Not offical Chill-On blog » sustainability

MSC takes action following criticism

tomas — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:08:07 +0000

After having its credibility questioned last week, the Marine Stewardship Council on Monday announced that its board approved new actions to its procedures and methodologies.

The new developments include increased resources for and focus on training of certifiers, fishery assessment team members and peer reviews, a comprehensive review and consolidation of scheme documentation, and a creation of standardized pre-assessment tool.

“Our board’s top priority is to continue to improve our assessment program,” said MSC Chairman Will Martin. “We’re listening very closely to our partners, and we continue the work of developing and revising policies, procedures and systems to ensure the program keeps up with current thinking and best practice.”

Nearly 600 retailers join anti-GMO campaign

tomas — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:05:46 +0000

On the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s preliminary approval of genetically modified salmon, nearly 600 retailers say they will take part in a new anti-GMO campaign.

The inaugural “National Non-GMO Month,” sponsored by the Non-GMO Project of Upland, Calif., will be held in October, which happens to coincide with National Seafood Month. Meanwhile, Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) this week called GM salmon “Frankenfish” and the FDA’s potential approval of AquaBounty Technologies’ GM salmon “risky and a threat to the survival of wild species.’

Around 580 natural and independent food stores, including Whole Foods Market, will draw consumers’ attention to the non-GMO products that they carry, as well as educate them about the GMO issue. According to the Non-GMO Project, studies show a correlation between the consumption of GMOs and health risks.

WWF: Don’t reject Barents Sea cod

tomas — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:02:20 +0000

The World Wildlife Fund expressed concern on Friday over the intentions of retailers in Germany, the United States and Canada to drop all Atlantic cod products because of sustainability questions.

While the environmental group admits some Atlantic cod fisheries have room for improvement, the group is urging retailers to not reject cod purchases from the Barents Sea, a fishery that is described by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as harvested sustainably, and one that has obtained Marine Stewardship Council certification for sound management. WWF claims that dropping Barents Sea contradicts retails’ commitments to sell sustainable seafood.

“Science confirms that Barents Sea cod is being harvested sustainably, therefore it’s excessively heavy-handed and unnecessary to de-list this fishery from supermarket shelves,” said Alfred Schumm, leader of WWF’s Smart Fishing Initiative. “The MSC certified Barents Sea cod is undoubtedly one of the best options at the fish counter.”

Consumer information campaign about sustainable seafood

tomas — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:53:43 +0000

The age-old dating wisdom that “there are plenty of fish in the sea” is not true when it comes to the scaly and shell-covered creatures swimming in our oceans.

Concerns over depleting our wild fish supply are part of a broader campaign called the sustainable seafood movement, which encourages consumers to be more aware about where their shrimp scampi and spicy tuna rolls come from and the environmental cost required to reach the dinner table.

“Sustainable” is one of those foodie adjectives that rolls off so many tongues these days its meaning may get muddled. But, in general, it means producing food in a way that is not destructive to our planet, and is economically and socially just.

Marine Harvest reports sustainability progress

tomas — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:24:20 +0000

he infectious salmon anemia (ISA) outbreak that has crippled Chile’s salmon-farming industry since mid-2007 is “stabilizing,” Marine Harvest said in its 2009 sustainability report, released on Friday.

The world’s largest farmed salmon producer attributed the effort to get ISA under control to a reduction in stocking density, implementation of strict sanitary measures and procedures, coordinated zone production and fallowing, improved husbandry and management, heightened surveillance and vaccination.

via seafoodsource.com

MSC assessment starts for Swedish Baltic cod fishery

tomas — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:56:03 +0000

Swedens Eastern and Western Baltic cod fisheries have started their assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.

The Swedish fishery is the third Baltic cod fishery to enter assessment this year following the Denmark Eastern Baltic cod in August and the Germany Eastern Baltic cod which entered assessment in November. If the fishery is successful, then Swedish Baltic cod will be eligible to bear the MSC ecolabel once Chain of Custody traceability has been established.

Read the full article

Is clean tech the next bubble?

tomas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:16:29 +0000

The past decade saw investors do a tap dance to the tune of Boom and Bust. First there was the dot-com bubble and the slew of other technological breakthroughs that came with it. Then we witnessed the supposedly invincible housing market complete a jaw-dropping boom-bust cycle. The young 21st century even delivered a notable financial bubble, as well as its inevitable bust.

Sidling along in the background were the seedlings of an industry on the verge of taking flight — alternative-energy technology.

Despite a drop in the overall volume of venture-capital deals last year, investments in clean-technology companies totalled US$8.4-billion, up nearly 40% from 2007, says a 2008 report by Cleantech Group, a San Francisco-based trade organization. In the third quarter of 2008 alone, venture capitalists poured US$2.65-billion into clean technology, a quarterly record. In the fourth quarter, they invested US$1.7-billion.

Read full article

Sustainability moves up the agenda as brighter 2010 beckons: just-food

tomas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:14:19 +0000

In spite of the global downturn, 2009 turned out to be an eventful year for the food industry. Economic recovery, albeit a slow and slightly faltering one, should bring equally if not more interesting times. Ben Cooper looks at what is likely to be dominating the headlines in the coming year.
As 2009 closes and the food industry prepares for a well-earned break – and a chance to consume far too much of its own product – attention inevitably turns to what might be dominating the headlines over the next 12 months.
In this diverse and unpredictable industry, soothsaying is a risky business but the latter part of the year has at least provided one no-brainer for any crystal-ball gazer. The first months of 2010 will see the resolution of the Kraft Foods-Cadbury takeover battle. Indeed, Kraft and Cadbury have even made sure we have finished the year with a cliffhanger.

Full article

Carbon Craziness

tomas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:13:55 +0000

France may be the first country to impose mandatory carbon footprint labeling requirements for all consumer products. A bill will be considered in early 2010 to make reporting of the carbon footprint mandatory in France by 2011. The USDA FAS, in its report “Proposed Carbon Footprint Labeling Could Step on Trade,” looks at the trade implications of the issue.

Though it stands to impact processed food more than fresh, this move strikes me as about the most anti-consumer law that could be devised. With as much as 5% of the product cost expected to result from the reporting exercise, the law would produce nothing more than a “gee-whiz” number that most people would ignore anyway. Plus, as the USDA FAS report points out, there are numerous questions about both how the numbers that would be reported and the potential trade impact of the law.

Full article

Business forum on water, sustainability

tomas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:11:08 +0000

The importance of putting the issue of water supply high on the business agenda will be the focus in an upcoming forum on water and business.

The ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), together with the Institute of Corporate Responsibility Malaysia (ICR Malaysia) and the Malaysia Association of Water (MWA), have collaborated to jointly organise a business agenda forum entittled “Business and Water: Should we be concerned?”

Read full article

Fish Systems and Design

tomas — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:34:31 +0000

A grim new film, The End of the Line, reveals the impact of overfishing on our oceans. It exposes the extent to which global stocks of fish are dwindling; features scientists who warn we could see the end of most seafood by 2048; and includes chefs and fishers who seem indifferent to the ecocidal consequences of their business practices. “We must act now to protect the sea from rampant overfishing” says Charles Clover, author of the book of the film.

Must, must. Although important in raising awareness, the danger with films like The End of the Line (as with ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, and Michael Pollan’s ‘Food, Inc’) is that they bombard us with so much bad news that positive and practical actions, that are also being taken, are obscured – and opportunities to help them develop are missed.

The End of the Line received far more publicity, for example, than the launch of FishChoice.com

via worldchanging.com

Is Whole Foods Sustainable or Just a High-Priced Hoax?

tomas — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:12:38 +0000

As a sustainable-food aficionado, my attitude toward Whole Foods and other national chains offering organic food changes based on the available alternatives.

When I can buy directly from local farmers and food artisans, I avoid places like Whole Foods. However, when I am on the road and my next best option is Subway, I look to Whole Foods as an oasis.

After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma’s harsh account of Whole Foods and its suppliers (Michael Pollan traces some of the food sold at Whole Foods back to its suppliers, and what he discovers is not necessarily the “supermarket pastoral” that the company promises) and then seeing Pollan debate Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, I decided to get to the bottom of the matter by taking a job in the bakery at a Whole Foods in San Diego. My goal was to answer the following question: Was Whole Food truly sustainable, or was it just a high-priced version of the same food one could find in a conventional supermarket?

via alternet.org

What Motivates Consumers to Choose Sustainable Food and Beverages?

tomas — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:12:22 +0000

Market research firms Packaged Facts and The Hartman Group have joined forces in a collaborative partnership that will result in a series of four reports each deciphering the attitudes and behaviors of sustainable goods consumers in relation to specific consumer products. The pair proudly unveils the first market study published in the four-part series: “Consumers and Sustainability: Food and Beverage.”
The food and beverage market is central to consumer perceptions of sustainability. When the consumption of sustainable foods is motivated by personal benefits, adoption mirrors a health and wellness progression in which consumers first consider the impacts of things in the body, followed by on the body, and finally around the body. Therefore, as consumers become more educated about the environmental, social, and economic implications of foods and beverages, their health and wellness motivations dovetail with societal concerns, such that food shopping choices become salient to the four zones of sustainability:

via earthtimes.org

Can Wal-Mart Be Sustainable?

tomas — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:43:04 +0000

Recently, Wal-Mart has been rolling out plans for what it calls a sustainability index — a measure of how green the products it sells really are. It is asking each of its suppliers, an enormous list of businesses, 15 questions about the life of their products from manufacturing through disposal: questions about greenhouse gas emissions, social responsibility, waste reduction initiatives and water use.