Comment

COMMENT: Playing the system for savings just won’t work anymore
Buyers need to adapt to a food system that is now in a phase of major transition, argues David Read, founder and chairman of Prestige Purchasing. The UK’s 67 million population spent £240bn on food in 2022 through a food…
COMMENT: Lobby groups continue to side with the laggards
The food industry is being poorly represented when it comes to sustainability, so maybe it’s time for a change. By David Burrows. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Food and Drink Federation (FDF) are lobbying for EPR (extended producer responsibility) on packaging…
COMMENT: EU misses alt-milk opportunity in schools but there is hope for the UK, says Kirsty Leese
The European Parliament this month voted against including plant-based milk in EU schools under its’ huge school scheme – a programme that provides dairy milk, fruit and vegetables to more than 20 million children across the continent. ProVeg International was disappointed by…
COMMENT: Beware the green-wagoning surrounding carbon neutral claims.
Constant undermining of carbon offsets is causing net-zero ambitions to be ‘thwarted by fear’, says Simon Heppner. The Guardian report last month on the challenges faced by the voluntary carbon market raised questions (again) about the role of carbon offsets in…
COMMENT: Rousing customers to adopt reuse
Foodservice brands struggling with reusable packaging regulations need to invest in more effective communications, says Heather Davies In France, the new anti-waste, pro-circular economy law (AGEC) came into force on January 1st 2023. This requires fast-food restaurants to replace single-use…
COMMENT: Everyone should support fair dealings in dairy
Foodservice companies can support more resilient dairy supply chains by prioritising trust and transparency in relationships, says Abigail Williams of the Food Ethics Council. Back in February 2021 ministers announced plans to publish a new code of conduct that would…
COMMENT: Sourcing must not be sacrificed
Sustainable sourcing policies are notoriously difficult to deliver but businesses can’t afford to deprioritise them, says Nick Hughes.
Can polluting companies get away with greenwashing?
Brands making misleading claims are not always penalised by the public, which means regulators need to step in. David Burrows reports. Is it worth making green claims? Research published by McKinsey and NieselnIQ recently suggests so. They analysed five years of US…
Comment: the complexities of changing food behaviours
It is only when we understand the richness and complexity of our relationship with food that we can change food behaviours for the better together, says Annet Hoek. Changing consumer food choices and consumption seems to be a more challenging…
Comment: the footprints of food brands can be deceptively dainty
Digging through the data in order to report your full climate footprint can be heavy going but it pays to be transparent when reporting it, says David Burrows. Food companies continue to struggle with their scope 3 (value chain) emissions,…