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Promoting plant-based meals? Don’t forget the 80%

The two most impactful ways of reducing the footprint of our food are: reducing food waste along the whole food production and consumption chain; and consuming fewer animal products, writes Annette Burgard. In two quick statistics: agriculture is responsible for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions; about 40% of all land on earth is used…

Responding to a recent Footprint story on the problems with compostable packaging, David Newman, of the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association, argues that it has an important role to play. Footprint does a great job of exposing flaws in our food, packaging and waste systems. Last month it targeted compostable packaging, but I think some…

Comment: Moving to more sustainable packaging

Iain Gulland of Zero Waste Scotland highlights the measures that can be adopted to reduce packaging and recycle more of what’s left. Too many of the products we buy come in packaging that is either unnecessary, difficult to recycle or both. Much of that packaging is plastic. At Zero Waste Scotland we advocate avoiding any…

School caterers – put your finger on the pulse

Evidence suggests that eating less and better meat is good for health, the planet and kitchen finances – which is why Rob Percival of the Soil Association wants all school caterers to introduce a weekly plant-based protein day. Language can provoke. When the Soil Association called for a plant-based protein day to be implemented in…

We need to slap a giant ‘out of date’ label on the current model of charitable food assistance, argues Dan Crossley of the Food Ethics Council Foodservice businesses might be tempted to think it a case of job done if they are redistributing all of their surplus food to people in need. However, this is…

Adding calorie counts to menus will make eating out more regulated, more systematic, and just a tad more miserable, says Sara Petersson. Today over 60% of the UK population is overweight or obese. These are worrying statistics. Perhaps in a utopian world (where all food comes out of a single cookie cutter and everyone makes…

The evidence is clear on the need to reduce our meat consumption, which is why environmental charity Hubbub has launched a series of campaigns to showcase the appeal of plant-based protein. By Tessa Tricks. We need to talk about animal protein. At the current rate, global consumption of meat and dairy is predicted to double…

Comment: How once-toxic brands won the respect of NGOs

The likes of McDonald’s and Sodexo are now widely praised for their willingness to engage on the big issues. By Robert Blood. Half of the 20 companies most praised by NGOs so far in 2018 are in the food or grocery retailing business, while McDonald’s and Sodexo both made the top 10 in the second…

Baysanto merger threatens the future of sustainable farming

Bayer’s $62.5 billion purchase of Monsanto would create a corporate giant endangering organic and independent farmers. By Honor Eldridge. On March 21st, Bayer won approval for its $62.5 billion (£44 billion) purchase of Monsanto. The EU competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, decided after long deliberation to approve a takeover that would create a company (informally dubbed…

The food industry has much to gain by embracing the government’s latest calorie challenge. But reticence will inevitably lead to regulation, writes David Read. "Britain needs to go on a diet,” said Duncan Selbie, chief executive at Public Health England (PHE). "The simple truth is that on average we need to eat less. Children and…