Food System Facts

Food System Fact 1

The global food system is responsible for up to 30% of total GHG emissions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that the evidence is clear that the food system is having a massive effect on our planet, driving climate breakdown and species extinction. Yet many of the solutions to climate change also lie in the way we produce food and what we eat. We are calling for policy-makers to wake up to the incredible potential of switching to sustainable diets, reducing food waste and shortening supply chains so we can all buy more locally produced food. These three changes could have an enormous impact on the world’s most important task: regenerating nature and ensuring everyone can eat well and sustainably.

Food System Fact 2

33% of fish stocks are overfished; 60% are maximally sustainably fished

In the context of 33% of global fish stocks already being overfished and 60% are maximally sustainably fished, it forces the question is farming salmon the best use of the oceans ever declining natural resources. From a food security perspective, as highlighted in the piece, it is vital to consider who is consuming farmed salmon. In addition to being sold by retailers and in restaurants around the UK, salmon exports from Scotland in 2017 were valued at a record £600 million, the USA is the biggest market for Scottish salmon with sales totalling 193 million pounds, followed by France (188 million pounds). Reports have shown that the growing aquaculture industry and the simultaneous need for more fishmeal and fish oil has led to food security problems in places such as West Africa.

Food System Fact 3

90% of fish used for fish feed could be eaten by humans.

What do farmed salmon eat? What we feed to the animals we eat is a question central to the current and future sustainability of the global food system. Farming fish at an industrial scale requires industrial quantities of feed: the key feed inputs for salmon aquaculture are sourced primarily from global wild fisheries and land-based agriculture. As to the former, inputs include fish oil and fishmeal made from wild-caught ‘forage fish’ – small oceanic fish from fisheries all over the world. These fish play a critical role in moving nutrients through the food chain by eating plankton and in turn nourishing marine animals higher up in the ecosystem, such as larger fish and seabirds.

Food System Fact 4

The junk food industry spends 30x more promoting products than the govt does on healthy eating.

The NHS spends more on treating obesity and diabetes than is spent by the government on the police, the fire service and the judicial system combined.We need to create a sustainable food system where everyone can access a healthy diet. This mean addressing the power that food corporations currently hold.

Food System Fact 5

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda & Morrisons control over 2/3 of the entire UK grocery market.

Supermarkets shape how much food we buy, how we store and cook it, and what food products are available to us, in what form. It is no overstatement to say that supermarkets shape the UK’s food culture – and the enormous amounts of food waste generated by British households. With our supermarkets beholden above all else to their external shareholders, the search for ever-increasing profits drives every decision: despite the fact that there’s only so much food we can eat, or fit in our fridges, today’s supermarket chief exec is practically duty-bound to sell us more food than we need. This begs the question – is a zero waste supermarket possible? The current evidence suggests that supermarkets’ business models, ownership structure and market clout inherently lead to food waste  from farm to fork.

Food System Fact 7

Soil is being lost up to 100 times faster than it is forming.

Our soils are severely malnourished and so are we. What do these issues have in common? Sugar. Evidence suggests that sugar cultivation could be responsible for a whopping 10% of the UK’s annual topsoil loss. Some parts of the UK may only have a decade of soil fertility left, we need to address soil erosion now. The UK grows four times as much sugar as the recommended intake suggests that we eat. Research shows that getting more than 10% of your daily calorie intake from sugar (about 10 teaspoons) increases the risk of being overweight, obesity and tooth decay. Too much sugar is bad for us and bad for our soil.

Food System Fact 8

Nearly half of all trees globally have been lost or destroyed.

Reaching net zero emissions by mid-century will require not only aggressive reduction of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, but also the speedy, widespread adoption of techniques to remove said gases from the atmosphere. So-called Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) techniques range from the simple to the dystopian and downright scary, but, as the Royal Society makes clear, the only technique that is in any way deployable now is the reassuringly low tech approach of afforestation – otherwise known as planting trees. And to plant enough trees to make a dent in our climate crisis will require not only reversing the trend of deforestation, but also freeing up vast tracts of land for new trees.

It can’t be avoided: meat and dairy production comes with a hefty toll on the land. At least one-third of crops are grown to feed animals rather than people leading to deforestation in areas such as the Amazon, while pastures account for a further quarter of agricultural lands. With such a large footprint, reducing meat and diary production holds great promise for the land sparing we now know we need to keep the rise in global temperatures within 1.5 degree, this is key to tackling Climate Change.

Food System Fact 9

The 5 largest meat and dairy corporations emit as much Greenhouse Gases as Exxon Mobil.

There are 23 billion chickens, 1.5 billion heads of cattle, 1.2 billion sheep, 1 billion goats and 1 billion pigs living on factories and farms worldwide. These numbers are growing – rapidly. In just two decades the farmed chicken population has risen from 14 billion to 23 billion. This number, however, is just a snapshot in time – over the course of a year 62 billion chickens are slaughtered. Many of these animals are raised for the benefit of major, globalised corporations and their financiers, not the subsistence farmers that rely on them for nutrition and food security. Industrial production of meat and dairy is not sustainable.

Why are these ever-growing numbers such alarming news for our Planet? More animals means more methane and carbon dioxide – from the land converted to house them, from the forest cleared to feed them, from the food they eat and from the industry that sustains, processes and transports them – and the meat products they become. In other words: faster and greater environmental destruction, a heavier burden on the Planet and its people, already struggling to deal with the effects of a Climate Change.

Food System Fact 10

Milk waste has the highest contribution to GHG emissions compared to other food.

Currently around 80 million pints of milk are wasted in Britain every year because of ‘Use By’ labels, as well as millions of tonnes of other foods.

Date labels cause food waste in households: there is a misunderstanding of the difference between ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’, food items such as fresh produce have date labels when they do not require them, and date labels are in many cases overly cautious. The reality is that many thousands of tonnes of food are thrown away every week, despite still being perfectly safe to eat. This is symptomatic of our broken food system. Extending product life by only 24 hours could prevent 250,000 tonnes of food from being wasted. Food waste represents a waste of critical natural resources, it is a Climate Change issue.

Food System Fact 11

More food is wasted on UK farms per year than retail or manufacturing combined

Producing food which is never eaten is a vast waste of natural resources including land, water and soil at a time of climate emergency – this presents a huge opportunity to liberate land and resources which are desperately needed for reforestation and growing sustainable food. A report commissioned by the Committee for Climate Change recently found that reducing food waste could save considerable carbon emissions and liberate 482,000 hectares of arable land and 459,000 hectares of grasslands – and their calculations did not include food wasted on farms, which could contribute even more. Addressing food waste is key for fighting Climate Change.

Food System Fact 12

Industrial agriculture is responsible for clearing 5 million hectares of forest per year – an area the size of Costa Rica.

Here is some terrifying math: there are 23 billion chickens, 1.5 billion heads of cattle, 1.2 billion sheep, 1 billion goats and 1 billion pigs living on factories and farms worldwide. These numbers are growing – rapidly. In just two decades the farmed chicken population has risen from 14 billion to 23 billion. This number, however, is just a snapshot in time – over the course of a year 62 billion chickens are slaughtered. Many of these animals are raised for the benefit of major, globalised corporations and their financiers, not the subsistence farmers that rely on them for nutrition and food security. In the face of Climate Emergency, this needs to change quickly.

Why are these ever-growing numbers such alarming news for our Planet? Industrial agriculture is not sustainable. More animals means more methane and carbon dioxide – from the land converted to house them, from the forest cleared to feed them (deforestation), from the food they eat and from the industry that sustains, processes and transports them – and the meat products they become. In other words: faster and greater environmental destruction, a heavier burden on the Planet and its people, already struggling to deal with the effects of Climate Change.

Food System Fact 13

Unsustainable farming methods are negatively impacting our climate and our future ability to grow food.

Industrial meat and dairy, or ‘Big Livestock’, pose a significant threat to our environment, our health and our future. Big Livestock is not sustainable. And just like the fossil fuel industry, these big companies are created and supported by global finance. The steaks are high we are facing a climate emergency. It we want to effectively address Climate Change, it’s time we called a halt to Big Livestock.

Food System Fact 14

UK farmers are forced to waste 10-16% of their crop annually. The edible waste is often too ugly or the wrong size.

Food waste isn’t inevitable. It occurs because of business decisions taken, particularly by powerful players like supermarkets, which prioritise profit over waste-reduction and this ultimately leads to large levels of food waste on farms. Feedback’s investigations into supermarket supply chains uncovered the hidden food waste burden retailers dump on their suppliers around the world. Causes include a culture of fear in which many farmers worry they’ll lose their contracts if they fail to meet an order, or complain about ill-treatment, leading many of them to overproduce and subsequently waste food. Through our Gleaning Network we have seen first-hand the huge amount of good food that is wasted on farms, our food system is broken – we need to create a circular less wasteful system.

Food System Fact 15

Safely treated food surplus is safe to feed to pigs

If food is good to eat, then it should be eaten by people. But what about food that still has nutritional value, but isn’t suitable for people any more? That’s where pigs come in. The Pig Idea campaign encourages the feeding of food surplus that is no longer fit for human consumption to pigs and chickens. Using food waste as animal feed is a way of providing sustainable meat.

Food System Fact 16

Up to 5 million tonnes of food is wasted on UK farms every year

Food waste occurs long before food even reaches supermarket shelves, in the supply chains of the retailers and other food businesses. Feedback has been investigating supply chain waste since 2015, in countries including the UK, Kenya, South Africa, Peru and Senegal. Through our Gleaning Network, we have witnessed the scale of farm-level food waste first hand. Our food system is incredibly wasteful, this represents a massive waste of resources and contributes to Climate Change.

Food System Fact 17

Supermarkets control 95% of the market share of UK grocery stores

Despite many laudable initiatives to tackle food waste, supermarkets are so far failing to successfully reduce waste in their stores, supply chains and customers’ homes. Our research has revealed that despite leadership from a few retailers, many lag behind on the most basic steps to further their food waste reduction, such as publishing transparent data and converting food surplus to animal feed. In addition, none of the supermarkets are truly getting to grips with how their marketing and sales tactics cause waste in their customers’ homes. This begs the question – is a zero waste supermarket possible? The current evidence suggests that supermarkets’ business models, ownership structure and market clout inherently lead to waste generation from farm to fork.