Sustainable Bites 18.10.23

And for the main… 

Study finds food companies aren’t doing enough to protect the planet

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) has published new research showing that the vast majority of the world’s major food and agriculture companies need to take decisive action to protect the planet and to feed the world in a healthy and fair way.

The food industry has an enormous role to play in contributing to more sustainable, equitable and health-focused food systems. With this in mind, WBA analysed the 350 most influential food and agriculture companies around the world, assessing how they are managing their impact on nature, improving the healthiness of their food products and providing decent working conditions. 

Only 18% of consumer-facing companies are adapting products to improve their nutritional quality, and just five companies have set targets to increase sales from healthy foods. Global restaurant chains and foodservice providers lag behind on this.

The companies assessed source commodities – such as coffee, cocoa and palm oil – from 75 million small-scale producers based in 40 low-and middle-income countries, most of which are impacted by persistent poverty. While 27% of companies support farmers’ income stability through procurement and pricing, only 4% identify living income benchmarks or assess how to bridge these gaps. 

Food systems are responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions – but less than half of the companies studied have climate commitments in place, and only 2% have a real understanding of environmental impact. With almost 50% of agricultural lands moderately to severely degraded, regenerative agricultural practices are critical for restoring soil health, improving climate resilience, protecting water resources and biodiversity, and enhancing farmers’ profitability. 

Regenerative agriculture is gaining some traction, with 51% of companies referencing it; however, little is being done to reduce chemical inputs and water pollution, preventing real regeneration of soil and water. While many companies are reporting reductions in water usage, only 12% are reporting the level of pollutants they are putting into water sources, and just 2% have set committed targets to reduce water pollution.

WBA is calling for rapid action from food and agriculture companies. Improving the performance of these sectors could have a vast ripple effect, protecting and restoring nature, contributing to public health and lifting people out of poverty.

EU countries to push for phase-out of fossil fuels at COP28

EU countries' climate ministers have agreed upon the bloc's negotiating position for this year's COP28 summit, agreeing to push for a world-first deal to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

The annual UN climate talks will begin in Dubai on November 30th, where nearly 200 countries will negotiate efforts to fight global warming. With fossil fuel combustion a leading cause of the climate crisis, this will proposal will form a central focus.

After much debate, the EU's 27 member countries agreed unanimously to call at COP28 for a phase-out of "unabated" fossil fuels. This means that there would be a window for countries to keep burning coal, gas and oil provided they use technology to "abate", or capture, the resulting emissions. However, the deal noted that emissions capturing technologies "exist at limited scale and are to be used to reduce emissions mainly from hard to abate sectors".

Around 10 countries (including France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia) had originally pushed for a more ambitious plan to phase out all fossil fuels. However, with a unanimous vote required – and a similar number of countries in favour of this less drastic phase-out of "unabated" fossil fuels – a compromise was necessary.

WRAP publishes 2022 report on food redistribution

Climate NGO WRAP has published its latest report from its anti-food waste programme, which redirects meals that would otherwise have been wasted to people who need them. In 2022, the project saw 27% year-on-year growth, with 170,000 tonnes of food redistributed in the UK alone. Overall, food to provide 400 million meals was redistributed through the scheme last year.

WRAP cooperates with redistribution organisations across the UK, including charitable and commercial channels. Retail remained the largest contributor to supply, accounting for 41% of all redistributed food. This was followed by manufacturers (32%), hospitality and food services (10%) and farming (2%). The remaining 12% came from mixed sources. 

Catherine David, Director of Behaviour Change and Business Programmes, said, “While great strides have been made, WRAP urges the food sector to do more. Businesses working in collaboration with the redistribution industry now need to find solutions to other issues which prevent access to harder to reach surplus.”

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has shone a spotlight on wasted food in recent months, with more families struggling to put food on the table. While this certainly generates more conversation around the issue, it’s important to remember that food waste is not only tied to economic hardship, but has wide-reaching ramifications across a wide range of environmental issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, land and air pollution, habitat loss, plastic waste and soil degradation. 

Climate change is affecting how beer tastes – and what it costs

A study published in Nature Communications has concluded that both the quantity and quality of hops – a key ingredient in most beers – is being impacted by the climate crisis, changing the taste and quality of beer.

Hop farmers and brewers will have to adapt growing and brewing methods to account for hotter and drier conditions, and prices of beer are likely to rise. Some hop farmers have already moved their plots higher or into valleys with more water available. Others are adjusting the spacing between crop rows.

The researchers modelled the effect of global warming on hops using an emissions scenario similar to current policies. Driven by hotter weather with more frequent and severe droughts, the study concluded that European hop yields will fall by 4-18% by 2050 if farmers do not adapt, while the content of alpha acids (which provide aroma and flavour) will fall by 20-31%. 

Co-author of the study, Miroslav Trnka – a scientist at the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences – said, “Beer drinkers will definitely see the climate change, either in the price tag or the quality. That seems to be inevitable from our data.

“Growers of hops will have to go the extra mile to make sure they will get the same quality as today, which probably will mean a need for greater investment just to keep the current level of the product.”

EU urges China to commit to renewable energy targets

In talks with China's National Energy Administration chief Zhang Jianhua in Beijing, the European Union's top energy official, Kadri Simson, urged China to commit to renewable energy and methane reduction targets. This marked the first in-person energy conversation between the EU and China since 2019.

Simson said she urged China to sign up to a global plan to reduce methane and to commit to the global tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030. "China so far has not committed despite the fact that they are global leaders in deploying renewables.”

Indeed, it is clear that China is committed to a move away from reliance on fossil fuels. The country added more wind generation capacity in the last two years than it had in the preceding seven years combined, overtaking the rest of the world to become the world leader in wind power capacity. The country also expanded its solar generation by over 27% in 2022, compared to the previous year.

The two sides also discussed carbon neutrality commitments, but Simson said she did not push China for more ambitious targets. Referring to China's net zero target (set a decade later than the EU's 2050 goal), she said, "I believe it will be possible to decarbonise way earlier than 2060, but every government has the right to choose their own path."