Europees onderzoek naar voedselkilometers

De Europese Commissie begint zich langzaam zorgen te maken over de immense afstanden die ons voedsel aflegt voordat het op ons bord terecht komt. Een dikke maand geleden liet de Commissie een proefballonnetje op over het invoeren van een verplicht CO2-label op voeding op de Europese markt, tot grote ergernis van de voedselverwerkende industrie. En nu komt dan het nieuws dat de European Science Foundation met een grensoverschreidende studie bezig is naar de toekomst van ons voedselsysteem.
Met de verdere liberalisering van de wereldwijde voedselmarkt en verschuivende doelstellingen in het Europese landbouwbeleid bestaat de kans dat er straks nog maar een klein deel van ons voedsel uit Europa komt. Nu al weten de wetenschappers te melden dat de gemiddelde Europeaan nauwelijks geinteresseerd is in de herkomst van de diepvriespizza's en kant-en-klaar-maaltijden die hij dagelijks in de oven schuift. De wetenschappers maken zich grote zorgen dat veel retailers tegenwoordig hun grondstoffen uit ontwikkelingslanden halen in plaats van bij de boer tien kilometer verderop. "Sociale dumping" heet dat. Niet erg goed voor het Europese platteland, maar zo benadrukken de wetenschappers, ook funest voor het milieu.

'Travelling food' causes environmental headaches

Europeans' taste for processed food imported at low cost from developing countries has far-reaching environmental consequences, argues a study which aims to provoke discussion on the issue.

"Europeans are eating – and importing – more food from outside the EU than ever before," concludes a study on 'European Food Systems in a Changing World', the results of which were presented in November 2007.

The multidisciplinary study examined how complex technological and policy factors, including CAP reform, will affect the interactions between food availability, access and use. The research looked at where food comes from, and how it gets from the field to the fork. By studying what Europeans eat, scientists hope to understand the economic, political, and cultural impacts of food on European society.

Paul Watkiss, a policy advisor from Oxford in the UK, argued that Europeans' food increasingly comes from outside Europe because of today's global food market and the growth of major supermarkets such as Lidl, Tesco and Carrefour. "In recent years, Europe has begun to trade with many more developing countries," he said, explaining that due to much lower labour and production costs, these countries can often grow and process food more cheaply than Europe.

He also argued that people's expectations of the availability of certain foods have changed because supermarkets, which source many of their goods globally, are not reliant on seasonal food products and can offer customers any type of food all year round.

Furthermore, according to the study results, Europeans are buying more pre-cut, pre-cooked and pre-packaged 'convenience food' in the form of ready-meals. These "often contain ingredients that have been imported from many different countries. Furthermore, the cutting, cooking and packaging of 'ready-meals' is often done in more than one place, resulting in food that is well-travelled even before it is ready to eat," reveals the study.

Regarding the impact of Europeans' growing taste for overseas foods, the study foresees a "greater impact on the environment", mainly due to protective packaging for transport. "On average, 5% of what we buy in supermarkets is packaging," said Watkiss. In addition, food travelling around the globe results in "more road congestion, greater damage to infrastructure, and higher emissions of pollutants, including greenhouse gases".

The researchers hope that the study will lead European policymakers to consider how efficiently food is produced and consumed, and the consequences of food travelling further.