Sustainability

We share Earth with the living world ̶ the most remarkable life-support system imaginable, constructed over billions of years. The planet’s stability has wavered just as its biodiversity has declined ̶ the two things are bound together. To restore stability to our planet, therefore, we must restore its biodiversity, the very thing we have removed. It is the only way out of this crisis that we ourselves created. We must rewild the world.

̶  David Attenborough

Last Wednesday I received David Attenborough’s "A Life on our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision of the Future" (Grand Central Publishing, 2020). Attenborough is Britain’s best-known natural history filmmaker with a career spanning seventy years. He joined the BBC in 1952 and has made many renowned TV documentaries. He was knighted in 1958 and received the Order of Merit in 2005.

As a tasty source of Vitamin C, B6, antioxidants, iron and more, elderberries have been a growing part of the latest health, immune boosting and wellness trends. Currently, the demand exceeds the supply for elderberries. For the past four to five years, this growth in popularity has been inviting adulteration of elderberry with other dark berries such as blueberries, as well as dyes, black rice and other materials. According to the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program, such fraud can be detected by a variety of chromatographic methods.

Study after study outlines the growing importance of environmental sustainability among consumers. Food waste, package waste, carbon footprint and other sustainability-focused initiatives have become areas of cross-population interest, particularly in Europe. In the United States, too, consumer demand…

GEODIS' online emissions calculator that determines the carbon footprint of a freight shipment is freely available on its website.

Accessed via https://geodis.com/geodis_carbon_calculator/form, the calculator measures air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions generated by an individual shipment’s journey, comparing the performance of different modes of transport (air, rail, road, sea, inland waterway, etc.).

For each shipment of goods, the calculator gives an overview of the various options, making it an invaluable aid in choosing the most environmentally friendly transport, said GEODIS. At the same time, the tool performs calculations that take into account the goods being shipped, their origin, destination and mode of transport before providing a quantitative evaluation.

Coastal Shellfish has always placed sustainability at the centre of their business plan, and now the northern-B.C. company can put it on their mantle as winners of the BC Food and Beverage 2020 Sustainability Award for its Great Bear Scallops.

“We’re in a remote corner of the province in Prince Rupert, here in the corner of the Great Bear Rainforest. It’s exciting to be on the edge of a burgeoning industry in shellfish aquaculture … but we never thought the kind of recognition we’d get was ever possible,” Michael Uehara, Coastal Shellfish CEO and president said.

“This is a First Nations — Indigenous-owned business whose mission it is to recreate an economy of inclusion on the coast. This award is a big shot in the arm. We’re quite pleased. We’re thrilled.”

“Eat your spinach,” is a common refrain from many people’s childhoods. Spinach, the hearty, green vegetable chock full of nutrients, doesn’t just provide energy in humans. It also has potential to help power fuel cells, according to a new paper by researchers in AU’s Department of Chemistry. Spinach,…

Interest for packaging continues to increase. It is not just any type of packaging that produce companies and retailers have their eyes set on, it’s sustainable packaging. Although Europe is a frontrunner when it comes to sustainable packaging, recyclable and compostable packaging types are taking off in…

Last week we were joined by experts in pest management for Episode 2 of the 2020 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series. Although pest management may not be seen as the most exciting topic, all food plants are required to have an integrated pest management program. In addition, the digital transformation fast-tracked by COVID-19 is also driving innovation in the remote monitoring of pests.

Barney Debnam, global agriculture strategy lead at Microsoft kicked off the conversation with some key themes driving change within the global food system, which have also been accelerated by COVID: Geopolitical forces, consumerization, democratized biology, sustainability, shifting economics and food security. As technology continues to evolve and is adopted at a faster pace (think artificial intelligence and how accessible it is now), businesses will be able to transform their outcomes by becoming more predictive. The key technology enablers in the process include:

Internet of Things and edge computing Advanced analytics Artificial intelligence and cognitive computing Graph technology Blockchain Digital workplace Mixed reality

The most significant benefit of implementing technology such as remote monitoring into an IPM program is its ability to provide visibility and the data to back up what is happening in a facility.

We love delivering quality crops with pesticides, berry much indeed. 🍓

Learn more: iagri-tech.com #sustainableFood #verticalfarming #strawberries #nopesticides pic.twitter.com/2dTt1RhJdg

Rice is staple food for nearly 50% of the world population, cultivated on an area of about 150 million ha across the world (9% of total cultivated area). India has the largest rice acreage in the world, 43.8 million ha accounting for nearly one fourth of gross cultivated area in country.

At the global event marking today the first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and their partners urged everyone to do more to reduce food loss and waste or risk an even greater drop in food security and natural resources.

Few industries have not experienced an impact from COVID-19 in one way or another. For the horticulture industry, there’s been a resurgence of the home gardener and an interest in sustainability. With many still fairly isolated to their homes, families are heading out to enjoy the natural world right…

The amount of food wasted around the world is predicted to rise by a third before the year 2030. A report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) anticipates that, if left unchecked, 2030 will see a total of 2.1 billion tons of food wasted—in stark contrast with the UN’s goals of cutting food waste in […]

Every story that touches on sustainability and packaging immediately points to consumer behavior and reiterates that the next generation of consumers will demand less packaging. 

Millennials have taken the lead as the generation that cares more about general sustainability and packaging sustainability than any other age demographic, according to Packaging Sustainability: A Changing Landscape from PMMI Business Intelligence, a division of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

With Generation Z continuing to come of age and consuming goods for themselves, they have shown similar buying habits, voicing concern for recyclability, reduced product waste and reduced packaging waste. Together, they drive consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to offer sustainable options, primarily by checking packaging labels for information about recycling and/or sustainability and putting the product back on the shelf if it doesn’t meet their standards. Displaying a willingness to put their money where their mouth is, coupled with the awareness it has raised among older generations, resulted in almost 60% of consumers saying they would pay more for eco-friendly packaging, according to PMMI’s report. 

Aquaponics involves the simultaneous production of plants and fish and it is increasingly being used with a self-consumption purpose. However, there are uncertainties and little information about the economic sustainability of small-scale self-managed aquaponic systems. The objective of this study was to obtain economic information about these systems, including the level of commoditization of food production as a measure of their autonomy. For this purpose, two small-scale aquaponic systems (SAS) based on FAO models were self-constructed using cheap and easy-to-obtain materials and monitored for a year. A total of 62 kg of tilapia and 352 kg of 22 different vegetables and fruits were produced, with an average net agricultural added value of 151.3 €. Results showed positive accounting profit but negative economic profit when labor costs were included. The degree of commoditization was around 44%, which allows a certain autonomy, thanks to the use of family labor force.

Last year, Hoogendoorn Growth Management partnered with BASF Vegetable Seeds, so BASF could gain experieces with various automated growing software and hardware for hydroponic lettuce and tomato.

“Next to the extremely huge learnings we made in modern climate management we’ve seen massive opportunities to improve our own processes and to add value to our genetics. Using the principles of Growing by Plant Empowerment to control the plant balances and optimize photosynthetic activity, we were able to significantly increase the growth spead of hydroponic lettuce while improving crop quality at the same time,” explaines Martin Voorberg, R&D Capital Investment Venture Manager at BASF. “We had the same experience with high-tech tomatoes when production was higher during the winter months compared to references from professional growers. As a consequence, we will increase our investments in the facilities at ‘s-Gravenzande to make all greenhouse compartments ready for automated growing.”

500Foods shared this story from FP.com. Moving forward, Giro Pack, Inc. is focused on optimizing the plastic used in each package to reduce the possible environmental impact. Greater sustainability reduces waste and CO2 emissions. Giro has already begun offering reduced plastic options of existing packaging formats (as well as new concepts)…

To grow food, we need soil. Even with modern technology enabling systems like hydroponics to grow crops, humanity needs soil to produce enough food for the global population. Unfortunately, many modern farming techniques have destroyed soil or depleted it. One sobering report warns that all topsoil could be gone in the next 60 years if agriculture continues as normal.

According to the UN, the world is on the brink of its worst food crisis in 50 years. The global food industry is searching for a more sustainable and accessible system for producing healthy food, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables. Techniques such as hydroponics and vertical farming may provide the…

Although in the midst of the Covid-19 emergency plastic wrappers have been a safety precaution, the environmental impact of plastic is one of the most relevant issues at a global level. That is why governments and institutions have taken and continue taking measures against such materials. With its…

At Tops Friendly Markets, social responsibility and sustainability have always been at the core of the company’s mission, upholding standards that ensure the reduction of environmental waste and energy consumption while providing its customers with sustainably sourced, high-quality products. So when the opportunity came to take a closer look at the packaging of its produce items to make a change for the better, it simply made sense.

Another way Tops produce department has committed to its environmental impact is its partnership with local growers like Intergrow, who is now the sole provider of greenhouse-grown tomatoes for Tops. Now instead of bringing this product from Leamington, ON (255 miles away) or Mexico (2,000 miles away), product will be transported from Albion, NY (45 miles away) or Webster, NY (75 miles away), 52 weeks a year helping Tops to reduce its carbon footprint, another testament to Tops belief in supporting local growers and reducing its environmental impact.

Traditionally produce from any local grocery is packaged on foam trays which is non-biodegradable, considered a main source of marine debris, and even during manufacturing is said to emit HFC’s or hydrofluorocarbons, which negatively impact the ozone layer and climate change.

Increasing automation, using bio-based materials and stepping up recycling education efforts are a few ways suppliers have responded to sustainable packaging demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From packaging production, to packaging disposal, panelists at a July 20 sustainable packaging session at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice: Delivered virtual event addressed some of the steps they are taking to meet the consumer desire for sustainable packaging alternatives.

“Now is the time to review and update your packaging,” said Ed Treacy, vice president of supply chain and sustainability at PMA.

Fox Packaging, McAllen, Texas, uses automation in its package manufacturing process.

Bayer, De Ruiter and BraZander Nursery have unveiled the next steps in their cooperation to demonstrate sustainable glasshouse tomato production. BraZander will be the first nursery in Bayer's ForFarming network. This is a new step in the cooperation of Bayer and the growers, because in 2018 they worked…