Sustainable Food

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Sustainable Food Farming
AIMS Develop confidence / competence to use term
sustainable Spell out main areas of
concern Direct possible ways forward Explore
learning worlds of thinking doing
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Charlie C

• PhD Agricultural EcologyFellow, Food Policy
  Unit, City University
• Representative (NW) on Farmworkers Union (Unite)
• Member of Food Ethics Council

Host www.sustainablefood.com No 1 when you
google sustainable food !
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What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
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What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
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What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
6
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?
SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
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What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
8
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
9
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
10
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
11
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
12
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
13
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)
• Partnership not individual

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
14
What is Sustainable Food/Farming?

• Barbara Ward Idea of environment development
• Dont jeopardise future generations
  (Brundtland)
• Healthier for people and planet
• Not business as usual
• Balance between Environmental, Social,
  Economic ( Battle between Land, Labour
  Capital)

SDC Definition of sustainable food/farm
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Why concern about food/farm sustainability?

• Land
• UK needs 6 X its own land surface to produce its
  food.
• This ecological footprint is the amount of land
  needed to grow and to produce energy and absorb
  pollutants Total environmental impacts of what
  goes In/On/Out
• Lots of land used abroad, while millions hectares
  left for rough grazing (big lawn in UK garden)
  here
• Some UK land over used, much under used.
• Land prices shooting up (30 last year), as
  demand for food competes with fuel, feed and
  fibre.

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Why concern about food/farm sustainability?

• Global Warming Potential (GWP)
• About 1/5 th of all Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)
• UK - Food gt Farm Elsewhere Food lt Farm
• Due to
• Direct Energy (CO2) - lt 1 Total UK GHGs
• Meat - Methane (CH4) 31 Tot Ag GHGs
• Fertiliser - Nitrous Oxide (NOx) 38 total ag
  GHG)
• 25X gt Pesticides GWP 2X All Air Flights!!!
• Forest to Farm (CO2) Meat Fertiliser together

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Why concern about food/farm sustainability?

• Water
• About 20 Niles ( Water in the Nile River) are
  exported from Africa each year
• There is enough water exported in fresh
  vegetables for 10 mill Kenyans each day. (Kibaki
  3rd largest landowner)
• "A typical meat-eating, milk guzzling, westerner
  consumes as much as a hundred times their own
  weight in water every day - as Virtual Water

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Why concern about food/farm sustainability?

• Labour
• Almost always paid less than industrial average.
  UK farmworkers only group controlled by law.
• UK farming most dangerous workplace 2 X higher
  rate of fatalities compared to next worst
  construction
• Curry Report basis of DEFRA sustainability,
  spells out fatalities. HSE developed HS
  qualifications
• Elsewhere need for better wages shown by need for
  Fairtrade, ETI etc. When will UK have Fairtrade
  carrots?

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Why concern about food/farm sustainability?

• Capital
• Concentration of companies in all sectors
  whether chemicals, machinery, seeds or chocolate,
  sugar or retail
• Due to large dependence on imports (20 worse
  since 1995), forcing concentration
• Concentration leads to under investment in
  unprofitable areas eg hills, and
  overproduction in other areas excess chemicals
• Demand for cheaper labour and not paying
  environmental costs

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Cheap Food

• Much can be put down to UKs Cheap Food Policy.
• Ever since the Repeal of the Corn Laws UK wanted
  cheap imported food to feed/fuel our industry.
• Result is that UK agriculture degraded during
  much of last 150 yrs (depression from 1880-1945)
• Investment always tended to go abroad
• Can see this policy reflected now in headlines
  like Food prices Fuel inflation

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Cheap Food

• Throughout world we can produce too much food
  which results in low prices.
• Nearly a billion people go hungry each year
  rising despite all the green revolution.
• People starve not because we cant produce enough
  food, but because they cannot afford to buy any.
• Double Burden is that about same number of people
  (billion) are now fat/obese.

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Time for Change?

• The Food Crunch is coming.
• Food prices are rising because Grain shortages,
  Industrialisation esp. India China Biofuels
  demand for land. EU target of 10 transport
  biofuels will take 50 landOil now _at_ 100
  barrel
• Food security and obesity are raising concerns at
  highest level Browns set up Food Policy
  Strategy 1st since WW2.

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Time for Change?

• Only recently that food/farming seen to be such a
  major factor in GWP, water use and land use.
• Recently 1 of 3 priority topics at European
  Environmental Conference.
• Recommended need for wide range of tools and
  instruments needed.
• Like these doing words as they go way beyond
  individual responses.
• Recommendations..

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Way Forward - General

• We need political debate akin to debate of the
  Repeal of the Corn Laws 150 years ago.
• Except we now say it should be geared to the
  overall future of all, not just UK industry. ie.
  for sustainability
• That means putting Food/Farming at the front of
  economics, not industrys hand maiden
• Higher prices offer the opportunity to negotiate
  improvements
• Perhaps Rural workers have a vital role in
  transforming these ideas into practice..

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Way Forward

• National LevelInfluence subsidies, now not
  needed, where will this money go? More on CAP
  subsidies
• CompanyDevelop skills throughout increasingly
  powerful chains (eg Nestle). Unions are major
  group in Agenda 21 (Chap 29).
• Learning- Vocational eg Sustainability quals
  Level 1 L2
• - Educational

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Education for Sustainable Food
DfES Sustainable Development Action Plan
2005/6 Target for May 2006 Provide guidance to
caterers schools on procuring school
mealsResponsibility of Schools Director
General School FEAST Network