|
05 July 2011
SUSTAINABILITY
Radical changes suggested at Sustainable Foods Summit
Speakers at the recent Sustainable Foods Summit suggested radical changes in agricultural production methods maybe required to meet the sustainability challenges of the food industry.
With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, the general consensus is that existing food production systems are inefficient to meet the future needs of the growing population. The fourth of this international series of summits took place in Amsterdam this June, bringing together over 130 senior executives from the food industry. Organised by Organic Monitor, the summit covered a diverse range of sustainability issues.
The opening speaker, Dr Ulrich Hoffmann from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, discussed the challenges of food security. He said that growing consumer affluence was raising demand for animal feeds such that a 50-70% rise in food production was required. He called for a paradigm shift in agricultural development from green revolution to an ‘eco-intensification’ approach. His paper underscored the role of sustainable agriculture - considering 70% of agricultural food production is undertaken by small-scale farmers, organic farming plays an important role in creating ecological, social and economic benefits to these producers.
Ruth Mathews, executive director of the Water Footprint Network, highlighted the growing prominence of water footprints. Since 92% of the world’s water footprint is in agriculture, she suggested the food industry take greater accountability for water consumption. Launched earlier this year, her organisation’s new waterfootprint standard can determine the amount of water used directly and indirectly to produce agricultural products. She showed how 1kg of beef has a waterfootprint of 15,400 litres, compared to 2500 litres for rice and 300 litres for beer.
Also considering sustainability initiatives, Professor Dr Michael Braungart of EPEA International Umweltforschung suggested food and ingredient companies consider ecoefficiency approaches to produce zero waste. He explained how the Cradle-to-Cradle Design Approach can be utilised to recycle nutrients, rather than putting food and packaging waste into landfills. Other papers in the opening session covered sustainable packaging, ethical finance and sustainability metrics.
The climate change session opened with a stark reminder of the challenge ahead - the chairperson stated a reduction in greenhouse gases of over 50% is required if global temperatures are not to rise by over 3-5°C. Chris Reu from VU University Amsterdam showed how sustainable agriculture can create positive impacts in African countries. Success stories were given on how new agro-forestry systems were rehabilitating barren land, creating enterprise, increasing food production and sequestrating carbon emissions.
The Carbon Disclosure Project gave examples on how carbon management practices can reduce business costs as well as curb emissions. In the same session, case studies were given of pioneering commercial organisations taking the lead in reducing carbon emissions. Alpro, the leading health & wellness company in Europe, went over its plan to become carbon neutral by 2020. The Swiss supermarket chain Migros shared its initiatives in carbon footprint reduction, which include green buildings, sustainable sourcing, packaging reduction and carbon labelling of products. Other papers looked at the role of soil fertility in carbon sequestration, sustainable protein challenges and sustainable dairy production. The session adjourned with a panel discussion on the prospects of a low carbon food industry.
Other sessions honed in on marketing and distribution innovations and at the positive contribution of sustainable ingredients. Various approaches to sustainable sourcing were covered, including fair trade, sustainability roundtables and ethical partnerships.
Although many positive case studies were given of sustainability initiatives in the food industry, the general consensus from summit participants was that greater strides in sustainability are necessary. Mitigating climate change and inefficient production systems remain major challenges, whilst new challenges concerning food security, water scarcity and waste management are emerging. The next Sustainable Foods Summits will continue to discuss such challenges, and for more information, visit the website.
|
