Mark Holmes, Head of Sustainability, looks at the importance of sustainability within food supply chains.
The way we consume food in the UK has transformed over the past decades. Global supply chains bring us a wide range of foods in all seasons and we pay less in relative terms for our food than ever. However there is a downside for this abundance of cheap food.
The current Western diet is not ecologically sustainable in the long term. In addition, the UK, and other Western countries, face an obesity crisis and an increase in many diet-linked degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, some cancers and heart disease.
The Tasting the Future (collaboration between WWF, Food and Drink Federation, Food Ethics Council and ADAS) project aims to address these interconnected issues.
It will work with the food system as a whole, (consumption and production), and collaborate across traditional boundaries. We know that there are many great initiatives happening; we need to build on these. We recognise that we cannot solve the issues alone, and we need to work together to take action.
Tasting the Future is an opportunity to develop real innovations by acting collectively. Its focus is not on creating consensus but on creating a portfolio of solutions that enable the entrepreneurship and radical new business models needed to shift the food system to a sustainable state.
The project focuses on:
• Creating value by developing new solutions that bridge the gap between consumption and production to develop a more sustainable food system
• What is already happening in the UK, and elsewhere, that we could learn from and build on?
• Supporting innovation groups and other new and existing ideas
For more information see: http://tastingthefuture.ning.com or contact Mark Holmes on 01427 728792 or email Mark.Holmes@adas.co.uk.