“Sustainability” - Behind The Scenes
Posted by GO NATIVE
With global warming and climate change knocking on our doors, more and more people are opting for conscious lifestyles - taking a step to create a clean and healthy environment.
Rising consumer awareness around health consequences of animal-based products is contributing to a growth in the vegan food market. Numerous studies have established links between meat consumption, health and environmental outcomes.
An organic lifestyle advocates for the importance of consuming toxin free food, as well as, helping maintain a sound environment.
Increasing popularity around organic lifestyles, are because organic food grains and pulses comprise of GMO-free content, zero growth hormones, zero antibiotics, nutrient richness and improved freshness.
As consumers are learning to be cautious of carbon footprints and the damage being caused to the ecological balance, organic food markets are growing and providing wider range of options.
The food production industry has often been criticised for being exploitative without being considerate about the impact of their practices. Huge amounts of food are being produced at any given point in time to meet the growing demands of people.
This has detrimental effects on not only the soil, but also depletes natural resources leading to large quantities of food wastage.
Therefore, it is imperative that sustainability as a practise be embedded in the food and beverage industry. As consumers are becoming aware of the contents in a product and its ethical means of sourcing, sustainability in food production is gaining impetus.
Incorporating sustainability in farming refers to practices that do not use pesticides, chemicals and other harmful methods of farming such as monoculture, for production of food grains. Sustainable farming allows the land to regenerate itself, uses organic methods to maintain the soil fertility and produces chemical-free better tasting food.Another important result is seasonality, i.e., different vegetables and fruits are available at the right time and during the right season, instead of trying to preserve previous season’s produce.
Sustainable approaches need not be limited to organic forms of food production only. One of the more concerning factors in sustainable agriculture has been labour cost.
Production costs are often cut down drastically at farms with the motive of generating high margin profits; which directly impact farmers in the form of low wages and unhealthy working conditions.
Thereby, Fair Trade certification has gained acceptance globally for its conscious approach towards food production. Fair Trade supports farmers with fair wages, safe working conditions, reduces child labour, provides training and uses sustainable farming methods.
