animal varieties as well as often leading to rediscovery of local cooking traditions.

Food coming from farmers in developing countries with the Fairtrade label receive better prices for their products and have decent working conditions.

Fairtrade initiatives are often in tandem with local economic development, this sustainable approach benefits the community at large.

Fairtrade is an initiative designed to help especially small –scale farmers to survive in the global economy.

FAIRTRADE FOOD

NUTRITION AND HEALTH

The concept of sustainable lifestyle is closely associated with purchasing sustainable food.

The choice of food and the way it is produced and manufactured, has a significant impact on the health of individuals.

FOOD PRODUCTION ISSUES

The main preoccupation of the food economy is to increase production in

order to feed the growing world population and fulfil the culinary desires of the developed nations

issues such as the quality of products,nutritional value and health implications are sometimes neglected.

Recent problems, much reported by the media include health scares

ecological disasters such as over-fishing and intensive factory farming of animals.

A sustainable food and beverage model requires the whole food supply chain, from food production to food sourcing to food preparation needs to be respectful of both human health and the environment.