PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release July 18th 2016 Sustainable Foods Summit Europe and Latin America: Major Outcomes London – Some of the pressing sustainability challenges facing the food industry were debated at the recent editions of the Sustainable Foods Summit (www.sustainablefoodssummit.com), hosted in São Paulo (29-30 June) and Amsterdam (9-10 June). Each edition brought together over 120 senior executives involved in sustainability in the food industry. Discussions covered future role of eco-labels and certification schemes, transparency in global supply chains, climate change mitigation and risks, use of sustainable ingredients, and tackling food waste. A major outcome is that there are no simple solutions for many of the challenges facing the food industry. As stated by Amarjit Sahota, President of Organic Monitor and organiser of the Sustainable Foods Summit: “With the growing complexity of sustainability, there is no silver bullet to solve many of these issues.” An update was given on eco-labels in the food industry. With over 200 labels now representing some ethical, environmental or sustainability attributes, there is a concern about proliferation. Details of new schemes, such as Sustainable Rice Platform, Global Salmon Initiative, and Danube Soya, were presented at the European edition. The Italian pasta company Barilla gave details of its sustainable durum wheat programme. Barilla is one of many food companies developing its own sustainable sourcing programmes. There was much debate about the merits of third party standards vis-à-vis in-house schemes. The role of sustainable agriculture to mitigate climate change was discussed. According to Monique Grooten from WWF, food production is the largest user of chemicals and also the main polluter. She called for a ‘safe operating system’ if the food industry is to feed another 2 billion mouths whilst preventing environmental degradation. André Villaça Ramalho from the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development said Brazil plans to meet its obligations of COP21 by strengthening its low carbon emission agriculture programme. There are plans to restore 15 million hectares of degraded pastureland, and enhance 5 million hectares of integrated cropland-livestock-forestry systems by 2030. The opaqueness of global supply chains is making food traceability prominent. Luis Fernando Guedes Pinto from Imaflora gave an overview of traceability schemes at the Latin American edition. Vasco Picchi, Director of Safe Trace, showed how traceability tools can guarantee origins of contentious foods and ingredients. His organisation is working with leading retailers, such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart in Brazil, to prove beef
Sustainable Foods Summit Europa e América Latina: Principais Resultados - Organic Monitor
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