Where is our food coming from?
With the challenge of climate change and an increasing world population, all countries need to ensure they can feed their population in years to come. And the situation has serious implications for food supply chains. This paper highlights some of the key facts and issues.
This last assessment underpins work on how to deliver sufficient safe and nutritious food for all citizens and it was used to create the UK government’s new food strategy ‘Food 2030’. Launched in January 2010, this strategy sets out the government’s vision of what it would like the food system to look like in 2030 and how it plans to get there.
Indicators that align with these priorities have also been developed to measure progress in delivering the strategy.
The significance of the global dimension was further highlighted in a Defra discussion paper in July 2008, which stated:
‘Global food security is important for the UK because, ultimately, global stability depends on there being enough food in the world to feed everyone and for it to be distributed in a way that is fair to all.’
The ‘UK Food Security Assessment’ observes that UK food supply depends upon sophisticated and complex supply chains with supporting infrastructure that is highly dependent upon energy in all its forms. It states that food system resilience is all about ensuring that the critical elements of the diverse supply chains work effectively. So both manufacturing and retail businesses must have co-ordinated network strategies for energy provision, communications, and transport.
Meeting global demands for food is partly about increasing production sustainably without compromising resource availability and causing negative impacts on future generations. Therefore, the international community must focus on efficient use of resources, reduction of post-harvest losses, and implementation of more effective and sustainable use of inputs like seeds, fertiliser and water.
Opportunities exist to fill knowledge gaps regarding identification of alternative crops, smarter inventories, mitigation methods, and better use of water and fertiliser in the food chain. The UK government is also continuing to work closely with international partners to put the Global Partnership on Agriculture and Food Security (GPAFS) into effect. GPAFS will act as a mechanism for governments and others to re-double efforts to tackle hunger and food insecurity sustainably, all in the context of climate change.
However, for real progress in delivering food security, all the stakeholders in the food chain must work together to achieve supply chain sustainability. And it is important to understand how sustainability relates to improved efficiency, cost reduction, and service delivery. This can sometimes seem a daunting task, but in my role at Supply Chain Europe I am actively involved in sustainability audits leading to development projects in the end-to-end food supply chain. So why not look at how you can improve your supply chain?
About the author
Beatriz Luz is an independent environmental specialist with a background in resource efficiency projects in Brazil and the UK. She has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and an MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering (Distinction) from Surrey University.
Since 2002 Beatriz has worked in both technical and co-ordination roles in government-funded programmes such as BIO-WISE, Envirowise, the Resource Efficiency Clubs Programme, and the UK’s National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP). As a Principal Associate with Supply Chain Europe she provides specialist knowledge and advice on food chain sustainability.
She also writes extensively on environmental issues and has now collaborated with Andrew Morgan to produce the new Supply Chain Europe report “Creating and Managing a Sustainable Food Supply Chain” (ISBN 978-0-9557673-1-9).
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Read our previous article on 'Creating Responsiveness in the Business Environment' by Richard Wilding
With the challenge of climate change and an increasing world population, all countries need to ensure they can feed their population in years to come. And the situation has serious implications for food supply chains. This paper highlights some of the key facts and issues.
The global population is estimated to increase from 6bn to 9bn by 2050 and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that global food production will have to increase by 70% compared to 2005-7 levels. Moreover, this will have to be done while the climate is changing.
Food security is a major concern for the UK government. In 2006 the first analysis by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was published as ‘Food Security and the UK: An Evidence and Analysis Paper’. A subsequent document proposed a set of indicators to provide evidence in a structured way about UK food security now and in the medium term. And the more recent ‘UK Food Security Assessment’ set out the challenges and risks facing the UK.This last assessment underpins work on how to deliver sufficient safe and nutritious food for all citizens and it was used to create the UK government’s new food strategy ‘Food 2030’. Launched in January 2010, this strategy sets out the government’s vision of what it would like the food system to look like in 2030 and how it plans to get there.
Food 2030
The Food 2030 strategy considers matters at national, EU and global levels. It emphasises that for a secure and sustainable food system government, farmers, fishermen, businesses, and other stakeholders should focus on 6 core issues:- Enabling and encouraging people to eat a healthy, sustainable diet
- Ensuring a resilient, profitable and competitive food system
- Increasing food production sustainably
- Reducing the food system’s greenhouse gas emissions
- Reducing, reusing and reprocessing waste
- Increasing the impact of skills, knowledge, research and technology
Indicators that align with these priorities have also been developed to measure progress in delivering the strategy.
Understanding the issues
Many stakeholders have noted that the UK cannot base its food security policy on the pursuit of self-sufficiency. In fact, the availability and affordability of the diverse range of food that the UK enjoys depends on global supply and on a well-functioning international trading system.The significance of the global dimension was further highlighted in a Defra discussion paper in July 2008, which stated:
‘Global food security is important for the UK because, ultimately, global stability depends on there being enough food in the world to feed everyone and for it to be distributed in a way that is fair to all.’
The ‘UK Food Security Assessment’ observes that UK food supply depends upon sophisticated and complex supply chains with supporting infrastructure that is highly dependent upon energy in all its forms. It states that food system resilience is all about ensuring that the critical elements of the diverse supply chains work effectively. So both manufacturing and retail businesses must have co-ordinated network strategies for energy provision, communications, and transport.
Meeting global demands for food is partly about increasing production sustainably without compromising resource availability and causing negative impacts on future generations. Therefore, the international community must focus on efficient use of resources, reduction of post-harvest losses, and implementation of more effective and sustainable use of inputs like seeds, fertiliser and water.
Next steps
At government level, the longer term challenges are being examined as part of the ‘Foresight Study on Global Food and Farming Futures’ (to 2050) being led by Professor John Beddington, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser. Other initiatives include bilateral and multilateral engagement with governments and international bodies, targeted development assistance, and funding for scientific research.Opportunities exist to fill knowledge gaps regarding identification of alternative crops, smarter inventories, mitigation methods, and better use of water and fertiliser in the food chain. The UK government is also continuing to work closely with international partners to put the Global Partnership on Agriculture and Food Security (GPAFS) into effect. GPAFS will act as a mechanism for governments and others to re-double efforts to tackle hunger and food insecurity sustainably, all in the context of climate change.
However, for real progress in delivering food security, all the stakeholders in the food chain must work together to achieve supply chain sustainability. And it is important to understand how sustainability relates to improved efficiency, cost reduction, and service delivery. This can sometimes seem a daunting task, but in my role at Supply Chain Europe I am actively involved in sustainability audits leading to development projects in the end-to-end food supply chain. So why not look at how you can improve your supply chain?
About the author
Beatriz Luz is an independent environmental specialist with a background in resource efficiency projects in Brazil and the UK. She has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and an MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering (Distinction) from Surrey University.
Since 2002 Beatriz has worked in both technical and co-ordination roles in government-funded programmes such as BIO-WISE, Envirowise, the Resource Efficiency Clubs Programme, and the UK’s National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP). As a Principal Associate with Supply Chain Europe she provides specialist knowledge and advice on food chain sustainability.
She also writes extensively on environmental issues and has now collaborated with Andrew Morgan to produce the new Supply Chain Europe report “Creating and Managing a Sustainable Food Supply Chain” (ISBN 978-0-9557673-1-9).
______
Read our previous article on 'Creating Responsiveness in the Business Environment' by Richard Wilding