Sustainable Food: Recent Reports

Reports: 2010 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006

2006

December

FAO (LEAD)  Livestock's Long Shadow The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.

DEFRA analysis of Food Security in the UK (updated 2009) - 3 days before Christmas, examines "the return of globalisation and other economic trends that have weakened self-sufficiency arguments". Definition of Food Security.

November

DEFRA launches Year of Food and Farming in Education (updated as Food policy in Schools 2007), "an industry-led initiative aimed at helping children and young people learn more about how food is grown and produced and how it reaches the consumer." Continuing Legacy: Think Food & Farming

Food Ethics Council spells out Six challenges for the future of farming and food - some of the stickiest questions facing farm policy in the run up to further CAP reforms. This links into an online forum at SDC.

October

Fairtrade launch Fairtrade at Work campaign. "Switch your workplace to Fairtrade certified tea, coffee and other products, and you can help make a difference to the lives of farmers and workers in some of the world’s poorest countries."

September

Footprint of Scotland's Diet by Stockholm Environment Institute shows that Healthier Food is better for the Environment - by reducing the environmental pressure up to 40%. Backed by WWF and Aberdeen Council.

Farm Subsidy - Find out who gets what from the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. You can find out how much a local farm gets, the biggest farm, and manfacturers - for many countries across Europe.

Greening Supermarkets (pdf) - Report from National Consumer Council rates the top eight UK supermarkets on their environmental credentials. The research used indicators that spot-checked practices that can help supermarkets customers become greener shoppers.

TUC Congress (Motion 43) decides to: "promote healthy eating campaigns through workplaces to benefit the health of workers and to support them in guiding their children"

Sustainable Use of Pesticides - new EU Directive/Regulation requires all Member States to establish national action plans and create a system of awareness-raising and training of all professional users, that includes integrated pest management and organic principles.

August

DEFRA Science Study determined the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of 10 agricultural and horticultural commodities. It shows nitrous oxide (N2O) is the single largest contributor to global warming potential (GWP) for all commodities (except tomatoes), sometimes exceeding 80%

Calculate your Food Miles provides the average distance the product travels when it is imported. (part of 'Review')

Score your Diet for health is a quick check-list to show how your diet scores on nutrition, the environment, and animal welfare. (part of 'Review')

July

Government response (later version) ignores Royal Commission's investigation into Crop Spraying & Bystanders (RCEP Report) ACP Judgement on RCEP Sept 05 (which includes in the Forward mention of our Charlie's view). RCEP response to ACP British Science Association summary of debate.

Latest (Dec '10): DEFRA carried out a consultation on the EU Directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides and concluded:"As UK pesticides safety standards are already amongst the highest in Europe, only minor changes are necessary to meet the new requirements, and no compelling evidence was provided in the responses to justify further extending existing regulations and voluntary controls."  e.g they concluded that there is no need to warn neighbours of spraying. These DEFRA conclusions are in complete contrast to "serious concern that if such revisions take place, there could be substantial losses to active substances available for use in UK agriculture and horticulture, with subsequent impact on pest, disease, and weed management for key crops, both due to direct yield losses, and indirect effects due to resistance issues" (ADAS report pdf).ADAS predicted that farmers would need a 25% increase in prices to make up for loss of production, claiming in the report that "even the lowest impact proposal (Commission exclusion) reduces production by approximately 25%." Farmers Weekly launched a campaign to "Save our Sprays" in 2008 that suggested a wipeout of UK sugar beet.

RULU show there would have to be "vast changes in food consumption for healthy eating guidelines to be met...and helps us to understand and assess how much agriculture and land use would need to adjust".

May

Report of Sustainable Consumption Roundtable "I will if you will" (pdf) suggests "there are surely few more enjoyable and effective ways of responding to climate change than by reconnecting our national diet to the flow of seasons."

Food - Ethics site for professionals concerned about food safety

April

City Univeristy on Reporting of top 25 Food Comanies suggested that "Companies should be wary about doing the minimum or presenting a few hurried initiatives in self-promotional terms. A luke-warm response from food companies to the enormity of the public health evidence amassed by the WHO and researchers risks engendering some cynicism. Company actions must move from being purely defensive or centred on
obviating threats to their reputations."