Sustainable eating habits are improving – but not quickly enough!
A major report says we're getting better when it comes to sustainable eating. Matt Brady looks at what else we could do to improve further.
The latest ‘Greendex’ report shows that people’s food habits are becoming more environmentally friendly, but aren’t changing fast enough.
The Greendex is a report published by National Geographic and GlobeScan which gives an overview of global trends in sustainability.
This year’s report shows that environmental concerns have greatly increased since 2012 (the year in which the last Greendex was published), but the “pace and scale of uptake of sustainable consumption have remained too little over the past six years.”
Britain only managed to place 14th out of 18 countries (America came last, India first). However, food is a “bright spot” for the report, though Britain still has work to do. What are we doing right, and where could we act in a more sustainable manner?
Powerless to change our food
Do you believe that you can make a difference to the way food is produced? According to the research, fewer than half of us feel that we can have an impact on this. In the words of Eric Whan, Sustainability Director at GlobeScan, people feel “alienated from what they see as an opaque and industrial global food system” and therefore don’t feel empowered to instigate change.
Chances are, you couldn’t go into a supermarket and ask how a specific food was produced. The shop assistants, and even the manager, will probably be almost as much in the dark as you are. They are also alienated from the chain of production and simply sell the final product, which is ordered remotely then arrives at the store ready-packaged to be shelved and sold.
However, there are signs that things are improving, as people buy more goods locally and are becoming more concerned about their impact on the environment.
Good intentions
We need to feed our growing population, and to do so, we need to change the way we produce and consume food. Most people surveyed for the report agreed with this sentiment, as they believed that the way we currently do things negatively affects the environment – and our health.
“Food,” says Eric Whan, “might be the easiest way consumers can improve their environmental footprint, and our findings show that consumers in many countries are increasingly adopting what can be argued are more sustainable food habits.”
But to make active decisions to improve, we need better transparency in our food chain. Only a quarter of British people were absolutely certain that they knew what ‘organic’ meant in terms of food, while more than 40% agreed that it was difficult to distinguish between local produce and food from far away.
The need for better information so that people can make better environmental decisions is made apparent by these figures. Perhaps more prominent information on food is necessary?
Our sustainability score in the Greendex isn’t that impressive, at 49.5 overall, although we managed a 62.2 for food (pictured above). India has the highest Greendex score, with 61.4 overall and 72.2 for food.
However, over half (54%) of British people admitted that large or very large changes in their habits were still necessary, while over a third (37%) said they should make moderate changes. While that shows that there is still work to be done, it's encouraging to hear that people can admit their shortcomings, which will hopefully prompt them to improve their behaviours.
How is my food produced?
This is a good question to be asking. Were these vegetables shipped for miles and miles to reach me, or do they come from a farm just down the road? Was this fish caught in a sustainable manner? Can I justify eating the amount of convenient, pre-packaged food that I normally do, and should I cut down?
When you know the answers, you can start to make better choices.
What can I do?
“A majority of consumers,” says the report, “say they intend to change their own food habits for environmental reasons.” Key to promoting that attitude is “learning about their respective environmental impacts.”
So the more you know, the more you are likely to do about your environmental impact. There is a Greendex Calculator to help you score your habits and point out where you could improve, which might be useful. And as the graph below shows, we Brits aren’t amazing at prompting our peers to make better food choices.
A good first step might be to let your friends know when they’ve bought something unsustainable, so that they can make a better decision next time. I also believe if more of us stopped buying shop-bought bottled water that be a big step forward.
Do you plan to reduce your impact on the environment? How will you go about it? Let us know in the Comments below.
All Greendex figures & images courtesy GlobeScan/National Geographic
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