It was very shocking to find out just how much energy goes into food production. Most people would assume that something as natural as farming you have a relatively low impact on the environment and energy consumption, however that is not the case. But what does strike me as being typical from what I have learned over the last number of weeks is that food production is not necessarily to blame in its own right. But rather the pressure we as consumers have out it under.
For many years in Ireland, the only fruit and vegetables which were available to people were those that could be grown naturally in Ireland, had to travel a relatively short distance from producer to consumer, and that were in season. But as consumers we have begun to look for ever more ‘exotic’ food. The introduction of foreign restaurants has seen an increase in the variety of foods imported for both these restaurants but more importantly for supermarkets so people can cook these dishes at home.
As an employee of a major supermarket chain and former manager of the fruit and veg department of one of the larger stores in the chain I have first hand experience of this. One example of how these large super markets are contributing hugely is in the race for profit and to keep customers through the range of fresh fruit and veg they have available.
A good example of this would be baby corn. This vegetable is not traditionally grown here. Personally I am unsure if it would be present in any traditional Irish dish and is mainly sold as an ingredient in Asian dishes such as stir-fry’s. However while managing the fruit and veg department we received between four and six cases of this product every week. A case would contain 16 packets, at 250g per pack. Over 90% of this was simply sent to refuse every week, (not composted) as it had not sold before its ‘Display Until’ date. This amount’s to approx 18kg per week. The most shocking aspect of this is that for nearly 8 months of the year it was of South African origin. The company logic behind this being that at least if we have this product when no other supermarket chain has it, we will retain or gain customer loyalty. This is just one of many products which was stocked and subsequently binned in a similar fashion.
One question that is raised in my mind immediately is how it can be justifiable, to transport that amount of highly nutritious food away from a continent rife with starvation and famine, to simply sell in shops here. Worse again on the off-chance that someone might buy this product and if not to then just bin it?
This whole mindset raises many serious issues. Another being how any company can afford that sort of waste on an item? Or is it coming from a source of cheap labour and exploitation? We have brands such as the ‘Fair trade’ coffee to show us that there is no exploitation (or at least less so than would be the norm) of workers in developing countries. I have never seen this logo on any fresh produce however.
We as people really don’t ask questions as to where our food comes from. Often it has been flown thousands of miles to reach our country and transported via fossil fuel driven vehicles further to reach our plates. It would be interesting to see what the Carbon footprint left by the transport of food into a small country like Ireland would be, let alone would the U.K, with a population of over 60 million.
Other factors include the change in Ireland’s landscape over the last 2000 years. Where once this was an island covered in forest, it is now mostly grassland for pasture. What impact has this had on CO2 emissions since there are less tree’s to carry out photosynthesis as well as a dramatic increase in the number of cattle. The fact that cattle are large contributors to methane emissions, brought on by changes to their feed to increase production, only increases the problem. Similar situations are occurring in developing countries far bigger than Ireland, and at alarming rates.
It seems that the there will need to a change in mindset in the near future, regarding many aspects of how we live our lives everyday. From the food we eat, the vehicles we use to get around, to how we produce and use our energy. These and many more areas are interconnected in many delicate and incontrovertible ways. The expertise is out there, detailed studies have been completed and rational solutions put forward. But nobody seems to be listening.
Related Articles:
Food imports are a cause for concern
http://www.independent.ie/farming/news-features/food-imports-are-a-cause-for-concern-2174874.html
Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsID=20772&CR1=warning
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