The dramatic environmental impact of food chains in the EU is an undeniable fact:
- Food production, transportation and waste accounts for 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions;
- 41% of habitable land is used for agriculture;
- 44% of freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture;
- on average 43% of European seas are affected by eutrophication – the pollution of waterways with nutrient-rich pollutants – with peaks of 99,4% in the Baltic Sea[iv]. Much of this pollution stems from diffuse sources, leaching from large amounts of mineral fertilizers applied since the 1950’s for boosting agricultural food and feed production (Marshall Plan of 1947; Common Agricultural Policy of 1957, which entered into practice in 1962), resulting in intensification and specialization of agriculture;
- the sixth mass extinction of wildlife is ongoing with 1,677 species of plants and animals about to disappear and 36 species already extinct as of 2015. Intensive agriculture and farming are again determinant factors.
Such impact occurs in all nodes of the supply chain: from production of inputs to agriculture, through farming, industry and retail to households. Food chains, therefore, lie at the heart of trying to tackle climate change, reducing water stress, pollution, restoring lands back to forests or grasslands, and protecting the world’s wildlife. But this is only part of the story.
The production, distribution and consumption of food have always been exquisitely a human activity whose social impact is also a dramatic fact:
- obesity – high in fat and sugars, contemporary food chains cause overweight in 51,6% of European adults. Such obesity is one of the leading risk factors for early death – e.g. 8% of global deaths (around 4.7 million) were attributed to obesity in 2017
- micronutrient deficiency – more than 2 billion people around the world – 20% of which in Europe – lack of essential vitamins and minerals required in small amounts by the body for proper growth and development;
- food insecurity and waste – the unfortunate paradox of about 11% of the European population reporting being unable to afford a meal with a protein source every other day while 53% of food waste (in the EU) is wasted by households[x]. Moreover, over 950,000 deaths in 2017 (one out of five) were attributable to unhealthy diets, mainly cardiovascular diseases and cancers;
- indecent work conditions – Operations connected to production, distribution and consumption of food are dangerous (with 13,2% of on-the-job fatal accidents occurring in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors) and multiple cases of exploitation endured by migrant and non-migrant workers are apparent across the EU’s member states.
power imbalances in supply chains – Present day supply chains are characterized by massive concentrations of (buying) power at the level of retailers and large traders. This leads to the diminishment of bargaining power for the small suppliers and subsequently to the ability of supermarkets and large traders to effectively dictate the terms of business. Producers and other suppliers are often left with a painful choice – to sell on poor and unpredictable terms, or not to sell at all. On average, 70% of national grocery markets in the EU is shared by the top 5 supermarkets, while small and small farms contribute to only 5% of the standard outputs even though they account for 69,1% of all farms)
If unchanged, the contemporary food system will push more small-scale farmers into poverty and out of business, unfairly exploit workers and provide unhealthy and non-nutritional food to consumers. In addition, because of the export-oriented and competitive nature of the EU food ¨industrial complex”, similar impacts can be expected also in the EU partner countries. At the same time, in the absence of a reconsideration of the public role of food and food systems and a coordinated intervention between private, public and civil society actors, the industrial EU food systems will continue contributing to planetary overshoot by contaminating water, depleting soil, emitting a significant share of GHG and destroying biodiversity.
Food systems have therefore come to the core of global and regional policy makers. For the UN, sustainable food systems do not just help to end hunger. They can help the world achieve critical progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The EU, on its side, has worked out the Farm-to-Fork in the context of the European Green Deal, an attempt to systematically link policies with the complexity of the food system which calls for healthy, sustainable and fair food systems as the goal to reach. On the other hand, private-sector and civil society actors are engaging in innovative and alternative food systems in order to address the main flaws of the above-mentioned scenario in line with their vision of the future of food.