Environmental information in the food supply system

Large amounts of food products are handled in food service institutions and during all stages in the food supply chain natural resources are used with resulting pollution. By consciously choosing foods that are efficiently produced, the environmental impacts from the food system could diminish. Information that can inform purchasers about how the environmental impacts of various foods vary is an important tool. We have investigated if and how purchasers use such information today, how they could react if it became more available and what such information would show for different food products. Results are that environmental information play a minor role for purchasers decisions today, price is much more important. Even if environmental information based on calculations of resource use and emissions during products lifecycles became available, it would not influence decisions to any significant extent. The way in which such information is presented is however of some importance. Estimates of the environmental impacts from some food products of various origins and degree of processing were carried out and they show that is difficult to devise single strategies for purchase decisions. To re-localise production is not always optimal as the negative aspects of long-transportation distances may be outweighed by efficient production practices during the agricultural phase. The future for environmental information about food is explored in three scenarios. Results are that the structure and scale of the food system as well as the environmental concern in society influence the likelihood that such information will be of importance in the future.

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