Multinationals have a major role to play in securing global food production, explains Giovanni Malfatti of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform.
IUCN works with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform which supports the development of sustainable agriculture involving the different stakeholders of the food chain. Members include Nestlé, Danone, Unilever, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.
Further information is available at www.saiplatform.org
Why should the food industry get involved in sustainable agriculture, one might ask. A superficial reply would be: for corporate social responsibility policy or good public relations. But the answer is much simpler and obvious: the future availability of food.
The world has faced many episodes when it looked as if population growth would outstrip food supply. Each time, food production has grown to meet demand. But this is getting more and more difficult. Population growth of 80 million people a year and changing diets are part of the problem.
A growing middle class in the developing world—mainly in China and India—is demanding a greater variety of foods, particularly
in meat and dairy products. This change in diet from one originally based on an average of 150g of rice per day has boosted
demand for grain for animal feed and reduced the land available for agriculture (for each head of cattle several hectares of land are dedicated to pasture instead of growing cereals for human consumption).
The challenge of food production today and in the future is to make sure that anywhere in the
world, every single field of crop is grown in a sustainable way so that we grow the food we need without destroying the natural capital on which we depend.
Linked to this reduced availability of land, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the price of
wheat is more than 80% higher than a year ago, and corn prices are up by a quarter. Global cereal stocks have fallen to their lowest level since 1982. Prices have risen so high that the World Food Programme, which aims to feed 73 million people this year, said it might have to reduce rations or the number of people it will help. On top of this, major producing countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia have decided to put an export duty on their grain.
Yet another variable is creating turmoil in the world’s food markets. Soaring fuel prices have altered the costs of growing food
and transporting it across the globe. The subsidized appetite for biofuels has created tension between using land to produce fuel and using it for food. Biofuels accounted for almost half the increase in worldwide demand for vegetable oils last year and represented 7% of total consumption of these oils, according to the forecasting service, OilWorld.
The increase in biodiesel production is controversial, not only because it competeswith food uses of soil but also because of environmental concerns. Recent studies suggest that a large-scale effort across the world to grow crops for biofuels would add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere rather than reduce it.
Long before this dramatic global scenario unveiled, the food industry, being the biggest purchaser of agricultural raw materials, was aware that, in order to be able to rely on a constant and increasing supply, these materials must be grown in a sustainable manner. Food industry initiatives were set up to tackle this issue, some focusing on single commodities, some with a broader and more holistic approach.
Until recently, due to lack of interest or lack of understanding among consumers of what sustainable agriculture is, such production has been sufficient to satisfy a small niche demand. But now there is an urgent need to address the consequences for global agricultural production of climate change, population increase, exponential growth in food demand and irresponsible biofuel policies. This will work only by implementing all three pillars of sustainability—social, economic and environmental—into mainstream agriculture and throughout the entire food chain.
The challenge of food production today and in the future is to make sure that anywhere in the world, every single field of crop is grown in a sustainable way so that we grow the food we need without destroying the natural capital on which we depend.
There is a major challenge for all to continue to strive for greater sustainability in the coming decades. Environmental and social issues were once only the concern of a handful of NGOs. Today they are no longer a tolerated nuisance, but rightful participants in the food industry strategy.