1. ulster.ac.uk
UNIT A2 1 Option A:
Food Security and
Sustainability: Food
Sustainability

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES: FOOD
SUSTAINABILITY
• Understand the concept of ‘sustainability’;
• Understand the impact of animal farming, locally and
seasonally produced food, and organic farming on
climate change and natural resources; and
• Understand how locally and seasonally produced food,
and Fairtrade can contribute positively to local
economies.

3. WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?
Development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs” [Brundtland Report, 1987]

4. SUSTAINABILITY AND FOOD
A complex area! Many factors influence the sustainability of
food – biodiversity, ethical trade, animal welfare, embedded
water, land use.
The food we produce and the food choices we make are
creating stresses on our climate, wildlife and habitats,
driving unethical trade agreements, challenging animal
welfare and putting pressure on water usage.

5. ARGUMENTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Giving it a focus helps to highlight the environmental
problems.
By protecting the environment, promoting social equality
and supporting the economy everyone benefits.
Should be embedded throughout government policy.

6. SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
It is estimated that food is responsible for 20-30% of
household-related environmental impacts.
How can retailers help reduce this impact?
– Climate change
– Waste
– Supply chain
– Products

8. Sustainability issue 1

9. CONSUMERS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
• Consumers struggle to link their
personal activities to global issues.
• Many consumers may not recognise the
importance of climate change.
• Labelling the carbon footprint on
individual products still lacks public
awareness to drive a change in
behaviour.
• Retailers are seen as the most
responsible sector with regard to climate
change.

10. WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES?
A natural resource is anything that people can use which
comes from the natural environment. They include water
(seas and fresh water), land, soils, rocks, forests
(vegetation), animals (including fish), fossil fuels and
minerals. They are the basis of life on earth and need to be
sustainably managed.

11. ANIMAL FARMING
• When consumers get more money they increase their
consumption of food and include greater variety in their
diets (meat and dairy) which take more water and grain
to produce.
• Growing popularity in meat.

12. SUSTAINABILITY AND ANIMAL
WELFARE

13. ORGANIC AND OTHER PRODUCTION
METHODS

14. SUPPLY CHAIN
Retailers should be offering local suppliers a fair
price.
Conflicting demands from consumers – they want
cheap and cheerful products but want them to be
locally produced.
26% of consumers think supermarket retailers
could be responsible by using or increasing their
use of local growers/producers.
http://www.ipsosmorigrads.com/pdf/reputation_report_v1.pdf

15. FAIR TRADE
Promotes sustainable
development.
Dialogue, transparency &
respect, seeking greater
equity in international trade
(IFTA).
Improve the livelihoods &
wellbeing of disadvantaged
producers & speaking out for
greater justice in world trade
(Trade Aid).
Importing
Organizations
Fair Trade
Labelling
Initiatives
Fair Trade
World Shops
Consumers
Producers

16. POSITIVE BENEFITS OF FAIR TRADE
Economic benefits
• Supports farmers to become more income-secure and less vulnerable to poverty;
• Empowers farmers to organize into cooperatives and negotiate a higher price for
their product;
• Improves access to agricultural training and premium markets encouraging them to
farm better and sell more.
Environmental benefits
• Provides environmental protection standards for farmers to work to;
• Promotes training for farmers to switch to environmentally friendly practices (nutrient-
rich soils and encouraging wildlife to help control pests and diseases).
• Provide access to finance, producer support and expertise in tackling climate
change, supporting long-term environmental sustainability.
Social benefits
• Farmers and workers have more control over their future: greater power & voice.
• Better workers’ rights to negotiate their work terms and conditions through trade
unions and collective bargaining
• Fairtrade invests in education, better housing, better schools and medical facilities in
worker communities, improving the quality of lives of rural communities.
Fairtrade.org.uk, 2017

17. LOCAL PRODUCTS
Many retailers are starting to source local
products.
Consumers find it difficult to identify sustainable
food products. Labels and certificates are
intended to make it easy to take these
concerns into account but there is limited
evidence in their effectiveness of changing
behaviour.

18. LOCAL PRODUCE

19. WHY EAT LOCAL, SEASONALLY
PRODUCED FOOD
There are a number of good reasons to eat more local, seasonal
food:
• To reduce the energy (and associated CO2 emissions) needed
to grow and transport the food we eat;
• To avoid paying a premium for food that is scarcer or has
travelled a long way;
• To support the local economy;
• To reconnect with nature's cycles and the passing of time;
• Can be fresher, tastier and more nutritious.
http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/why.php

21. SUMMARY
• Food and sustainability are challenging areas
• Sustainability is about maintaining choice now while
retaining choice for the future
• Sustainability takes account of environmental, economic
and social issues
• Buying local, seasonal produce can reconnect us with
food and encourage us to value it more
• Fairtrade can help farmers in other countries make a fair
living wage while providing us with extra food choices

22. USEFUL READING
• MacDiarmaid, J. (2013) Estimation of the greenhouse gas
emissions of the eatwell week. Available from:
http://www.foodbase.org.uk/results.php?f_report_id=821[Acce
ssed 12.01.14]
• Eat the Seasons. (2017) Why eat the seasons? Available
from: http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/why.php
• Garnett, T. (2008) Cooking up a storm: food, greenhouse gas
emissions and our changing climate. University of Surrey:
Food Climate Research Network. Available from:
http://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/CuaS_web.pdf
[Accessed 16/01/13].
• Gadema, Z. and Oglethorpe, D. (2011) The use and
usefulness of carbon labelling food: A policy perspective from
a survey of UK supermarket shoppers. Food Policy, 36, 815–
822.

23. ulster.ac.uk
THANK YOU
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ms.furey@ulster.ac.uk