Fwd: [Food-news] Getting it right? The UK food industry measures up

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> *www.foodnews.ca

>

> *

>

> *Policy Gap and Confirmation: *In the aftermath of

> Mad Cow and faced

> with challenges from avian flu, declining rural

> economies, food related

> health crises such as diabesity, and climate change

> the UK is tackling

> sustainability on many fronts. The most recent

> piece in the puzzle is

> the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy. As part

> of a far-reaching UK

> initiative that has been evolving over the last

> decade, the Secretary of

> State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

> Margaret Beckett unveiled

> a blueprint for improving the state of the food

> industry. The joint

> government - industry report identifies

> opportunities that reach from

> farmer's field to the garbage heap for making the

> food industry more

> sustainable.

>

> The process seems destined to succeed - it was

> developed in concert with

> industry; it has the support of multiple government

> sustainability

> projects which are backed up by adequate funding; it

> is comprehensive

> insofar as it accounts for economic, environmental

> and social

> considerations; and, it will help the industry

> reduce its operating

> costs. The report provides realistic strategies to

> reduce CO2

> emissions, conserve water, cut waste and address

> industry-specific

> social issues such as doubling ethically traded

> products in food stores,

> increasing the number of women and visible

> minorities in management and

> other measures to address worker safety and food

> safety standards.

>

> The report will be handed over to the Minister for

> Sustainable Farming

> and Food for implementation. As Beckett explains in

> the pres release,

> " The Strategy will provide a framework for the food

> and drink sector to

> play its part by making sustainability its goal. It

> must be viewed as

> the beginning of a process - not the end. " This

> report provides best

> practices for the UK, and a starting point for other

> jurisdictions.

>

> On the consumption side, a report released last week

> by London's City

> University points to the timeliness of setting

> targets to improve the

> food industry's performance. Researchers at City

> University applied

> standards from the WHO *Global Strategy on Diet,

> Physical Activity and

> Health to global* food manufacturers, retailer, and

> food service

> companies. The companies came up short on all

> fronts which points to a

> pressing need for companies to take charge of the

> food they deliver to

> consumers. The City report gives consumers and

> stockholders ammunition

> they can use to demand healthy food.

>

> To view the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy

> (FISS), go to:

>

http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/fiss/fiss2006.pdf

>

>

> The FISS press release can be found at:

>

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=197931 & NewsAreaID=2

>

>

<http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=197931 & NewsAreaID=2>

>

> As reported in an earlier FoodNews release, the

> City University report

> can be accessed from:

>

>

http://www.city.ac.uk/citynews/archive/2006/04_april/04042006.html

>

> **Alison Blay-Palmer is a Contributing Editor to

> Foodnews.*

>

> --

>

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