Why does food matter?

The international food system is one of the single biggest consumers of fossil fuels, one of the greatest producers of greenhouse gases and one of the core users of water in the world.[1] In Ireland, over 20% of our CO 2 emissions come from agriculture alone.[2] While all of the combined stages from farm to plate make up about 20- 30% of the total CO2 emissions in Ireland. Similarly, Ireland has achieved or is on track to meeting all EU waste targets except for biodegradable or food waste, according to the EPA.[3]

Catastrophic climate change is real and is serious BUT it is stoppable if we change our ways now. Simple changes to behaviour and lifestyle patterns such as how we eat, shop and recycle are ways we all can make a difference. Food Matters offers information on the different arguments surrounding food and the environment and offers advice for how you can make a change.

Summary

Looking at the links to the different processes from farm to bin:
• Farm stage: Using vast amounts of oil and water
• Manufacturing stage: energy and materials used in packaging
• Distribution: transport of food globally and locally
• Waste: what happens to food once it reaches your home
• What you can do: become a green shopper, waste less food, grow a patch of vegetables or fruit

[1] Defra UK Progress Report on Sustainable Products and Materials, 2008 , page 5
[2] Environmental Impact of Products (EIPRO): Analysis of the lifecycle environmental impacts related to the final consumption of the EUhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/ipp/pdf/eipro_report.pdf
[3] EPA website news November 27th 2009 http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2009/name,27454,en.html

Coinciding with World Oceans Day and European Fish Week, the study also identifies reasons as to why fishermen are not shifting gears even with high energy prices on the horizon – reasons that include a lack of knowledge and inflexible EU fisheries management.

Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk, said: “This comprehensive report shows both fishers and the environment will benefit from a shift to low impact fisheries. The 2012 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy provides a unique opportunity to adopt well designed policy measures to promote such a shift.”

The report makes the following key points:

• Heavy trawls and dredges that scrape over or dig into the bottom have most impact on the environment, both in terms of habitat destruction and selectivity and in terms of carbon emissions. Less impacting alternative gears include traps and lines.
• Although data on carbon emissions are not straightforward, in general, demersal trawl fisheries and offshore longline fisheries perform badly in terms of carbon emissions per unit catch, passive gears like nets and traps perform better than towed gears, and small vessels perform better than medium sized and large vessels.
• Where fish stocks are depleted and poorly managed, fisheries have bigger negative impacts than those fisheries on well-managed stocks.
• Common problems fishermen face when trying to switch to less damaging fishing techniques include costs, a lack of knowledge on best practices, gear conflicts (passive gear cannot be used where a large number of towed gears are in operation), and practicalities (less harmful gear can be more difficult to use than harmful gear).
• Policy can also acts as a hurdle to a shift to more sustainable fisheries. Currently, the most serious policy hurdle to low impact fisheries is the inflexible nature of the EU fisheries management system. The current short-term micro-management system based on TACs, quotas and effort should therefore be replaced by a more flexible and long-term management system, which supports low impact fisheries.

Based on this report, Seas At Risk calls for the reformed Common Fisheries Policy to promote a shift to low impact fisheries through:

• Preferential access to fish resources for low impact fisheries;
• Elimination of overcapacity using environmental and social criteria, ensuring that the most sustainable vessels remain in the fleet;
• Phase-out of fuel tax exemptions and other perverse subsidies;
• Redirection of subsidies to training/education programs promoting low impact fisheries;
• Introduction and promotion of spatial planning, with zones set aside for low impact fisheries, especially those using passive gears.

A selection of the report’s findings can also be viewed in the accompanying brochure. It is available on the Seas At Risk website in English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Danish at www.seas-at-risk.org

Intensive animal rearing plays a major role in the impact food has on climate change and also accounts for massive water usage. It has been estimated that the agriculture sector alone accounts for about 26% of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissions.[1]  Beef is a particular challenge to climate change, because of the energy used in its farming, and the methane that cattle release into the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.

Equally worrying is the finding that agriculture accounts for the largest human use of water.[2]   Not only is water scarcity a global epidemic that needs immediate attention, water taken obtained from Irish rivers, lakes and aquifers have repercussions on local communities and functions. The meat and dairy industry uses more water than fruits, vegetables and grains. In the total system, it is estimated that 500-4,000 litres of water are evaporated when producing one Kg of wheat while it takes 5,000 to 20,000 litres of water to produce one Kg of meat, all things consistent such as climate, agriculture practices, seasonal variety etc.[3]

Water is used in huge quantities to feed and hydrate livestock. The majority of water used at the farm stage goes into growing the seed need to make up the cereal fed to the livestock. Water is a problem in irrigated systems where huge amounts of energy go into pumping, sourcing and dispersing irrigated water sources. Fuel is also used heavily to power the tractors and machinery.  Cattle, as compared to pigs and chickens, consume the most soy-meal feed, often derived from cleared South American rainforests, another way the industry weighs heavily on the environment.

[1] Environmental Impact of Products (EIPRO): Analysis of the lifecycle environmental impacts related to the final consumption of theEUhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/ipp/pdf/eipro_report.pdf

[2] Saving Water: from Field to Fork Curbing losses and Wastage in the Food Chain International Water Management Institute 2008

[3 Falkenmark and Rockstramen, 2004, Report pg 11 ,

Food processors rely on the petrol based delivery of fresh or refrigerated food. They use emulsifiers, preservatives, colouring agents and other additives many of which rely on oil-based energy sources. Energy is needed to run the machinery that prepares, cleans, and cooks food at this stage. Huge amounts of water are also used to clean and process food products.

Green beans imported from Kenya travel 4,900 food miles, apples from the US clock up roughly 3,700 food miles, and beef from Argentina typically travels 6,900 food miles.[2] Once these foods have reached Ireland, they then have to be distributed by train, car and truck. it has been estimated that food transport is responsible for 25 percent of the miles clocked up on our congested roads and the sheer amount of food transported on our roads has doubled since the 1970s.

It seems as though eating local and Irish produce would be the solution. But unfortunately, it is not that simple.  Kenyan green beans flown to our plates can be over 20 times more greenhouse gas intensive than their UK seasonal counterparts– this is obvious. However, when we consider the methods used to grow and process certain foods, the miles they travel to reach Ireland may not actually be that bad. Ironically, the foods flown to Ireland from warmer climates are grown under natural sunlight and so do not use the heavier energy intensive methods needed to grow produce in colder climates such as heated greenhouses. For example, due to the large amounts of energy needed to heat greenhouses, roses imported to the UK in winter from Holland generated six times more greenhouse gases than roses imported from Kenya, even though those from Kenya were air-freighted.

Also, there are important social issues to consider. If we were to avoid all foods flown from afar we would cause considerable damage to the trade income on which so many developing countries depend.

So what can we do? VOICE has a number of tips and solutions for how you can become more of a green and ethical consumer in the ‘Food Matters:what can I do’ article found here.

[1] ‘Food Miles’, BBC bloom website,www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/localseasonalfood.shtml
[2] ‘Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on your plate’ Joanna Blythman, 31 May 2007 Independent.co.uk

There is a vast inequality in global food distribution. While the majority of the world overeats, 1 billion people starve. We need to be more conscious of how much waste we are generating. Food waste, the biodegradable matter can be disposed of in much more clever manner than simply throwing it in the bin. Food packing waste can be avoided, firstly and secondly it can be recycled and reused. See ‘Food Matters: What can I do?’ article here for tips.

[1] http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/about_food_waste

Secondly, become more conscious of the seasons and try to buy more seasonal produce. Seasonal produce will be those foods that grow naturally with the time of the year. In Ireland, berries grow naturally in the months of August and September. So buying Irish strawberries and blackberries in these months will mean you are avoiding unnecessary food miles and supporting the local economy. Planning your grocery shopping around seasonal foods mean you will be buying foods when they are at their freshest as they did not have to travel for up to a week to get here.

You can also commit to buying more organic produce. Organic farming methods are less energy intensive then their conventional counterparts because of lower (or zero) amounts fertiliser and pesticide inputs[1]. Buy local, Irish organic to support organic farmers and to prevent the unnecessary importation of organic produce by air-freight, which defeats the point of buying organic in the first place!
There are a number of different labelling systems to ensure quality of food products and indicate if the food is sustainable and/or locally sourced.

When it comes to buying fish try to be fish smart- again, read labels and find out if the fish is sustainably sourced. Look for the Marine Stewardship Council logo on cans of fish, on tines of tuna and generally aim to support ethical and sustainable food companies.

You can also support Fairtrade when you can. We all have our favorite foods that have to come from afar such as bananas, coffee and chocolate. When buying these foods, try to support ethically traded food products. The Fairtrade logo is easily recognisable and denotes that the growers of the product receive a fair deal in the international trade.

When it comes to waste there is a lot you can do.

Waste Reduction in four steps:
Reducing your waste will not only reduce your carbon footprint but will also save you money! It is estimated that in Britain alone, £420 is wasted annually on food that is thrown out, which has huge environmental implications.

Here are four ways to reduce your food waste and save yourself money

1. Perfect Portions Plan the portion sizes of your meals, and cook enough for you and your guests, and maybe enough to take for your lunch the next day. Avoid making too much and throwing out excess. Everyday, people everywhere make too much food and end up throwing it out.

2. Shop Wisely Have an idea of what meals you might cook when shopping, so you don’t buy perishable foods that are then are wasted because you don’t have the other ingredients you need. Never shop when you are hungry!!!

3. Avoid unnecessary packaging and plastics when shopping. Farmers markets are ideal for avoiding excess packaging as the produce is not usually wrapped in plastics. Avoid buying plastic bags by bringing your own.

Did You Know? Use the handy portion calculator on the following link, which measures that for 2 people 280g of beef is sufficient, while 1 mug of dried rice is enough for a pot of boiled rice for 4 people. http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

4. Be crafty with your waste
Left- Overs! Avoid making too much food but if you do, save extras for tasty left-overs. Be an environmental and economic genius by bringing left-overs to work and school for lunch. Lots of left-overs can also be frozen as handy meals for some other time. Stick on a little label with the date made and the type of food. Clean plastic containers from takeaway meals are ideal for this.

Compost! Invest in (or make) a composter! A composter is like a hungry pig that will ‘eat’ all your scraps turning them into valuable soil and compost that you can then use for growing your own vegetables or starting a new herb garden. Everything you can eat can go in the composter including some other materials that are often thrown out- potato skins, teabags and rotten fruits and vegetables.
Recycle your plastics, cartoons, cardboard Wash out cartons, tins and bottles, separate the different materials and put into recycling bags. Keep and re-use tubs and cartons for packed lunches or use to store other household items, or for freezing leftovers.

[1] Energy use in organic farming systems ADAS Consulting for MAFF, Project OF0182, DEFRA, London 2001