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CHAPTER 4: FOOD
Summary
4.1 This chapter reviews the larger policy picture (the Common Agricultural Policy, the World Trade Organisation, international food problems), and then make the links with Scottish agriculture and fisheries, food processing, procurement and distribution, health and education. Wider issues like fair trade versus free trade are also explored.
Definitions and concepts
4.2 Concepts such as 'fair trade', which encourages the redistribution of profits back to the producer, versus 'free trade', the trade of goods unfettered by government subsidy, price support or tariff barriers, are assessed in this review. 'Food miles' refers to the distance a product travels between production and consumption and the resultant effects on the environment. 'Diversification' is generally seen as the opposite to specialisation, encouraging the production of different food types, scales of production and agricultural practices within an economy, whether in organic or conventional farming.
Global
4.3 Changes in international trading system in recent years, have had significant effects on agriculture and food production. Conversely, there has been little change on subsidies and the dumping of subsidised goods. Food aid, genetically modified food, and fair trade and its relative merits versus free trade are all being reassessed.
European
4.4 At the European level, unsurprisingly, the key issue remains CAP reform. Localisation, diversification and the promotion of organic farming have been suggested as the potential future of farming in Europe, beyond the core agricultural areas. The encouragement of countryside stewardship and sustainable farming practices, shifting the emphasis away from production, marks a considerable development in policy at the European level. Issues around eco-labelling and food security are also becoming more salient.
UK
4.5 There is a concerted push for more organic and small-scale farming in Britain, and food miles are being reassessed. Food safety remains high on the agenda, with calls for the entire food chain to be better monitored and effectively regulated. Information campaigns and awareness-raising are seen as key to food and sustainability.
Scottish
4.6 The principal driver of food policy is the need to achieve higher nutritional standards to improve health, including support for improving the availability of high quality food in low-income areas. There is considerable support for organic farming in the overall context of 55% of the UK's organically managed land being in Scotland and there are also other agri-environment measures to support a more sustainable approach to agriculture. Policy on GM is similar to overall UK policy and a cautious approach is being taken. There is considerable interest in public procurement measures as a means of promoting use of healthier local produce, fair trade and reducing food miles although overall progress is somewhat hampered by the tight, EU-derived regulatory regime that applies to public procurement.
Global
Priorities
Fair trade
4.7 The late nineties saw the end of International Commodity Agreements. The need to eliminate market distortions is as present as ever, with diversification often proposed as an option to solving persistent over-production. For this diversification to be successful, credit, training, information and resources will be needed in Lesser Developed Countries ( FAO, 2004).
4.8 There has yet been little research on the relative merits of fair trade versus free trade, and certainly no conclusive findings. The alternative trading system ( ATO) of fair trade, it has been argued, can be effective, but the concept and movement needs to be more rooted in the natural environment of groups fixed in poverty (Bradley et al, 2005). There are, significantly, differences as well as convergences, between fair trade (terms of trade with small-scale producers) and ethical trade (working practices and conditions in mainstream production) (Smith and Barrientos, 2005). The challenge for the fair trade system now, arguably, lies in governance with the new emphasis on social and environmental impacts of trade (Leigh Taylor, Douglas and Raynolds, 2005).
4.9 Another current debate concerns the efficiency of low external input technology ( LEIT) versus biotechnology or expensive external investment. LEIT is often criticised as labour-intensive, but does serve to increase social harmony and learning (Richards and Suazo, 2005, and Longley, Mango, Nindo and Mango, 2005 and Tripp, Wijeratne, Piyadasa, 2005).
4.10 There appears to be optimism about the Millenium Development Goals and their potential to increase food security (Thompson, 2004). There is, however, growing concern for the rural poor in the developing world and the lack of national policy agenda in this area. Identifying agricultural extension and information services as being vital to a national food security network would be a constructive start, along with agricultural training and extension services to increase the developing world's food security. Food security must be seen as having a public as well as an economic benefit (McLeod Rivera and Qamar, 2003).
4.11 Food aid has also been used for less noble aims, such as the dumping of surplus production and promotion of donor country exports, once again, distorting international trade and hurting rural farmers (Oxfam, 2005).
GM production
4.12 GM production is still principally confined to the US, Canada, Argentina and China. Europe still places a heavy emphasis on risk assessment, labelling and traceability, something likely to continue to incur the wrath of the US. The EU has a moratorium on the authorisation of the release of GM food, based on the precautionary principle and the emphasis on risk assessment, though the European Commission has begun to soften its stance following the largely negative environmental impacts from the Farm Scale Evaluations in the UK. A WTO decision on the EU's approach is awaited. In the US, acreage of GM crops is increasing, but sentiment toward them, fuelled by lost export markets, seems to be cooling. Opposition in the UK rests more on the precautionary principle, than any specific scientific risk (Purvis and Smith, 2004), and concerns persist about cross-fertilisation ( NIAB, 2002) and evidence of strong public opposition (Soil Association, 2002).
Industry
4.13 Disillusion with the neo-classical hegemony, mentioned throughout this review, has filtered through to food production and security. It has been argued that sustainable development entails more than simply achieving an appropriate level of production in an environmentally sensitive way. Instead, it means a huge redistribution of resources, economic diversification and a reduction of rural poverty (Purvis and Smith, 2004).
Safety
4.14 One point eight million people, most of whom are children, are killed annually by food-borne diseases. There is an increased demand for food safety research, given recent trends in food production, processing, distribution and preparation. New methods of risk analysis are beginning to be applied to all stages of the food chain, from production to consumption ( WHO, 2005), with the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations at the forefront of this research.
Policy responses
4.15 Developing countries were given ten years (1995-2004) by the WTO, after the Uruguay round, to reshape their agricultural sectors to become more market oriented, though this is a 'tariffs-only' approach, ending non-tariff barriers and quotas, but leaving tariffs in place ( WTO, 2001). The activities of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD) are guided by the Strategic Framework for IFAD 2002-2006: Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome Their Poverty. The framework's three strategic objectives are to:
- strengthen the capacity of the rural poor and their organizations;
- improve equitable access to productive natural resources and technologies;
- and increase access by the poor to financial services and markets.
Possible lessons
4.16 The Forum for Food Security in Southern Africa improves linkages between food security analysis, policy making and implementation ( ODI, 2005). The Special Programme for Food Security SPFS manages projects to promote solutions to the elimination of hunger, under-nourishment and poverty ( FAO, 2005).
4.17 Malawi has adopted a Starter Pack approach to overcoming chronic food insecurity, with government and donors implementing a free inputs programme for smallholder farmers. The Starter Pack programme distributes tiny packs of maize, legume seed and fertiliser, enough to cultivate an area of 0.1 hectares ( ODI, 2004).
4.18 The Food Security Network (2005), an independent, non-profit coalition, promotes debate and discussion, addressing global food security concerns through sustainable agricultural practices.
European
Priorities
4.19 Much recent thinking has suggested that the decline of agriculture in Europe, outside of a few core areas, is not necessarily inevitable, and that it is possible to increase emphasis on organic, small-scale and low-input systems, while reforming or removing subsidies (Purvis and Smith, 2004). Coupled with this, is the renewed focus on farming methods. There are still considerable disparities in the EU budget. For instance, 46% of the EU budget goes on CAP, and 46% of CAP goes to arable farmers, often farmers who are relatively better-off (Wyn Grant's Homepage, 2005).
4.20 There is growing concern over the place of eco-labels at the distribution end of the food chain. The accountability and legitimacy of labelling institutions has been called into question, with eco-labels being accused of not being totally verifiable and failing to take into account the life-cycle of a product (Lavallee and Plouffe, 2004).
Policy responses
4.21 The European Union is looking to increase competitiveness in the agricultural sector, encourage 'cross-compliance' and set-aside (Europa, 2005). Furthermore, any GM foods intended for sale in the European Union are subject to a rigorous safety assessment, which is the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority ( EFSA). The safety assessments are carried out in accordance with the GM Food and Feed Regulation ( EC) No. 1829/2003 (Europa, 2003).
Possible lessons
4.22 In 2001, the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food introduced the Slovenian Agri-Environmental Programme, attempting to preserve a 'garden of Europe' in the countryside. The programme links sustainable agriculture to environmental protection and, in turn, to the tourism that Slovenia increasingly relies on. Livestock producers receive support to reduce flock density and prioritize indigenous breeds. In 2004, Slovenian organic farmers and their counterparts in neighbouring provinces of Austria and Italy created the world's first organic bioregion, with the intention of preserving bio-diversity in the region, along with coordinating marketing programs and attracting more eco-tourists to organic farms (Food First, 2004).
4.23 In response to the growing ubiquity of fast food in western culture, a movement pushing 'slow food' has developed over the last decade or so (originating in Italy), opposing the standardisation of taste and promoting biodiversity and the need for greater consumer information (Slow Food, 2005). There is also a considerable academic debate around the concept (for example, Pretty, 2002). A Cittaslow ('slow city') scheme was set up in Italy in 1999 with the aim of engendering Slow Food values in local communities (Ludlow in Shropshire and Aylsham have been approved as slow cities ( BBC, 2005)).
UK
Priorities
4.24 The social and environmental costs of food transport are around £9 billion a year, and in 2002, it was estimated that food transport produced 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 1.8 percent of total annual emissions (Defra, 2005). However caution is required in the handling of such figures, and the concept of 'food miles' is not so much being reassessed as having its limits exposed. It is felt that, on its own, the concept is too simple to capture the impacts of food transport (ibid).
4.25 There needs to be increased investment in research and development and near-market technologies, along with financial and tax incentives to increase the uptake of emerging technologies, as well as legislation, such as the Climate Change Levy Agreement, or existing regulatory measures, such as the IPPC regime. This is of considerable relevance for the food industry. For example, with Combined Heat and Power, the Government needs to provide major fiscal incentives to make the cost of on-site electrical generation economically competitive with the cost of electricity imported from the National Grid. Again, this needs to be coupled with consumer education, and awareness should be a priority for Government to enable consumers to understand, firstly, the implications of their purchasing decisions, and, secondly, the way goods and services are used after purchase (Food and Drink Federation, 2005). All parts of the food chain need to work together if progress is to be achieved. The development of common food chain initiatives are needed, which in turn necessitates agreement with all parts of the food chain on a suitable set of Key Performance Indicators (ibid).
4.26 As with thinking on agriculture at the European level, there is also a national push to support local and organic food ( CPRE, 2005). In Wales, mechanisms to provide sustainable development of local, small to medium-sized scale agri-food enterprises have been proposed to help overcome agri-food problems there. Initiatives include community and education projects (through valley-wide agri-food regeneration strategies), technology transfer education policy that links colleges to agri-food SMEs, and support to help agri-food SMEs make use of new information technologies (Sparkes and Thomas, 2001).
4.27 Potential problems around human host status, such as MRSA, along with food-borne diseases, are becoming more salient, with clear implications for the food industry ( IFFR, 2004). It has also been argued that health should be central to any vision and indeed policy for farming and food in the UK because of the interconnections between crises in health, agriculture and along the food chain (Lang and Rayner, 2002).
Policy responses
4.28 The Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food - Facing the Future aimed to introduce an agri-environment scheme to encourage country-side stewardship and a 'whole-farm' approach to remove bureaucracy (Defra, 2002). This has since been superseded by the 2005 draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (Defra, 2005a), which builds upon the sustainability strategies developed by the Food and Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium, covering all food and drink sectors beyond the farm gate.
4.29 Of the fifteen UK Government sustainable development headline indicators, energy, water and waste have been identified as priorities for the food and drink industry. Consultation has begun on a draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy that will cover all stages of the food chain, beyond the farm gate.
4.30 The government has begun consultation on a new BSE testing system, to replace the Over Thirty Months ( OTM) rule.
Possible lessons
4.31 The Soil Association 'Cultivating Communities' Project (2005), funded by the Lottery Community Fund, provides a nation-wide network for all community-based local food initiatives, supporting the development of mutual understanding and novel arrangements between farmers and consumers.
4.32 The East Sussex Food and Health Partnership brings organisations together from across the food system to ensure a co-ordinated approach to addressing food supply, access and consumption (Sustainable Development Commission, 2005). The vision is to promote a sustainable local food system that supports good nutrition, human and animal health, which reconnects, and works for the benefit of consumers, producers and the environment.
Scottish
Priorities
4.33 Scotland has for long had an unenviable poor health record although there has been a reduction in premature deaths from heart disease and cancer and overall life expectancy has risen. In common with other developed states there is a problem with increasing rates of obesity and rising consumption of processed and junk food (Scottish Executive, 2003). Considering the interface between the Scottish diet and sustainable development issues, evidence of how people think and behave in Scotland is often complex and apparently contradictory. For example, one public attitudes survey found that only 1% of respondents indicated they would change their diet to ensure a good quality of life and environment for future generations (Scottish Executive Social Research, 2005: 62), while, simultaneously, demand for organic produce in Scotland is stronger than all but one other part of the UK (Soil Association, 2004), indicating personal concerns about diet.
4.34 In the broad context of the Scottish economy, no less than 17% of the Scottish workforce work in the food and drink industry so it is critical that overall policy is sustainable.
4.35 The Partnership Agreement (Scottish Executive 2003a) reinforced the need to improve nutritional standards for school meals and includes an end to the advertising of unhealthy food in schools, working with local authorities to promote health eating, and actively discouraging the availability of unhealthy food and drink in schools as a condition of becoming health-promoting schools. The Partnership Agreement also recognises that improving the availability of affordable quality food in low income areas and ensuring adequate nutritional standards for food served in hospitals, day care centres, hospitals and prisons are priorities.
4.36 In common with the rest of the UK there has been evidence of hostility towards GM food (Soil Association, 2002; Scottish Executive Social Research, 2005; Friends of the Earth Scotland, 2005). Although there is some evidence from England and Wales that opposition to GM food has softened opposition remains strong (Defra, 2002; Gaskell et al, 2003) but it is not clear whether this is echoed in the current Scottish situation (Scottish Executive Social Research, 2005).
4.37 There is strong support for organic farming in Scotland (Soil Association, 2004; Friends of the Earth Scotland, 2005). Indeed, almost 55% of the UK's organic managed land is in Scotland, amounting to 7% of all Scotland agricultural land compared to a figure of 4% for the UK as a whole. Soil Association research has shown that more Scottish consumers will sometimes purchase organics than in any other part of the UK apart from the south-west of England where there is also the highest concentration of organic producers (Soil Assoication, 2004).
4.38 Although sea fisheries are regulated at EU and UK level the Scottish Executive is committed to maintaining a viable sea fishing industry (Scottish Executive, 2005c).
4.39 The issue of food miles and environmental damage caused by agricultural production nationally or overseas is being debated ( WWF Scotland, 2005). A major challenge for promoting greater sustainable development in relation to food stems from the lack of public understanding and awareness, and the frequently vague or erroneous perceptions, of how food is produced, ends up on their plates, and what happens to any wastage
Policy responses
4.40 Improving health is seen as a cross-cutting issue across Government policy (Scottish Executive, 2003b). Key actions include the need to increase and then supply the demand for healthy food; provide support, education and skill development to allow people to make healthy choices; to promote the consumption, preparation and provision of foods for a healthy, balanced diet; increase access to healthier food choices, particularly in low income and rural areas; work with the food manufacturing, processing and retailing industries to further develop healthier food choices; and to ensure that agriculture and fisheries interests contribute fully to the achievement of national dietary targets. Supporting the integrated programme, launched in January 2003, communication and public education (in the context of the wider health improvement agenda) to increase demand for, confidence in, and skills for, healthy eating has been regarded seen as vital. Taking this work, which had been started in the Scottish Diet Action Plan on 1996, the Executive's strategic framework, Eating for Health. Meeting the challenge, was launched in 2004.
4.41 One way that the promotion of a healthier diet amongst local communities is being taken forward is through the Scottish Community Diet Project (2005), which is funded by the Scottish Executive Health Department and provides small grants for projects aimed at improving the diet of local communities.
4.42 Hungry for Success, A Whole School Approach to School Meals (Scottish Executive 2002a) was a report by an Expert Panel on School Meals, which included several significant recommendations for improving the nutritional value of school meals to promote child health, as well as wider social justice goals. The key recommendation in Hungry for Success was that Scottish Nutrient Standards for School Lunches should be adopted and education authorities and schools should have them in place in all special schools and primary schools by December 2004 and in all secondary schools by December 2006. The Executive accepted all of the recommendations made in the report and issued a circular (2003c) to local authorities to advise them on the implementation of the recommendations, explain funding arrangements and telling them about forthcoming practical guidance tools. Implementation is to be monitored and enforced by performance management mechanisms (also Healthy Living, 2005).
4.43 The Executive (2005d) has adopted a free fruit initiative, funded to provide one portion of fruit, three times per week during the school term, to every pupil in primaries 1 and 2 in local authority managed schools, intended to offer a natural progression for children from pre-school education who in many instances are used to having fruit at nursery. Targeting the youngest children, where eating fruit is most likely to be habit-forming, aims to bring the greatest health gain in the long term.
4.44 Free school meals are also provided for children of parents meeting eligibility criteria (Scottish Executive, 2002a). Campaigns to have free school meals for all have so far failed.
4.45 Overall Executive agricultural policy, in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture (Scottish Executive 2001) , is currently being revised and will reflect changes to the EU regulatory framework which indicate an increased recognition in Europe of sustainable development. There are also comprehensive strategies for sea fisheries (Scottish Executive, 2005e) and aquaculture (Scottish Executive, 2004), both of which attempt to ensure the integration of sustainable development into the respective strategies.
4.46 The Land Management Contract Menu Scheme (Scottish Executive, 2005f) provides a new approach to sustainable land management in Scotland. A range of measures can be chosen by farmers including agri-environment measures such as buffer areas which have a five-year obligation and there is the option of a yearly incentive payment for those seeking membership of quality assurance or organic schemes
4.47 An Organic Action Plan (Scottish Executive, 2005e) and Organic Aid Scheme (Scottish Executive, 2004) to promote organic agriculture have also been adopted by government.
4.48 Executive policy on GM is primarily to safeguard human health and the environment, with a cautious, precautionary approach being taken. The Executive acknowledges that the benefits of GM are not necessarily unarguably apparent and recognizes that allowing GM planting is not simply a scientific issue. It argues that the Farm Scale Evaluations have shown that the issue of GM planting needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis and does not advocate the dismissal of GM technology out of hand because of possible longer term benefits.
4.49 The Executive has produced guidelines on sustainable procurement of food and catering produced by the Executive ( see Sustainable Procurement chapter), which raise the issue of local production and hence the issue of food miles.
4.50 In recognition of the importance of shortening the food supply chain, the Partnership Agreement (Scottish Executive, 2003a) includes a commitment to encourage local distribution, processing and local marketing schemes (with accreditation and labelling of local produce and food produced by sustainable and organic methods), and support for regional co-operatives. However, there still appears to be a lack of integration of the different policies which would be relevant to local food.
4.51 Scottish Food and Drink, a strategy for the industry produced by the eponymous arm of Scottish Enterprise which advises the sector, sets growth targets for the industry, but says little about sustainability (Scottish Food and Drink, 1999). This is an area where there are particular challenges regarding how to integrate sustainable development into strategies for the industry without threatening it economically.
Possible lessons
4.52 Blantyre and North Hamilton Baby Weight Gain Project: North Lanarkshire Social Inclusion Partnership and Lanarkshire Health Board, with assistance from the Lanarkshire Primary Care Trust and ASDA, promoted this project after identifying low birth-weight as a problem in the area (Scottish Executive, 2002: 19). The scheme provides pregnant women with £50 of ASDA vouchers a month from when they discover they are pregnant. The vouchers can be used to buy nutritional food until up to three months after the birth as long as the women are still breast feeding.
4.53 Forth Valley Food Links was established in 2002 and is funded by the Scottish Executive, Forth Valley NHS Board and Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling Councils. It works to promote local food and offers advice to help those involved in increasing access to, and diversity in, local food.
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